Singapore and Malaysia in eco project

Straits Times 7 Jan 10;

JOHOR BARU - A BILATERAL study between Malaysia and Singapore to tap the eco-tourism potential of the Sungai Pulai wetland reserve in south-western Johor is expected to be completed by June.

This marks the two countries' first joint ministerial committee project on tourism, reported The New Straits Times on Thursday.

Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said an international consultant has been engaged to draw up a proposal on how to turn Sungai Pulai, one of Malaysia's six Ramsar sites (wetlands of international importance), into a tourist destination.

The effort will be based on the same method and strategy used by Singapore in promoting its first wetland reserve, Sungei Buloh, near Kranji.

'The study will identify the kind of the eco-tourism activities, the categories of visitors who may be interested and the need for strict management of the wetland reserve,' he said here on Wednesday. 'Johor is also blessed with an abundance of natural wonders, and Sungai Pulai is a good example... Together with the rapid development in Iskandar Malaysia, the state aims to preserve its natural beauty and carry out sustainable development.'

Spread over 9,126ha, the Sungai Pulai forest reserve is the second largest mangrove area in Peninsular Malaysia. It was gazetted by Johor in 1923 and was listed as a Ramsar site on Jan 31, 2003.

Singapore to help boost eco-tourism in Johor
Republic is sharing experience in developing Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve in Kranji
Amresh Gunasingham, Straits Times 8 Jan 10;

SINGAPORE is lending Malaysia its expertise in developing green reserves for eco-tourism.

The tourism agencies of both countries have started a joint feasibility study to look into how an attraction like Singapore's Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve in Kranji can be replicated across the Causeway.

The areas that Malaysia hopes to develop into tourism spots are all in Johor - Sungai Pulai, Tanjung Piai and Pulau Kukup.

All have been classified as Ramsar sites, a title granted by the Geneva-based Ramsar Convention Bureau to identify wetlands of international importance.

Johor's lush Sungai Pulai alone spans 9ha. Officially gazetted in 1923, it is the country's second- largest mangrove forest.

It sits at the mouth of a lowland tropical river basin, and is home to seagrass beds, intertidal mudflats and an inland freshwater riverine forest, which teem with animal life.

The joint feasibility study, expected to be completed this year, is the first such venture into the tourism sector.

It will identify appropriate activities for visitors and the kind of people likely to go there, as well as explore the adoption of a code of management practices.

The first mention of the collaboration between Singapore and Malaysia in this area came from Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan last year, when he gave an update on Singapore's involvement in Iskandar Malaysia, a project to develop southern Johor's economic corridor.

Collaborations between the two countries in this economic zone come under a joint ministerial committee.

Mr Mah added that the two sides' environment agencies are also sharing expertise in areas such as river cleaning.

Malaysia's senior regional government officials have been quoted in the media as having said that the move to develop Sungai Pulai is in line with the plan to build a viable tourist hot spot there.

Johor Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman told the New Straits Times: 'Together with the rapid development in Iskandar Malaysia, the state aims to preserve its natural beauty and carry out sustainable development.'

When contacted, Mr John Conceicao, director of strategic planning and innovation at the Singapore Tourism Board, said it was working with its Malaysian counterpart on developing joint marketing campaigns for the nature sites 'to potentially increase tourism flows into and between Iskandar Malaysia and Singapore'.

Professor Leo Tan, director of special projects at the National University of Singapore, said that if the findings of the study are followed through and adopted, the area's vital eco-system could be preserved.

Pointing to Sungei Buloh here, he said that it had, with proper management, 'morphed out of what was nothing more than a dilapidated prawn pond'.

He added: 'The key for any country lies in optimising its resources in a rational and educated manner... to develop an appreciation and understanding of why we need to protect our biodiversity.'