PULAU KUKUP’S NOW A FOREST RESERVE
Boost eco-tourism facilities to raise island’s profile, say environmentalists
ENVIRONMENTALISTS have lauded the state government’s decision to restore Pulau Kukup’s status as a forest reserve. However, they also believe that this is an opportune time for the state government to improve eco-tourism facilities in the wetlands, which would raise its profile and help further conservation efforts in the future.
Andrew Sebastian, who is cofounder and chief executive officer of Ecotourism and Conservation Society Malaysia, said the reinstatement of Pulau Kukup as a forest reserve was welcome news and an important one for Johor.
Pulau Kukup, he said, had great potential for eco-tourism and edu-tourism and the state would benefit from its gazettement and protection.
“Pulau Kukup, gazetted and protected, is also a lifeline for local fisheries, erosion control and climate change.
“Having the island protected once again under the purview of the Johor State Park is the best and most important move the state has made,” he told the New Straits Times.
“Make the park more interesting by upgrading the trail platforms, introducing better public amenities, perhaps even ecofriendly toilets, for example, and also bring in new technological ideas to make it more interesting for the younger generation.
“As for rehabilitation, the park and the surrounding area can certainly use a lot more buffer zone.
“We can also rehabilitate some of the buffer zones, reintroduce some of native species into the park, put in more fruit trees, and learn from world-class parks in the region on how they attract international visitors and tourists,” he said.
He said the island could also be used as a field study site for local and Singaporean universities on the wetlands and mangrove system.
Environmental groups and the public were up in arms in December last year when it was revealed that the Johor government had degazetted Pulau Kukus of its national park status, a status it held since 1997.
Pulau Kukup, located off the coast of Pontian, measures approximately 647ha and is surrounded by 800ha of mudflats.
The uninhabited island was recognised as a Ramsar site in January 2003, one of only five in Malaysia.
Yesterday, the Johor government announced that Pulau Kukup’s status as a forest reserve had been restored.
A gazette published on Jan 31 stated that the land would be reserved as the Pulau Kukup National Park Reserve under the control of the Director of National Parks (Johor).
Malaysian Nature Society vicepresident Vincent Chow said the restoration of its national park status meant that conservation research could be continued on the island.
Chow said to help raise theisland’s profile and aid future conservation efforts, more must be done to draw attention to it.
“The information displays on the island must be improved as they are currently insufficient, shallow and too superficial.
“They should be scientific and informative.
“The authorities should prioritise new approaches, don’t recycle old information,” he said.
Chow also suggested that the state government set up a research centre which is accessible to researchers, scientists and students.
“The state government needs to be open-minded and has to recognise the authorities which can ultimately help this effort.”