Pahang assures an expansion of forested regions – Wan Rosdy

The state government has given assurances to ensure that forested areas in Pahang will continue to increase in the future.

Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail, said that so far, Pahang has a forest area of 2.06 million hectares, representing 57 percent of the state’s area, thus becoming the largest contributor to forested areas in Peninsular Malaysia.

“More importantly, I would like to state here that our 57 percent protected forest reserves, God willing, will not decrease and may increase.

“An area of 1.6 million hectares is a permanent forest reserve (HSK) area managed based on sustainable forest management practices.

“In fact, the state government has also gazetted an area of ​​645,751 hectares or 40 percent of the HSK as a protection forest which cannot be touched, let alone disturbed for forest exploitation work,”

The state government has promised that Pahang’s forests will continue to grow in the years to come.

Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail, said that Pahang’s forests cover 2.06 million hectares, which is 57% of the state’s land size and makes it the biggest forest producer in Peninsular Malaysia.

After the Pahang State Level International Forest Day 2024 Celebration Ceremony on Monday at the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Pahang Branch Raub Campus, he told reporters this.

The Exco for Pahang Agriculture, Agro-Based Industry, Biotechnology, and Education, Datuk Seri Ir Mohd Soffi Abd. Razak, and the Director of Pahang Forestry, Zainuddin Jamaluddin, were also there.

According to Wan Rosdy, the state government’s strong stance against any illegal land exploration activities, including illegal logging, has yielded positive outcomes.

He stated that those responsible would still face court proceedings and would no longer receive plots as they had previously.

Thank God, this action has had an effect and has stopped people from illegally exploring land in this state. Things seem to be changing.

“We have brought 105 cases to court so far, and I believe this number is decreasing. Although I do not want to interfere, I ask the court to impose the maximum sentence because it is detrimental to the state government’s revenue,” he stated.

As a result of the situation, he said, the Pahang State Forestry Department (JPNP) has become one of the main sources of income, bringing in RM1 billion every year. We can achieve this over the next three years by implementing regulations and collecting compounds.

He said that the JPNP provided almost RM100 million in forest collection income, which helped the state raise RM1.144 billion up to November.

Also, he said that Pahang is now looking into the possibility of selling carbon (carbon credits) through healthy forest management.

In addition to helping the world absorb carbon, this project also helps the state’s economy by promoting green growth.

He stated, “We hope this effort will assist the state government in advancing Pahang’s implementation of the Netzero Agenda by 2030, ahead of the National Netzero Policy 2050.”