CMS staff plant 500 mangrove saplings as part of CSR programme

KUCHING: Seventy- five staff members of Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd (CMS) planted 500 mangrove saplings – of the Bakau Kurap species (rhizophora mucronata sp) at the Ramsar site in Kuching Wetlands National Park over the weekend.

The programme, which is part of CMS’ ‘Doing Good’ corporate social responsibility ( CSR), was run in collaboration with the state Forest Department – the government agency that promotes the rehabilitation of the ecosystem in Kuching Wetlands.

The volunteers braved the rain and mud, and by working together systematically, they managed to plant all 500 saplings in just one hour.

Several members of the group were assigned to do nursery work where they prepared 500 saplings from the mangrove propagules as part of the propagation process.

This is to meet the condition set by the Forest Department whereby the number of saplings planted must be replaced with the same number of saplings prepared, to guarantee sustainability.

Besides manpower, CMS also contributed tools worth RM2,300 comprising rubber boots, gloves, a ladder, hoes and garbage bins for future use as part of the programme.

These tools were handed over by CMS Group corporate communications manager Shirly Ann Clarke to the Forest Department representative Haazizkin.

This is the second mangrove planting programme by CMS and the corporation hopes to increase its involvement and value in future programmes with the Forest Department.

The Ramsar site is situated 15km from the city and approximately 5km from Damai Beach.

The Kuching Wetlands National Park covers 6,610 hectares of areas between Sibu Laut and Salak rivers.

The park is mainly a saline mangrove system that includes an extensive network of marine waterways and tidal creeks interconnecting the two major rivers that form the boundaries of the park.

Initiated in 1971 at Ramsar, Iran, the Ramsar Convention has been adopted by many countries, including Malaysia in 1995.

The Kuching Wetlands National Park fulfilled four out of nine criteria suitable as a Ramsar site – it is a particularly good representative example of a natural coastal mangrove system; it supports the Proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus); it is of special value as a nursery area for the Estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus); and it is a key spawning and nursery ground for fish and prawn species.