SIK (Bernama): About 3,500ha of forest reserves in Kedah were found to have been illegally cleared from 2011 until now, says Kedah Forestry Department director Muhamad Abdullah.

       He said illegal land exploration by irresponsible parties was mostly done for agricultural purposes such as oil palm, durian and rubber tree planting, besides opening new settlements.

       “For newly explored areas, we conduct demolition and reforestation efforts while for areas that have been explored for a long time and produce yields, we will seek directives from the state government for further action.

       “To date, we have detained 20 individuals in connection with forest encroachment cases and the investigation papers are being prepared before we hand them over to the deputy public prosecutor,” he told reporters on Sunday (Sept 12) after a tree-planting programme in conjunction with the 100 Million Tree-Planting Campaign 2021-2025 at the Bukit Enggang Forest Reserve here.

       Muhamad said illegal land encroachment in forest reserves could result in the destruction of biodiversity in the affected areas as well as the loss of forest products by the state.

       On the 100 Million Tree-Planting Campaign, he said the department aimed to plant 2.75 million trees in areas that have been identified, with 550,000 trees to be planted annually until 2025. – Bernama