GERIK – Stop at the Puncak Titiwangsa rest and service area (R&R) and plant a tree.
This is a unique “Greening Malaysia” campaign activity awaiting East-West Highway users under the “Tanam-On-The-Go” programme’, organised by the Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia (JPSM).
JPSM director-general Datuk Mohd Ridza Awang said the programme at the Central Forest Spine (CFS) A-PL1 ecological corridor area involves Amanjaya Forest Reserve, Temenggor Forest Reserve and Royal Belum Forest Reserve located between Gerik in Perak and Jeli in Kelantan.
“I am confident that East-West Highway users from the north such as Kedah, Perak, Penang and Perlis to the East Coast (Kelantan and Terengganu) can be exposed to the importance of this CFS area.
“It has a connected forest landscape with specific functions across four forests in Peninsular Malaysia which serves as the backbone to the network of environmentally sensitive areas (ESAs).
“It is also important to preserve the health of ecosystems including wildlife such as leopards, sun bears, tapirs and Asian elephants that contribute to the status of the country’s mega biodiversity,” he said when officiating at the programme at Puncak Titiwangsa, here, Nov 3.
Mohd Ridza said to strengthen the network of protected areas, tree-planting initiatives are important to reduce the negative effects of the fragmentation of forested areas.
The CFS programme has also succeeded in attracting international bodies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to be involved, for example, in the Improving Connectivity in the Central Forest Spine (IC-CFS) project, which received funding from the Global Environment Facility through the United Nations Development Programme amounting to RM41.5 million for a period of three years.
He also said that degraded habitats or areas in the identified ecological corridors could be restored with tree-planting programmes and public awareness activities.
He added that the implementation of Tanam-On-The-Go activities by planting 650 hopea odorata (Merawan Siput Jantan) trees in Puncak Titiwangsa today was aimed at raising awareness on the importance of green cover areas and forests for good well-being and quality of life as well as efforts to improve ecosystems and national biodiversity.
