PUTRAJAYA, Sept 7 — The Department of Environment (DOE) has yet to receive an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report from the Selangor government on the proposed development at the Sungai Panjang Permanent Forest Reserve (HSK) in Sabak Bernam, Selangor, says Environment and Water Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.
He said according to Section 34A of the Environmental Quality Act 1974 (Act 127), an EIA report was required to enable the assessment of the development’s impact on the environment to be carried out.
Speaking at a press conference after announcing his ministry’s key targets within the first 100 days here today, he said the report would enable the DOE to recommend measures to be taken to prevent, reduce or control negative impacts on the environment.
“Any decision on whether the development work at HSK Sungai Panjang, Sabak Bernam area should be continued or not, is subject to the results of the EIA report,” he said, adding that the report must be prepared by a qualified person and meet DOE guidelines.
Yesterday, the Selangor Agricultural Development Corporation (SADC) through a media report denied allegations it had encroached and opened part of the HSK Sungai Panjang area, which is said to be a replacement forest following the degazettement of the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve (KLNFR).
The report said PKPS was preparing the EIA report and had complied with all recommendations and instructions of the Selangor DOE before beginning development work on the Selangor Smart Agro Park site as instructed by the DOE through the approval letter dated May 31.
Tuan Ibrahim, meanwhile, said his ministry was open to offering consultation services and having engagement sessions with the Selangor Government to find the best way to implement the development proposal.
“My ministry’s priority is to ensure that every development project is implemented sustainably without having a negative impact on the environment,” he said.
On the degazettement of KLNFR, Tuan Ibrahim said his ministry was of the same view as the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, which did not agree with the proposal.
He said such a proposal would affect the carbon intensity reduction target based on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 45 per cent by 2030 under the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for this year.
During a state assembly sitting on Aug 30, Selangor Tourism, Environment, Green Technology and Orang Asli Affairs Standing Committee chairman Hee Loy Sian reportedly said that about 536.7 hectares of the KLNFR area had been approved for degazettement under Section 12 of the National Forestry Act (Adoption) Enactment 1985.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
