KUALA LUMPUR – An environmental watchdog has slammed the Kelantan government over an “unprecedented” proposal to remove all environmentally sensitive areas (ESAs) classifications, including for Taman Negara and other forests in Gua Musang, from its state plans.
RimbaWatch said it is appalled by the alterations, which it claimed to be a serious affront to biodiversity, human rights and Malaysia’s efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
“Given that these areas are now procedurally easier to deforest and convert to plantations without the ESA classification, we question the motive of the Kelantan authorities in doing this.
“We summon the Town and Country Planning Department and Forestry Department to make transparent their reasons for proposing these changes and we call on the Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Ministry to intervene to protect the remaining forests of Kelantan,” it said in a statement today.
The draft alterations to the Kelantan State Structure Plan, Local Plan and Special Area Plan claim that the removal of ESA classifications from forest reserves in Kelantan’s development plans have already been agreed upon by the state executive council on October 21, 2020.
Also, Kelantan’s Town and Country Planning Department has made public the draft alterations from October 11 to November 11, 2023 for any objections to be made in writing.
The proposed alterations are summarised as below:
1. All ESa are removed from the Kelantan State Structure Plan, Local Plan for Gua Musang, Tanah Merah, Kuala Krai, Pasir Puteh, Machang and Jeli and the Special Area Plan for Lojing. A few areas are retained as water catchment forests while the rest are now blank spaces on the maps.
2. The ESA Rank 1 classification for Taman Negara has been removed.
3. The ESA Rank 1 and 2 classifications for the forests west of Gua Musang have been removed. This eliminates the little protection that the ESA afforded to the traditional territories of Wias, Pasik, Gob, Simpor, Tohoi, Depa, Bihai, Angkek, Tapai, Balar, Enching, Hau and Kelaik, as well as all Temiar Orang Asli territories, from development.
4. A new water catchment forest has been added with the label of Empangan Lebir, indicating Kelantan’s intention to proceed with the dam project in the future.
5. In Gua Musang and Jeli districts alone, of the 467,440ha of mostly forested land which was in ESA Rank 1 or 2 areas, only 56,143ha have been retained as water catchment forests, which is a reduction in protection status of 88%. This leaves the remaining 411,297ha now vulnerable to development with few or no restrictions.
Previously, the state would spatially identify three ranks of ESAs in such plans, and in theory restrictions are placed on developments within those areas, usually forest reserves, due to their importance in ecosystem services and reducing disaster risk.
In the Fourth National Physical Plan, “no land conversion or development” is allowed in ESA Rank 1 areas and developments must follow strict conditions in ESA Rank 2 areas.
The classification of an ESA as Rank 1 or 2 protects certain areas, usually hilly, mountainous and intact forest reserves, from development, and communities around such areas from the risk of disasters. – October 21, 2023