COMMUNITY LEADERS THE FIRST LINE OF DEFENCE
Not just logs, but orchids, ginger, herbs, rattan and other ornamental plants are being stolen from our forests unnoticed; and it is our responsibility to help enforcement officers to stop this
THERE are two sides to how one appreciates nature. One is to take pictures and admire the beauty, the other is to plunder everything of ornamental value within sight, regardless of whether the plants are to be grown in a garden or sold.
While the first reflects a high awareness of the fragile ecosystem and biodiversity, the second is the opposite, which clearly reflects greed, thinking only of the ringgit and sen without feeling remorse or guilt for damaging the environment.
There are very few people who appreciate nature and touch nothing to disturb its balance. The temptation of collecting rare wild flora specimen is irresistible. Anything that blooms and emits soothing fragrance or has medicinal value are bound to be touched, at least.
In most instances, uprooting and removing plants from the habitat seems to be the norm because “it is still not in my collection”, or with a euphoric sense of “I can make a lot of money with this specimen”.
With little understanding of laws that protect the forests and their biodiversity, forest reserves have been encroached numerous times despite adequate signage placed at their borders along main roads and at licensed logging sites.
The arrest of a man with a truckload of wild orchids last week showed how easy it was to go in and out of a forest reserve on the pretext of camping overnight in the wilderness with friends and family members.
The man entered the forest reserve in Jerangau with 12 other off-roaders without obtaining permits from the state Forestry Department. The permit, where each has to pay RM200, or at a discount if they are a registered group, could have saved them from being detained for encroachment under Section 47(1)(4) of the National Forestry Act.
The man, who had about RM3,000 worth of wild orchids in his truck, faces prosecution under Section 15 of the same act for extracting forest products.
Such encroachment and removal of forest products had, most of the time, gone undetected simply because the Forestry Department had so far been concentrating on catching big-time illegal loggers.
These loggers can be detected by the department’s drones and through informers.
But orchids, ginger, herbs, rattan and other ornamental plants will be smuggled out of the jungle unnoticed unless those who collect these plants are unlucky and stumble head-on with the enforcement team monitoring the area.
The people’s lack of awareness on the dos and don’ts when entering forest reserves or any protected jungle must be addressed by roping in community leaders to become, not just informers, but the first line of defence against poachers and encroachers.
Community leaders, together with the Forestry Department, and, in this respect, enforcement agencies protecting the country’s natural heritage must work together within the framework of the National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS).
It is understood that the NBOS involves 80 ministries and agencies ranging from the police and military, women, youth and higher
SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2017 education departments to the Forestry Department, and National Parks and Wildlife Department, and they collaborate to formulate and execute initiatives towards transformation.
In the spirit of NBOS, all of them should work towards a common goal, which is protecting the country’s heritage from being encroached and plundered.
Since education is one of the selected initiatives under NBOS, related agencies should work towards educating the public that they too share the same responsibility of safeguarding our heritage.
The National Forestry Act or any related acts will mean nothing if people have no regard for the punitive action against lawbreakers. It has to start with changing the mindset to build civic consciousness and inculcate a sense of responsibility.
The people must be made to feel that protecting the environment is their duty and not just the responsibility of the enforcement authorities, who have their own constraints, such as the lack of manpower.
I have followed the Forestry Department on their raids against illegal loggers and, believe me, the sleepless nights in the jungle and the irritating bugs and leaches, plus the danger of being attacked by beasts, such as tigers, elephants and bears, are not something everyone would want as a job.
These men who moved in total