SERIAN: Some 600 buckthorn saplings have been planted at the Mount Apeng National Park here.
A programme over the weekend drew 150 participants, including 80 students from SMK Balai Ringin, SK Krait, SK St Norbert and SK Triang, and residents of Kampung Paon Gahat and Kampung Tong Nibong.
The tree-planting activity was organised by the Forestry Department in collaboration with the Japan-Malaysia Association (JMA), Kinoshita Group, and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), was held in conjunction with the state-level International Forest Day celebration and the 100th anniversary of the Forestry Department (JHS).
Forestry Department director Hamden Mohammad said as an agency that oversaw matters relating to the forest ecosystem, the department would continue to work with stakeholders, particularly corporate partners, to be involved in forest landscape restoration (FLR).
“I’m very grateful to JMA and Kinoshita Group, Mitsubishi and other organisations involved in the efforts to preserve and conserve the forests of Mount Apeng, Serian.
“Since 2018, JMA and Kinoshita Group have carried out tree-planting projects involving locals.
“Since that time, 60,000 saplings of local species in a total area of 300ha have been planted in Mount Apeng. I’m also very grateful to the villagers around Gunung Apeng, Kampung Paon Gahat and Kampung Nibong for their cooperation and dedication to conserve the forest resources here,” he said.
Among the objectives of the Gunung Apeng National Park programme was to raise awareness among the community about the ecosystem and the environment as a whole.
Also present during the programme were JMA executive director Arai Takuji and Kinoshita Group, Prof Dr Hamsawi Sani from Unimas, and JMA Sarawak coordinator Kazue Sakai.
