KUALA LUMPUR: The Coalition for the Protection of Selangor Forests (CPSF) has urged the Selangor government to revoke the degazettement of the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve (KLNFR).
In a statement today, the coalition said the justification for degazettment by the state government that KLNFR had no tall trees remaining was false.
On the contrary, CPSF said KLNFR was in fact dominated by forests of tall, diverse, rainforest trees of critical conservation importance and must be conserved.
CPSF confirmed that this was the second time that the Selangor State Agriculture Corporation (PKPS), chaired by Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, had destroyed portions of the forest, now designated as the Sungai Panjang Forest Reserve.
Despite the stop work order issued by the Department of Environment for clearing the forest without undertaking an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), CPSF claimed that PKPS continued to clear the site until May 2021 based on satellite analysis. PKPS is currently facing legal action by the DOE.
"The coalition is concerned that the state government has given false information to justify the degazettement of KLNFR allowing it to be cleared for a mixed development project.
"The coalition is calling for immediate revocation of the de-gazettement of the 536.7ha of the KLNFR, returning it to its original size.
"The coalition is also calling for legal action to be taken against PKPS for clearing the peat swamp forest without an EIA approval and continuing to clear the forest after receiving a stop work order," it said in a statement today.
A group of Orang Asli from several settlements there, along with environmental groups, had last year protested against the degazettement plan and suggested rehabilitation efforts to prevent the occurrence of bushfires in the area.
The state government cited the degraded areas caused by the recurring fires as one of the reasons for the redevelopment proposal, besides the claim of no remaining tall trees.
CPSF has also urged the Selangor Menteri Besar and state executive councillors to conduct a site visit together with the coalition and the Orang Asli to see for themselves the quality of the forest cover in KLNFR especially the 537ha degazetted area.