Nik Nazmi: Ministry to increase number of community rangers to curb threats to forests, wildlife

SHAH ALAM, Nov 21 — The government will continue to increase the number of community rangers, to ensure that there is no threat to forests and wildlife, said Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

He said that, to date, the government has added 1,500 rangers, and most of them are from the Orang Asli community or veterans from the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) and the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM).

He added that the effort was also to increase the enforcement of permanent forest reserves, including in Sabah and Sarawak, against encroachment.

“We know that the pressure on our forests and animals is very high. (Recently) more and more (forest encroachment) has been happening, so in our efforts to stop this, we need to increase the number of rangers,” he said, after officiating the Regional Conference on Forest Connectivity and Biodiversity Conservation, at the Setia City Convention Centre (SCCC), Setia Alam, here today.

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Nik Nazmi said that more than 600 Orang Asli have been selected as community rangers, and the number is expected to increase.

“In addition, the involvement of military and police veterans is apt, because they have expertise and extensive experience in the forest,” he said.

Meanwhile, when asked to comment on the Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC) Ministry's focus during the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP 28) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in Dubai, at the end of this month, Nik Nazmi said that the ministry would focus on energy transition.

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“Malaysia, as a country which is ready for the energy transition in the region, will exhibit the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) and the Hydrogen Economy and Technology Roadmap (HETR).

“Apart from that, we will focus on issues related to losses due to natural disasters experienced by developing countries, including small islands,” he said.

The conference is scheduled to take place from November 30 to December 12. — Bernama