Pulau Banding Meet to Promote Belum-Temengor Biodiversity

By Sharen Kaur Published in NST on July 10, 2008 MALAYSIA'S 130 million-year-old Belum-Temengor rainforest complex in northern Perak, located 330km north of Kuala Lumpur, is one of the world's oldest tropical rainforests that needs protection as it is rich with biodiversity. The Belum-Temenggor complex, four times the size of Singapore, comprises the Royal Belum State Park (117,500ha), Gerik Forest Reserve (34,995ha), Temengor forest reserve (147,505ha) and 45000ha of waterbodies, managed by Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB). It is the largest area under forest cover in Peninsular Malaysia after Taman Negara. However, its proximity to the border of Thailand and the presence of guerrillas in its jungles after the Second World War made it a security area right up to the mid-80s. After the Communist Party of Malaya laid down their weapons in 1989, Belum started opening up to fishing and trekking enthusiasts. The Royal Belum, which is still protected by police and military, has a good combination of virgin rainforests, a wealth of wildlife and cultural heritage of the indigenous community to apply for World Heritage. In the last decade, Malaysia Nature Society (MNS) has been proposing to the Perak state government to declare the Belum- Temengor complex as a national park. Royal Belum was gazetted as a state park in 2005. In the age of dwindling natural forest, a group of local authorities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), such as Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM), WWF and MNS with Tan Sri Mustapha Kamal's Emkay Group, are planning to put together a proper integrated management plan (IMP) to promote sustainable development of the Belum-Temengor rainforest ecosystem. The objective of the IMP is to get all related organisations and authorities who are stakeholders in the area to observe standard procedures related to the activities to be conducted in the forest for sustainability. In pushing for the adoption of the IMP, a consultative IMP symposium, led by Pulau Banding Foundation (PBF), will be held at the Belum Rainforest Resort in Pulau Banding, Perak, in October. PBF's founding members are Mustapha Kamal and professor Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Mohamad, chairman of WWF. Its board of trustees include MNS vice-president Datuk Dr Hashim Abd Wahab, WWF chief executive officer Dr Dionysius Sharma, Prof Mashhor Mansor from School of Biological Sciences (USM), former director-general of FRIM Abdul Razak Mohd A. Kadir and Dr D. Baskaran of FRIM. Emkay Group, which owns Pulau Banding, situated on Temengor Lake, will use the island as the catalyst to promote the IMP. Some 119.07ha of the island was acquired from Fima Group for RM15.8 million last year. More than 121.5ha was awarded to Emkay by the Perak state government to transform the island into a premier destination gateway of international eco-tourism into Malaysia in the spirit of maintaining conservation. Pulau Banding now houses the resort, an Orang Asli cultural village, and Pulau Banding Rainforest Research Centre used by researchers, scientists, botanists and forest lovers, also serving as the nucleus for information on the wonders of the Belum-Temengor forest reserve. Mustapha Kamal said the idea of the symposium is to get all the stakeholders of the Belum-Temengor rainforest complex to come forward and put the IMP document in place for presentation to the state government for consideration of the implementation. He said seven papers will be deliberated at the symposium, which is expected to be attended by the Perak state government, state and federal tourism representatives, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, TNB, the NGOs, the wildlife, forestry and fisheries departments. Researchers, university professors, military, marine and police departments, Orang Asli welfare department, Department of Irrigation and Drainage and Perak Water Board are also expected to attend. Mustapha Kamal said the papers presented would cover tourism products, community development projects, infrastructure development, protection of the water bodies, forestry and wildlife and information technology. "The IMP would follow the concept of who does what, when, how, where and who reports to whom. The resources to be provided are timeline, information, budget, personnel and authority," Mustapha Kamal said. "The main idea is to get everybody to work together in synergising the various activities undertaken by the stakeholders," he added. The consultative process with the respective stakeholders is important for the plan as the IMP will control the manner the forest is managed, Mustapha Kamal said. "We want to promote Belum rainforest, which is older than the Amazon and Congo rainforest, as a new eco-tourism destination while caring for the environment," Mustapha Kamal said. Abdul Latiff said it is crucial to implement the IMP to safeguard Belum-Temengor's culture, nature and history. "If we have the IMP in place, management of the Belum-Temengor rainforest will be smooth and efficient while the area will be protected for generations to enjoy its natural habitats," he said. In preparing the IMP, some RM750,000 will be needed. PBF may call upon the state government to take the lead in realising the greatly needed intergrated management plan. PBF is planning to collaborate with multinational companies, corporate firms, research institutes and international bodies to come forward and explore the nature trove of Belum-Temengor rainforest, find and formulate substances to create pharmaceutical products to cure illnesses. Since Emkay took over Pulau Banding, it has helped the local Orang Asli community with additional income by creating jobs for them. Emkay, through Educate To Learn (E2L) Sdn Bhd, has also set up three toy libraries for RM375,000 in three Orang Asli villages within the rainforest complex to stimulate the minds of the children for a better future. The toy libraries are run by the community themselves. Emkay is also working with Mercy Malaysia and Malaysia Medical Association Foundation to provide medical aid, such as dental services for the Orang Asli community.