FINAL VERSION FOR APPROVAL - Sdn Bhd - WWF Malaysia

Gunung Stong State Park Preliminary Management Plan
iv.
Catchment Forests
v. Forests under Wildlife Reserves
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
Virgin Jungle Reserves
Recreational Forests
Educational Forests
Forest for Research or Scientific purposes
x. Forest for Federal purposes
Of the 10 forest reserve categories, only the first category (forest for sustained yield
production) is a production forest while all the other nine categories are protection forests. In
2001, the state of Perlis made an amendment to the National Forestry Act 1984, adding an
extra category (xi) for the creation of the state park. This allowed the state forestry
department to establish and manage the Perlis State Park. The state of Kelantan, following
the precedent, made a similar amendment to the state forestry enactment to allow for the
establishment of state parks managed by the state government. This legislation, known as the
National Forestry Act (Amendment) Enactment 2004 will be used to establish the Gunung
Stong State Park (GSSP).
Greater interest generated through extensive press coverage on the series of NGO-led
scientific expeditions to Endau-Rompin (1985) and Belum (1992, 1998), had a snowball
effect: more Malaysians wanted to experience the forests, and while doing so, were exposed
to degraded forests, thus the rising expectation that more forests should be placed within the
protected area system. Thus the formation of Endau-Rompin National Park (1989), Perlis
State Park (2000), Penang National Park (2001), the Royal Belum State Park (2003), and
recently, the intention to set aside 107,000 ha of forests in Selangor for conservation through
the Selangor Heritage Park.
The formation of new protected areas was also due to Malaysia’s commitment to
conservation, as a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the greater
interest towards the latent economic potential of biodiversity (in the form of biotechnology).
Some of the important events related to protected area management in Peninsular Malaysia
are as summarised in Table 1.2.
Table 1.2: Selected Milestones of Protected Area (PA) Management in Peninsular Malaysia
Date
Event
1902 Wild Animals and Birds Protection Enactment passed, allowing establishment of
Game Reserves.
1903 Establishment of Chior Game Reserve as first Game Reserve.
1932 Wildlife Commission Report of Malaya by T.R. Hubback, early guide for PA.
1939 Taman Negara established as the first National Park.
1940 Malaysian Nature Society formed as first local conservation NGO.
1948-1989 Large forested areas declared security areas, due to the first (1948-1960) and
second Emergency (1960-1989).
1954 Aboriginal Peoples Act passed, covering the rights of aboriginal peoples, even in
PAs.
1955 Wild Animals and Wild Birds Ordinance by Federal Government to clarify state
PA laws.
1965 National Land Code passed, section 62 of which allows states to establish PAs.
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