Perak pledges 5 steps to conserve Belum
GRIK: The state government has pledged five initiatives to conserve the Royal Belum State Park here, including securing the Belum Forest Complex as a national tiger priority site.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir said the state would also ensure connectivity to the greater Taman Negara landscape through an interconnected network of protected areas, forest reserves and corridors, for the long-term survival of tigers in the peninsula.
Zambry said the state government would also ensure the Royal Belum State Park and the surrounding permanent forest reserves were sustainably managed for tiger conservation by deploying at least three enforcement personnel per 10,000ha, as well as achieving the Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CATS) accreditation for the Royal Belum State Park.
“We also want to establish a well-equipped rapid response team to achieve zero-poaching in Belum by 2020.
“Apart from that, the state government will assist in raising RM100 million by 2025 for tiger conservation in Malaysia,” he said in the Royal Belum Declaration issued in conjunction with the WWF-Malaysia Conservation Summit here on Saturday.
Earlier, Prince of Wales Prince Charles and Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah attended a briefing on the summit at the Royal Belum State Park.
Zambry said the state government also pledged to work closely with all entities, including the private sector, civil society and concerned citizens, together with foreign governments and organisations, to realise Perak’s conservation efforts.
“We support the statement made by His Royal Highness (Charles) that the most difficult work begins at turning commitments made at very high levels into action on the ground.
“There is not a moment to lose if we are to save animal species, whose loss will not only affect us all, but also expose their abandoned habitats to even greater risk of destruction, with dire consequences for humanity,” he said.
The visit of Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall, to Malaysia was part of the British royal couple’s trip to Singapore, Malaysia and India from Oct 30 to Nov 9. Bernama