KUALA TERENGGANU: Tasik Kenyir in the Hulu Terengganu district has been declared a national geopark and will be known as the Kenyir Geopark.
State tourism, culture and digital technology committee chairman Ariffin Deraman said this recognition was announced by the National Geopark Committee in a meeting chaired by Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Ministry deputy secretary-general Abdul Wahid Abu Salim in Putrajaya on Tuesday.Ariffin said the recognition was one of the best achievements of the state government, which has long been trying to establish Kenyir as a geopark as contained in the Terengganu Sejahtera Master Plan (Pitas 2030).
“Efforts to make Kenyir a geopark began in 2015. However, various obstacles had to be overcome before obtaining the recognition. The ministry also fixed 2027 for a reassessment of Kenyir’s status as a geopark,” he said in a statement, Bernama reported.
Ariffin said this recognition would open up a new dimension for the Tasik Kenyir tourism sector, which is already a major tourist attraction.
He said it would also create various job and economic opportunities for the local community.
The Kenyir Geopark, occupying 244,900ha, comprises Tasik Kenyir, 340 islands and 15 geosites including Bewah Cave as well as the discovery of dinosaur footprints and fossils.
The discovery has also opened up the potential of Bewah Cave as a national geo-archaeological site through the discovery of Bewah Man, the oldest known skeleton found in the country, which is estimated to be 16,000 years old.
