Nelson Benjamin The Star 5 Nov 11;
JOHOR BARU: There is an urgent need to protect the state’s mangrove swamps as they are all disappearing fast, as presently only 2% of the areas identified are left compared to 2,710ha gazetted 60 years ago.
Previously, 2,710ha of swamps along the Straits of Malacca from Ledang to Tanjung Piai and Pulau Kukup in Pontian had been gazetted as the Benut permanent forest reserve in 1950.
However, presently the Benut reserve only comprises 61.3ha as state authorities have been converting the land for other use in stages beginning 1961 until 2005, the Auditor-General’s Report 2010 said.
The report also discovered that four major areas with mangrove swamps belonging to the state government and Johor National Parks totalling 12,756ha have yet to be gazetted as permanent forest reserves despite being approved by the state authorities in 2005.
The mangrove swamps in Muar, Batu Pahat, Pontian and Pulau Kukup, which were still marked as proposed sites for forest reserves, have since been encroached by people who have started building houses and started farming on the land.
Some of the proposed areas in Tanjung Tohor in Muar and Batu Pahat have also “disappeared” due to severe soil erosion in the area.
The report also pointed out that the related agencies including the district land office and Forestry Department were unable to take action against those encroaching into the swamp areas as they have yet to be gazetted.
On the planting of mangrove trees along the Straits of Johor, the report pointed out that the project was not successful as 67% of the seedlings planted did not survive.
The report pointed out that RM270,000 had been spent on 10 such projects between 2006 to 2010 but only three projects in Muar and Benut were successful.
“In some areas in Batu Pahat, 80% to 100% of the seedlings died either due to vandalism by the locals, strong waves, pollution or even disturbances from livestock,” the report stated.
The report also stated that garbage from a landfill in Pontian had also destroyed some of the mangroves in the area after strong waves caused the banks of the site to collapse, spewing rubbish into the sea.
The Forestry Department has also been reminded to speed up its 10-year plan on the management of mangrove swamps between 2010 to 2019, as presently the plan has yet to be completed since the 2000 to 2009 plan ended.
The report also outlined three suggestions to the Forestry Department and the district land office to take to rectify the problems including to speed up the gazetting of mangrove swamps as permanent forest reserves and to cooperate with the Drainage and Irrigation Department to build geotubes to reduce the intensity of the waves to enable mangrove saplings to grow better.
The district land office has also been reminded to come up with clear guidelines to ensure no land titles were issued especially in areas near the sea or beside rivers and also for strict action to be taken against those encroaching into government land.
