The Negeri Sembilan Forestry Department (JPNS) is committed to increasing the total area of permanent forest reserves (HSK) in the state by another 500 hectares, to preserve and conserve the quality of the environment and thus boost the state’s ecotourism.

Its director Saleh Awaluddin said currently the HSK covers 155,000 hectares, or 23 percent of the entire state, and of that, 60 percent is timber production forest and the remainder is protected forest, including water catchments, wildlife, and research.

“This is one of the...