Plans in place to preserve state’s flora and fauna for future generations

KUCHING: Everyone must realise the importance of conservation and preservation of the natural flora and fauna in the country.

Natural Resources and Environment minister Dato Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said this was important to ensure the continuous appreciation of the environment and nature.

“‘Go Wild For Life’, which is the slogan for this year’s World Environment Day which falls tomorrow (today), was picked to reflect the need for everyone to come together to stop wildlife criminal activities including the illegal trade and smuggling of wildlife,” he said at a press conference after a housing aid hand over ceremony at his service centre yesterday.

By doing so, future generations can also enjoy the beauty of the country’s natural resources, he said.

“We need to ensure that our forest cover is not less than 50 per cent at all times like what is stated by the prime minister in Copenhagen in 2014, as the forest produces oxygen after absorbing carbon dioxide produced by vehicles.”

Apart from that, vehicles in Malaysia will also be introduced to Euro 4 petrol in 2018 and to Euro 5 in 2025 to reduce carbon production compared to existing fuels today.

Meanwhile, to overcome the dry season, the government will implement a water resource transfer plan from states that have high water caches to those with low catchments nationwide.

“I have discussed this and it will be implemented the soonest and we will find a solution to this problem and to implement the water transfer,” he said.

He said that there are also plans to turn 10 per cent of the nation’s waters into marine parks.

In waters surrounding Miri, there are many coral areas which will be declared as marine parks, and there are plans to have more areas in the state gazetted and registered marine parks.

“This will benefit us as it has the potential to become a tourist attraction for the state.

“We will protect these areas to ensure that they will not be exploited,” he said.