New Straits Times 26 Mar 14;
JOHOR BARU: The Malaysia Nature Society has expressed regret over the state government's plan to de-gazette two Ramsar wetlands here.
Its Johor branch chairman Vincent Chow said the delisting would mean the Ramsar sites would be vulnerable to continuous degradation and destruction, adding that the country stands to lose one of the biggest mangrove reserves if the state government gave up its commitment to environmental conservation.
He said the state had fought hard to get the listing about a decade ago.
"Man has to learn to co-exist with nature, not to destroy it for individual gains. Coastal mangrove vegetation takes hundreds of years to stabilise or settle down. Once a mangrove reserve is degraded or destroyed, it will never recover.
"Our future generation may not be able to see mangrove reserves like what we are seeing now. I hope the state government will exercise caution before making any decision which will have a negative long term impact on the environment."
Chow was responding to an NST article that the two Johor wetlands, which were accorded Ramsar status in 2003, will soon lose their listing.
The Ramsar listing is an international list of important wetlands that come under the Ramsar Convention, which champions conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.
The irony is that the degazettement is not due to the Ramsar Bureau having decided that the wetlands were no longer worthy. Instead, it is the Johor government which is seeking to degazette them on its own initiative.
State Health and Envoronment Executive committee chairman Ayub Rahmat said only the Pulau Kukup and Tanjung Piai sites were officially gazetted in 2003, adding that the Sungai Pulai site was never gazetted as a wetland.
It was learnt that the state government was finalising discussions on the de-gazetting exercise, which would also involve environmental bodies such as the World Wide Fund for Nature, which is responsible for protecting endangered wildlife and the environment.
The two Ramsar sites in Johor, Pulau Kukup and Tanjung Piai, were gazetted about a decade ago under the administration of former menteri besar, Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman, due to their rich and unique biodiversity, as well as their unspoilt mangrove plants and extensive mudflats.
However, coastal erosion and development has taken a toll on the ecology of the environmental golden triangle in southwest Johor.
The state government also planned to reduce the size of the Sungai Pulai wetlands.
The wetlands in Sungai Pulai and its estuary, especially near Pulau Merambong, are a sanctuary for marine creatures, such as seahorses and dugongs.
Chow said the Sungai Pulai wetlands is a breeding ground for many marine species, including those from the Straits of Malacca, as the wetlands is well-sheltered from erosion and waves.
