Nelson Benjamin, The Star 10 Dec 09;
JOHOR BARU: The state’s Ramsar sites are poorly maintained as besides being littered with rubbish, many of the facilities are dilapidated or broken for years.
According to the 2008 Auditor-General’s report, a tram service started in 2003 has not been functioning since 2005 due to engine problems and lack of funds for repairs.
It has become an eye-sore as the tram was located at the entrance of the Ramsar site in Tanjung Piai during the auditors’ visit, the report stated.
The report revealed that besides the broken tram, the path used for the tram was also severely damaged due to soil erosion.
Ramsar sites are wetlands of international importance designated under the Ramsar Convention.
Among the problems identified were a suspension bridge that had not been properly maintained, a jetty in Pulau Kukup which had not been repaired despite having structural cracks and a mini-observation tower that cannot be used.
The report showed that Perbadanan Taman Negara Johor (PTNJ), which is in charge of the three Ramsar sites in the state, was understaffed and did not have sufficient allocation to carry out regular clean-ups.
'Lost' forest land now national parks
Satiman Jamin, New Straits Times 9 Dec 09;
THE Johor government lambasted the National Audit Department for giving inaccurate figures on the state's permanent forest reserve land.
The department reported that the land had shrunk from half a million hectares to 300,000 hectares.
On the contrary, Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said the state government managed to maintain the acreage of its permanent forest reserves amid rapid development. He said forests still cover 28 per cent of Johor, a testament to the government's firm policies to safeguard the forest reserves.
"It was not mentioned by the department that the decline of forest reserve acreage was due to the land being turned into national parks, including Ramsar sites."
Ghani said although the national parks are not under the state government, they are still permanent forest reserves. Apart from that, he said some of the forests had been cleared and the land given to the poor in various schemes since the 1960s.
Ghani said the government had added 100,000 hectares to forest reserves since 1997.
He was replying to points raised by Dr Boo Cheng Hau (DAP-Skudai) as he wound up the debate on the state budget yesterday. The budget was approved and the assembly adjourned sine die.
