Bernama 22 Apr 10;
PUTRAJAYA, April 22 (Bernama) -- In commemorating Earth Day on Thursday, Malaysia launched a nationwide campaign to plant 26 million trees by 2014.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas launched the campaign, carrying the theme "Green the Earth: One Citizen, One Tree", here.
The 26 million trees represent the estimated 26 million population of the country.
Some 16,200 saplings were planted in launching the campaign, with 500 planted at a site in Precinct 5 opposite the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) here.
The other trees were planted at selected sites in Alor Star (Kedah), Kangar (Perlis), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Seri Iskandar (Perak), Bachok (Kelantan), Kemaman (Terengganu), Pulau Melaka (Melaka), Seremban (Negeri Sembilan), Kulai (Johor), Temerloh (Pahang), Esplanade (Penang), Hulu Selangor (Selangor), Kota Kinabalu (Sabah) and Petra Jaya (Sarawak).
The types of tree planted included the cengal, cempaka, keruing, balau and kalumpang.
Uggah said the 26 million trees would be planted in stages and the process would be monitored by the relevant departments and agencies under the ministry.
"It is estimated that 38,470 hectares of denuded and logged forests, coastal areas and urban centres would be planted by 2014," he said when launching the campaign, also attended by Deputy Natural Resources and Environment Minister Tan Sri Joseph Kurup.
Uggah said the campaign was in line with the government's efforts to ensure that at least 50 per cent of the country had forest cover in accordance with Malaysia's commitment made at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992.
The forest cover currently was 56.4 per cent, but if agricultural areas were taken into account, the acreage would rise to 75 per cent of the total land area, he said.
Uggah said it was estimated that at the end of the campaign, in 2014, some 200,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide would have been absorbed due to the trees planted.
The figure was expected to rise if the planting continued nationwide, he added.
In KANGAR, Perlis State Secretary Datuk Mohd Zabidi Zainal represented Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Md Isa Sabu in leading the people at planting karas saplings in Sungai Batu Pahat near the state capital.
Going by the population of Perlis, more than 250,000 trees will be planted in the state by the end of the campaign period in 2014.
In reading out the menteri besar's text of speech at the event, Mohd Zabidi asked for the people's cooperation in the tree-planting campaign to make it a success.
In KINABATANGAN (Sabah), District Officer Latif Kandok led the planting of 200 saplings in the compound of the office and houses in an area known as an eco-tourism centre.
"The campaign can foster love for greenery among the people and raise awareness on efforts to conserve the environment," he said.
He called on the local community to plant more trees and refrain from engaging in open burning, levelling of hills and polluting of rivers so as to avert global warming.
In ALOR SETAR, Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak officiated at the launch of the tree-planting campaign and called on the people to foster interest in planting greenery in their surroundings.
He said the state government had taken steps to replant mangrove and other suitable species of tree along the Kedah coast to protect the shore from strong waves and erosion.
"Kedah has 36 permanent forest reserves spread over 342,613 hectares covering 36 per cent of the total land area in the state," he said.
In TEMERLOH, Pahang State Financial Officer Datuk Norzan Ahmad represented Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob at the launch of the campaign at the Kemasul Forest Reserve.
Some 1,000 officers and staff of various departments and 500 secondary students from Temerloh each planted a sapling at the event.
Norzan, reading out Adnan's text of speech, said 1.48 million trees would be planted in Pahang over the next five years.
-- BERNAMA
One tree for every Malaysian
New Straits Times 23 Apr 10;
PUTRAJAYA: Yesterday was Earth Day, a day to mark our appreciation for our environment.
To commemorate the event, Malaysia launched a nationwide campaign to plant 26 million trees by 2014.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas launched the campaign themed "Green the Earth: One Citizen, One Tree" here.
The 26 million trees represented the 26 million Malaysian population.
Some 16,200 saplings were planted -- 500 in Precinct 5 opposite the Putrajaya International Convention Centre here and the rest at selected sites nationwide.
The sites were in Alor Star, Kangar, Universiti Teknologi Mara Seri Iskandar (Perak), Bachok (Kelantan), Kemaman (Terengganu), Malacca Island (Malacca), Seremban (Negri Sembilan), Kulai (Johor), Temerloh (Pahang), Esplanade (Penang), Hulu Selangor (Selangor), Kota Kinabalu (Sabah) and Petra Jaya (Sarawak).
The trees planted included cengal, cempaka, keruing, balau and kalumpang.
Uggah said they would be planted in stages and this would be monitored by the relevant departments and agencies under his ministry.
In his speech during the launch, he said it was estimated that 38,400ha of bare and logged forests, coastal areas and urban centres would be planted with trees by 2014.
He said the campaign was in line with the government's efforts to ensure that at least 50 per cent of the country had forest cover in accordance with Malaysia's commitment made at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992.
Uggah said the forest cover now was 56.4 per cent, adding that by the end of 2014, some 200,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide would have been absorbed by the trees that had been planted. He said the figure would increase if planting efforts continued.
In Kangar, some 250,000 trees will be planted in the state by the end of the campaign. Perlis State Secretary Datuk Mohd Zabidi Zainal, who represented the menteri besar, planted karas saplings in Sungai Batu Pahat yesterday.
In Alor Star, Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak launched the campaign at Taman Jubli Mas in Suka Menanti, while in Ipoh, Perak Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon said some 2.8 million trees would be planted from now until 2014.
In Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said the planting of trees along the coastline would continue to prevent erosion.
Sabah had swung into action and planted many trees along its coastline after the 2004 tsunami. More than 600,000 mangrove and other species of trees were planted as a buffer.
To commemorate Earth Day, Musa led members of the state cabinet, elected representatives and heads of departments to plant 100 trees at the compound of the State Legislative Assembly building here yesterday.
State Secretary Datuk Sukarti Wakiman said similar events were held in 26 districts where more than 2,600 trees were planted.
