Malaysia and Singapore to promote natural sites

Zazali Musa, The Star 22 Jan 10;

JOHOR BARU: Malaysia and Singapore will jointly promote the Ramsar sites in Johor and the republic’s Sungai Buloh Nature Reserves as new eco-tourism products.

The co-operation will be the first tourism initiative under the Joint Ministerial Committee (JCM) of Iskandar Malaysia in which the neighbouring nations will work closely on the development of Iskandar.

“We have engaged international consultants to do an in-depth study on the project and determine how both countries can work together to promote the products.

“The consultants are expected to submit their report by the middle of the year,” said Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman.

He was speaking at the launch of a coffee-table book entitled Echoes of Life – a collaborative effort of Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) and Malaysian Nature Society of Johor (MNSJ) in documenting the Sungai Pulai mangrove areas.

Also present at the event were PTP chairman Datuk Mohd Sidik Shaik Osman and MNSJ president Associate Professor Dr Maketab Mohamed.

Ghani said, among numerous aspects, the consultants would look at the number of visitors to allow to visit the sites per day, the upgrading of present facilities and building new ones, and maintenance of the Ramsar sites and the Sungai Buloh Nature Reserves.

Ramsar sites are wetlands of international importance designated under the Ramsar Convention. Of the five Ramsar sites in Malaysia, three are located in Johor.

The Sungai Pulai wetlands is the biggest of the three sites and covers of 7,563ha. The others are Pulau Kukup (647ha) and Tanjung Piai (526ha) while Singapore’s Sungai Buloh covers 12.14ha.

“We will ensure that development activities at the Sungai Pulau site will take into consideration the environmental impact on the surroundings areas,” said Ghani, adding that there should be a balance between development and protecting the environment.

Meanwhile, Dr Maketab said that promoting the Ramsar sites as the latest tourist destinations in Johor would create job opportunities for the Orang Seletar (sea gypsies) who had been living along the banks of Sungai Pulai for generations.

He said, although the tourism activities would generate revenue, everyone including state agencies and departments, non-governmental organisations and tourists must play a part in ensuring the Ramsar sites were well protected for future generations.

Dr Maketab said that MNSJ would forward its proposal to the Johor government to gazette the Merambong seagrass meadow and Pulau Merambong at the Sungai Pulai estuary as conservation areas.

The 19.42ha seagrass meadow is the biggest seagrass bed in Malaysia.

The seagrass bed is the natural breeding ground for seahorses and a favourite playgorund for dugong that feed on the grass.