KUANTAN: Several forest areas will be proposed as new permanent forest reserves to balance development needs with environmental conservation, the state assembly was told.
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail said the state executive council, at its meeting on April 22, approved an application to gazette government land within the Central Forest Spine Ecology network, namely the Bera forest reserve and the Bera Ramsar Reserve for the purpose, involving 524ha.
Pahang’s total area is 3.6 million hectares, while the size of permanent forest reserves currently stands at 1.589 million hectares, representing 44.13% of the state’s total land area, he added.
“One of the state government’s key policies is to implement the concept of sustainable forest management,” he said to a question from Mohd Zakhwan Ahmad Badarddin (PN-Tahan).
Mohd Zakhwan wanted to know the size of the state’s forest reserves and policies aimed at balancing development with environmental preservation.
Wan Rosdy said the state government would continue ensuring that any permanent forest reserves degazetted for economic development would be replaced with another forest area of equivalent value, Bernama reported.
“The existing policy requires every approval for degazettement to be accompanied by a replacement area. I have reminded the Forestry Department to ensure the replacement area is genuinely available before any approval is granted,” he said.
About 762,000ha, or 49% of the total permanent forest area are classified as production forests for sustainable forest product activities, he added.
“The protected forest area covers about 820,00ha, equivalent to 51%. These areas cannot be logged at all.
“However, if development needs arise, the area may be degazetted on the condition that it is replaced with another equivalent area,” he said.
Responding to a supplementary question on compensation received for forest conservation efforts, Wan Rosdy said Pahang had received about RM72mil in ecological fiscal transfer allocations through federal government project grants since 2022.
