GEORGE TOWN: The Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Ministry (NRES) will increase the number of community rangers to 3,000 this year under the Biodiversity Protection and Patrolling Programme (BP3), to curb illegal activities involving wildlife and forests.
NRES secretary-general Datuk Dr Ching Thoo said the new appointments, comprising mainly members of the Orang Asli community as well as veterans of the Malaysian Armed Forces and Royal Malaysia Police, aim to strengthen protection efforts against encroachment in permanent forest reserves nationwide.
"With the RM80mil allocation received this year, we plan to appoint up to 3,000 community rangers. The impact has been positive so far, with reports indicating a clear reduction in illegal activities, especially poaching,” he told reporters after launching the Jelajah Kelestarian Alam 2.0 programme at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) on Thursday (May 29).
"BP3 enables us to monitor forests more effectively and combat threats such as encroachment, illegal logging and poaching,” he added.
The programme, jointly organised by NRES, the Sultan Mizan Antarctic Research Foundation and the Department of Environment (DOE), drew over 250 participants, including USM vice-chancellor Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Mohamed and DOE director-general Datuk Wan Abdul Latiff Wan Jaffar.
Meanwhile, Ching urged residents affected by wildlife disturbances that damage property or crops to apply for the Property and Crop Damage Compensation (BKHT).
He said RM10mil was allocated for the programme last year, but only 10 percent was disbursed due to the low number of applications.
"BKHT was introduced last year to assist victims facing significant losses due to human-wildlife conflicts. The initiative will continue this year with an additional RM1.5mil,” he said.
He added that the ministry is reviewing a proposal to increase the BKHT payout rate from 50 percent to 60 percent of the reported damages to better support affected individuals.
"Based on records, most of these claims involve elephant-related damages, especially in Johor, Kelantan and Pahang. There are also reports involving monkeys, though to a lesser extent,” he said. - Bernama
