STATE governments will be urged to conduct public hearings before any degazetting of permanent reserved forests (PRF) and permanent forest estates (PFE).

This, according to the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) released today, was among the measures under the strategy of conserving natural ecosystems by enhancing conservation measures for terrestrial and inland water areas.

“Continuous conservation of the ecosystem is crucial to ensure natural habitats are protected and ecologically connected. In relation to this, conservation of terrestrial, inland water, coastal and marine areas will be enhanced through habitat protection, rehabilitation and connectivity as well as mainstreaming ecosystem considerations into planning and development.

“These initiatives will enhance the resiliency and ability of ecosystems to continuously provide ecological services for sustaining biodiversity and support socio-economic growth, in line with Goals 14 and 15 of the 2030 Agenda,” the document stated.

In addition, the gazetting of protected areas for terrestrial and inland waters will be intensified through the establishment of a special task force as well as a framework for other effective area-based conservation measures will also be developed.

According to the document, these initiatives aim to increase the conservation of natural areas, including geoparks and inland waters to maintain at least 50% forest cover over the total land area.

“Forest restoration, rehabilitation and enrichment will be intensified through multi-stakeholder collaboration. The public sector will be encouraged to actively participate in forest rehabilitation programmes,” it said.

Meanwhile, the connectivity of four major forest complexes in Peninsular Malaysia will be improved by accelerating the establishment of ecological corridors under the Central Forest Spine initiative.

Similarly, the management and conservation of forested areas in Sabah and Sarawak will be further enhanced through the ongoing Heart of Borneo initiative, according to the document.

Under enhancing conservation of water resources strategy, the existing laws, including Environmental Quality Act (Act 127) will be reviewed to incorporate provisions on emerging pollutants, mainly chemicals found in pharmaceuticals, pesticides, industrial and household products.

The document said total maximum daily load studies that determine the loading capacity of river segments will be expanded to cover more river basins in guiding state governments and local authorities to evaluate existing and new development proposals along river corridors.

“A smart monitoring system will also be put in place to enable real-time monitoring and early warnings as well as in strengthening enforcement. River trails will be built as a nature-based solution to prevent encroachment and pollution of rivers,” it added. – Bernama, September 27, 2021.