Forest director: New airport, port site at Tg Embang mostly nipa palm and mangrove, won’t affect forest reserves

(From sixth left) Zainel, Abdullah, and Hamden are seen with other officials at the event. — Photo by Roystein EmmorKUCHING (April 15): The proposed new airport and deep-sea port in Tanjung Embang will not impact Sarawak’s existing forest reserves, said Sarawak director of forests Datu Hamden Mohammad.He said the project site lies outside gazetted forest reserves.

“It does not involve forest reserves because the area is mainly coastal swamp and nipa vegetation. It’s not the kind of forest with big trees like inland areas,” he told reporters during Sarawak Forest Department’s Aidilfitri gathering today.“Mangroves are indeed important, but their coverage in the area is not extensive.



In Kuching, mangrove forests are only found in specific areas like Lundu, Sematan, and Salak.”Hamden also pointed out that the largest mangrove forest area in Sarawak lies along the Rajang River Delta, known as the Rajang Mangrove.“Based on our previous data, Sarawak has about 127,000 ha of mangrove forests in total, compared to the state’s overall land area of 12.

5 million hectares. So, the percentage is quite small,” he said.Hamden said following the 2004 tsunami, Sarawak has conducted ongoing mangrove reforestation efforts, as part of broader coastal conservation and ecosystem restoration strategies.

Among those present at the event were Land and Survey Department Sarawak director Datu Abdullah Julaihi and Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC) general manager Zainal Abidin Abdullah.The post Forest director: New airport, port site at Tg Embang mostly nipa palm and mangrove, won’t affect forest reserves appeared first on Borneo Post Online..