Salina Khalid, The Star 13 Nov 08;
MORE than a million mangrove saplings have been planted as part of the conservation programme of the coastal forests throughout the country since 2005.
The Selangor Forestry Department alone has planted more than 150,000 of these trees along the coastal area of the state.
The mangrove replanting programme is part of the effort to restore the rich bio-diversity of the forests to provide an ecosystem for fish, crabs, birds and other creatures and plants.
The tsunami disaster that hit the region in 2004 had shown that the mangroves could provide a natural buffer to protect the coastal areas from the massive waves.
Studies have also shown that the mangroves could protect coastal areas from rising tides, monsoon storms and natural erosion.
The trees have a high storage capacity for carbon, which helps to regulate the balance and quantity of carbon dioxide in the environment.
They function like carbon factories by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and converting them into organic material.
The organic materials are then absorbed into trees, mudflats and nearby waterways, reducing the amount of greenhouse gases.
Since the tsunami disaster, the federal government and the various state governments have worked with various agencies and NGOs to replant the mangroves along the coastal areas nationwide.
According to Assoc Prof Sulong Ibrahim of Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, in addition to the government’s efforts, the involvement of the local community in any mangrove enhancement project is essential to ensure its success.
Sulong, an authority on mangrove ecology and management and a committee member of the national mangrove replanting programme, said this at the recent 6th Asia Pacific Ecotourism Conference (APeco) held at the Saujana KL.
About 200 delegates, including foreign participants, attended the two-day conference on Nov 6 and 7. Among the speakers were Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) field experts Dr Harinder Singh and Dr Loh Chi Leong and Japanese firefly scientist and tourism expert Dr Oba Nobuyoshi.
Sulong said the replanting and conservation programme would not succeed unless the local community played an active and constructive role.
He said people needed to develop an attachment to the trees which would motivate them to care for them.
“When we first told the residents in Kemaman that we are planting mangroves, they laughed at us because to them the mangroves would grow naturally and need not be planted,” Sulong said.
“But they started to appreciate and understand what we were doing after we explained how important it is to plant the trees so that we can protect and preserve the environment,” he said.
“The residents then joined us to help care for the trees, which will take nearly seven years to mature,” he said.
In Selangor, various measures have been taken as part of the regeneration and restoration programmes for the mangroves.
Among the biggest mangrove forests in the state are the Banjar Utara Forest Reserve and the Banjar Selatan Forest Reserve, both located in Kuala Selangor.
Over the years, the trees were chopped down mainly for fish and prawn farming and agriculture.
Mangroves are also known as a good source of charcoal briquettes.
According to Selangor tourism, consumer affairs and environment chairman Elizabeth Wong, the destruction is rampant along the beach and even at the Nature Park.
“The state government is doing all it can to save the forest from being totally destroyed,” she said.
Wong said the whole coastal area of Kuala Selangor which used to be covered with mangroves, had been left with only strips of the trees.
She said the fishermen in Kuala Selangor had also complained of reduced catch due to the destruction of the mangrove forest in the area.
Meanwhile, Thailand Wetlands International director Asae Sayaka said it was important to preserve the multi-functional mangrove forests, which was often misconstrued as being smelly and of no use.
He said destroying mangrove forests would significantly reduce marine life such as prawns and mud crabs and would affect the livelihood of mangrove fisherman.
“The mangroves also protect coastlines from erosion and serve as barriers for salt-water intrusion, which can affect agriculture,” Asae said.
“That means if the trees were chopped down then more money would be spent to build walls to prevent salt water from getting into the agricultural areas,” he said.
