National Physical Plan To Protect Mangroves And Wetlands

The National Physical Plan, a nationwide effort to protect and preserve Malaysia's mangroves and wetlands has been formulated. Under the Plan, development in areas gazetted as protected mangroves and wetlands is prohibited. According to Housing and Local Government Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting, the Federal Town and Country Planning Department and the states had taken two years to draft the Plan, which will be submitted to the Cabinet for approval soon.

AMONG THE areas identified for protection under the Plan are:

South-eastern Pahang peat swamp forest
Northern Kuala Selangor peat swamp forest
Kuala Langat north peat swamp forest, Selangor
Klang islands of Che Mat Zain and Tengah, Selangor
Parts of Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve, Perak
Ulu Muda Forest Reserve, Kedah
Tasik (Lake) Chini and its surrounding wetlands, Pahang

"Once the Plan is approved, all State Governments will have to gazette the designated areas as protected zones. The Government will be protecting and preserving the environment strictly. We will not allow

development to encroach into protected areas," Datuk Seri Ong said. State Governments will have to follow the Plan, which proposes that several environmentally sensitive areas be protected. States wanting to de-gazette these areas will need the approval of the National Physical Council, chaired by Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Datuk Seri Ong said several states and local authorities had also identified areas for protection. Selangor, for example, had included Pulau (Island) Rusa and Pulau Ketam in its State Structure Plan to protect the islands from development as well as the coastal areas of Sabak Bernam. The Perak Structure Plan preserves the mangrove forests in Matang while Terengganu's Kemaman District Council's local plan calls for the preservation of the mangrove forests along the Kemaman, Kerteh and Cherul rivers.

The National Physical Plan was formulated in response to the findings of a study which revealed that mangroves and wetlands in the country had shrunk by 23%, from 1,175,523 hectares to 899,542 hectares, between 1996 and 1990. "All the plans of the states and local authorities are combined to formulate the National Physical Plan which provides a macro framework for systematic and balanced development and environmental protection," he said.

The formulation of the Plan should come as welcome news in the aftermath of the recent tsunami disaster, when it was reported that mangroves acted as protective shields for some coastal communities. According to the Hindu News Update Service, the dense belt of mangroves saved the Indian village of Pitchavaram, which is famous for its bird sanctuary lake, from extensive damage by the tidal waves. Many coastal dwellers in Malaysia's Penang island were spared of death and serious losses due to the mangroves which shielded them and acted as a buffer against the killer waves. This only strengthens Malaysia's belief and resolve that to achieve sustainable development, biodiversity has to be conserved.