Sarawak plans to gazette 31 new PFE areas spanning 814,437ha

KUCHING: The Sarawak Forestry Department has proposed the gazetting of 31 new Permanent Forest Estate (PFE) areas, covering a total area of 814,437 hectares.

Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan said Sarawak currently has 67 Totally Protected Areas (TPA) encompassing a total area of 2,118,249.53 hectares.

This includes 874,523.53 hectares of land and 1,243,726 hectares of water bodies, along with 118 PFEs totaling 3,960,381 hectares.

“I hope the federal government will allocate more funds through the Ecological Fiscal Transfer (EFT) for conservation efforts,” he said when officiating at the International Day for the Conservation of Marine Forest Ecosystems at the Hilton Hotel today.

Awang Tengah, who also serves as the Second Minister of Natural Resources and Urban Development, noted that Sarawak has so far gazetted 12,950 hectares of mangrove forests, representing 19 per cent of the total mangrove forest area in Sarawak, as TPAs.

He added that 11,084 hectares, or 16 per cent of the total mangrove forest area in Sarawak, have been designated as Permanent Forest Reserves (PFE).

Additionally, to establish a coastal ecosystem that serves as a sanctuary, Awang Tengah asserted that the Sarawak government has initiated the Sarawak Reef Ball Project.

“This 746-kilometre reef ball project has been acknowledged by the Reefball Foundation of USA as the longest reef ball in the world.

“The project aims to enhance the management and conservation of marine ecosystems while creating wave barriers to mitigate coastal erosion and prevent trawling activities along the coast,” he said.

During the event, Awang Tengah also launched a book titled ‘Status of Mangrove Trees in Malaysia,’ published by the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM).

The book documents conservation and management initiatives for mangrove ecosystems in several key areas, such as Sungai Merbok in Kedah; Larut Matang in Perak; Klang Islands in Selangor; Sungai Pulai in Johor; Kuching Wetlands and Sarikei in Sarawak; as well as mangrove forests in Kudat, Sandakan and Tawau in Sabah.

Also present were Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Datuk Seri Huang Tiong Sii, chief secretary to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES) Datuk Dr Ching Thoo Kim, and the deputy director-general of the Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia (JPSM) Datuk Zahari Ibrahim.