Malaysia: Patrols keep mangrove thieves at bay

Ruben Sario The Star 12 Aug 11;

KOTA KINABALU: Constant patrols along Sabah's northern coastline have thwarted cross-border mangrove thefts.

Sabah Forestry Department director Datuk Sam Mannan said the combined enforcement by the department's forest rangers, the police and officers from the Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) had made it difficult for those involved in the illegal harvesting of mangrove trees.

“There has been a slight decline of such incidents this year but we have to keep up these patrols,” he said.

Mannan said some 100 Filipino nationals had been arrested over the past few years for the illegal harvesting of mangroves.

“The harsh fact we are facing is that for every thief we arrest, another 10 are waiting to come in,” he said.

The suspected mangrove thieves are based in the southern Philippines island of Cagayan, which is just a 30 minute boat ride from Sabah's northeast coastal line.

Mannan said the mangroves around Pulau Banggi as well as the Pitas and Beluran districts were most susceptible to thieves.

Initially, they were stripping the barks of tangar, a species of mangrove plants, and these were used in the manufacture of alcoholic drinks in the Philippines.

But recently, the thieves were carting off entire tree trunks, measuring about one metre in diameter, to be used as construction material, Mannan said.