LANGKAWI – Kedah has refuted illegal logging claims raised by a civil society group, with its menteri besar saying a satellite image provided of the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve area is inaccurate.
In a statement yesterday, Menteri Besar Muhammed Sanusi Md Nor said the satellite image revealed by the group was an inaccurate depiction of the logging status in Kedah.
“It showed activities of logging at the Bukit Keramat Forest Reserve in the Padang Terap district. The area is not part of the Ulu Muda area.”
Sanusi said the group needed to be responsible in its reporting instead of trying to sow confusion in the state.
The Bukit Keramat forest reserve is divided into two sections – one that allows logging while another is for conservation, it said.
The reserve, which spans 11,105ha, was gazetted as a protective area in 2013. The one that permits logging is 5,206ha.
On December 1, 2017, Sanusi said that the state’s natural resources committee had approved that 1,400ha out of the 5,206ha to be allowed for logging and on December 14 that same year, another 380ha was approved.
“There was no logging done at the permanent forest reserve area.”
A company called Tradewinds was awarded a concession for the logging contract, while Rimba Inas Enterprise was later also given a similar approval.
Sanusi said since PAS took over the state government last May, there has not been any logging activities in the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve.
“And, there is no issue on whether such activities can compromise the state’s opportunity to receive grants from the federal government or from international conservationist movements, such as EFT (Ecological Fiscal Transfer) and REDD Plus to disallow logging.” – The Vibes, November 25, 2020
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