Saving Merapoh forest – one step at a time
IT is significant that the Pahang government has expressed its willingness to cancel logging and development projects in the forested areas of Merapoh, Lipis.
It would have been better if the state government had already gone ahead to scrap these projects, but progress sometimes comes one small step at a time. What matters is that when there is a positive change, we recognise it and work hard to make it count.
The Merapoh forest certainly deserves our best efforts. According to the Malaysian Nature Society, the forest is estimated to be 130 million years old, and is home to some endangered animal species and rare flora.
“Its spectacular limestone caves form a vital part of Malaysia’s natural heritage. All of these natural wonders are now under threat as a result of logging and roadworks in the vicinity,” says the society in a letter that The Star published last month.
In recent years, Merapoh has become increasingly popular as an ecotourism destination, with its network of caves and crystal-clear streams and rivers as the main attractions.
And when such natural treasures are threatened, there will always be howls of protest. Fortunately, in this case, the objections have gone far and wide.
A key aspect is the use of the #savemerapoh hashtag on social media to create awareness and gather support for the case against projects that may hurt the Merapoh ecosystem. For example, land clearing around a cave in the area quickly drew a lot of attention after a video of these activities went viral.
Bernama reported that logging activities in Merapoh became a heated issue late October “through the involvement of environmental groups that led to the solidarity of the international community on social media through # save merapoh”.
Late last month, the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry announced that it would set up a task force to probe the claims of illegal logging.
The minister, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, said he had instructed the director-general of the Department of Environment to issue an order under the Environmental Quality Act for the company involved to immediately cease all logging activities in the Merapoh forest reserve.
Then came the Pahang government’s statements that it was considering scrapping projects in the Merapoh forest because the area is a water catchment.
There is a sour note here because Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob has accused the environmental non-governmental organisations as being insincere. His bone of contention is that the Merapoh deforestation issue was raised after the projects were well under way.
“They should have told us earlier. Then we could have moved the development to another site.
“Now the area has been cleared and these NGOs are making an issue out of it,” he said during the state assembly sitting a week ago.
He repeated that complaint on Monday. “The problem now is that we were informed late,” he was quoted as saying.
That may be so, but at this point, the Government ought to focus on what is most important – the protection and conservation of the Merapoh forest before it is truly too late.