A belated congratulations to the Selangor state government upon receiving its developed state status on Aug 27 last year. It is encouraging that the state government declared and opened the Selangor Heritage Park (Taman Warisan Selangor) on the same day, hopefully marking the birth of a new era in forestry conservation.

Menteri Besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo said the 107,000 hectare park, which spreads across three districts Hulu Selangor, Gombak and Hulu Langat - was guaranteed as a permanent forest reserve and no logging or development will be allowed unless the public agrees.

The Selangor Heritage Park not only provides 98 percent of the state's water supply, it also boasts the longest quartz ridge in the world. The park's biodiversity is rich and abundant

Unfortunately, the euphoria was short-lived. Below is the recap.

Reports lodged

On Sept 13, Shukor Kadir - a concerned citizen of Hulu Langat - reported logging activities in the forest reserve that was supposed to be part of the Selangor Heritage Park. Upon lodging the report, Shukor was told that the gazette did not exist. The logging concessionaire, Fungsi Mewah, was awarded the permit in April 2001 but the logging permit commenced on Aug 1, 2005 and was slated to expire on July 31, 2006 for an area of 334 hectares. This marked the beginning of a messy and confusing banter between the locals and relevant authorities.

On Sept 16, the press secretariat of the Selangor government clarified that the opening of the park on Aug 27 was just a declaration of status and not the gazetting of the area. This is intriguing since the statements published following the event stated that it was indeed a gazetting as mentioned by the deputy prime minister, the menteri besar and the media.

On Jan 15, it was reported that the villagers of Kampung Lembah Gahal, where the logging site is situated, raised a complaint after the previous complaint by Shukor was ignored. This time it got the attention of Mohd Khir, the state exco member for natural resources Raja Ideris Ahmad and state Forestry Department director Nik Mohd Shah.

Mohd Khir claimed that the land is privately owned and not part of the Selangor Heritage Park.

Stop work order

Nevertheless, he was dissatisfied with the explanation given by the logging firm and hence issued a temporary stop work order pending further investigations and deliberation by the state executive council. Despite the stop-work order, villagers claimed that logging operations continued. Apparently, logging activities were heavy and carried on till late into the night.

On Jan 18, the state government revoked the licence of the logging company. Although the stop-work order had been issued, the felled logs were allowed to be removed within a few weeks. Mohd Khir said the area would be turned into a forest reserve.

That was the last we heard of it and it seems that there are still questions pending.

1. What is the status of the Selangor Heritage Park was it a declaration or gazette back in August?

2. If the area had not been gazetted, does that mean the protection granted for Selangor Heritage Park cannot be applied to our forest reserves?

3. How do we ascertain if a forest reserve or logging site is not in the Selangor Heritage Park if the area has yet to be gazetted?

Disheartening discoveries

Being an avid nature lover, these incidences prompted me to pay this site a visit. I had the suspicion that logging was still taking place under the guise of log removal. What I witnessed and discovered was disheartening.

My first stop was at the log yard a clearing at the entrance where the felled logs are kept temporarily. I found logs oozing with sap ( left ) which meant they had just been felled. I also found logs that were too young to be felled as the diameter of the logs were far too thin.

Logging firms in the past have claimed that young trees were felled during the clearing of the logging path but I doubt we can be certain of this.

Another interesting feature is a signboard that states the area as Hutan Simpanan Hulu Langat when the MB claimed that it was privately owned.

I was informed that the logging site is 3km away from the log yard. I went along the path for as long as I could before dusk fell. I noticed a few disturbing things the proximity of the logging path to the stream and the gradient of the slopes. I believe there should be a buffer zone between any clearing or logging road and a water source in order not to risk contamination or siltation.

The gradient of the slopes along the logging path was extremely steep where at certain points it was almost a vertical wall. These slopes are between 5 10m high. I dread to think what would happen to the villagers if there was a landslide.

As I went further along the path, I came to a split where the path had branches to the left, center and right. The condition of the left and right paths were muddy and bore fresh tire tracks.

Gifts from God

On the very next day, the newspapers announced that Malaysia is ranked ninth on the Environmental Performance Index and next to that we saw the illegal felling of a 100 year old Tualang tree.

In all honesty, I do hope that our federal and state governments step up to the challenge of being ranked among the top nine most environmentally conscious country.

Our Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak once said that forests were gifts from God and that it was everyone's responsibility to protect it.

"Don't look at our trees and forests as just a source of timber. Look beyond our forests and appreciate what they offer."

LILLIAN DANIELLE KHOO is a malaysiakini reader .