NGO: Call off timber plantation project at Kledang Saiong forest

Environmental group Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) has reiterated its call for authorities to put a stop to a planned timber plantation project at the Kledang Saiong Forest Reserve in Perak.

In a statement, SAM field officer Meor Razak Meor Abdul Rahman said the monoculture project will involve an area of 4,280 hectares, which they fear would cause the destruction of the original forest cover.

"The clear-cutting method that is going to be employed in this proposed project will not be subjected to the Annual Cut Ration and forest management certification.

"Based on our study, it was found that most of the monoculture plantation projects were carried out without proper control despite the relevant authorities saying there is a standard operating procedure in place.

"Doing this at a permanent forest reserve would affect the forest's biodiversity functions and will no longer be able to serve its ecological functions," he said.

Previously, Malaysiakini reported that an area the size of 5,994 football fields in Kledang Saiong is proposed to be converted into a timber plantation and operated for 50 years.

The project, which is planned to begin this year, seeks to use the area for the development and operation of a plantation for up to 50 years.

According to the project EIA report sighted by Malaysiakini early this year, the project is aimed at planting forest products in the form of timber - with Eucalyptus, Khaya and Kelampayan being its top choices.

SAM and several other pro-environment groups had in February submitted a memorandum to Istana Iskandariah in Kuala Kangsar, where they called for Perak ruler, Sultan Nazrin Shah’s intervention to help protect the forest reserve.

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