FINAL VERSION FOR APPROVAL - Sdn Bhd - WWF Malaysia

Gunung Stong State Park Preliminary Management Plan
In terms of the practical application of the ecosystem approach with regard to GSSP, the
GSSP is considered to be part of a larger ecosystem comprising the Gunung Stong Utara
Forest Reserve and the Gunung Stong Selatan Forest Reserve as well as state land forests
occurring on the Stong Migmatic Complex. The management of GSSP therefore has to be
seen from a broader perspective, incorporating the surrounding forest reserves as well as the
agricultural land along its borders.
6.2.2 Precautionary Principle
There is no single definition for the precautionary principle but generally it means that if the
risks to the environment are serious, and understanding of those risks is inadequate, then steps
should be immediately taken to prevent harm. The precautionary principle was included in the
1992 Rio Declaration of Environment and Development as Principle 15 which reads:
“Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty
should not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent
environmental degradation”.
This uncertainty is due to many reasons, including our lack of understanding regarding the
biology of species and of the complex interactions between different species in a given
ecosystem. The precautionary principle could also be interpreted to mean that a management
action should not be implemented unless there is good reason to believe that it would not
cause irreversible harm to the environment.
6.2.3 Adaptive Management
As there is a lack of specialised programmes for protected area managers, as well as a
shortage of skilled personnel, the staff of GSSP will have to be trained on-the-job. This will
require an adaptive management approach which is a cyclical approach to management that
learns from success and failures, seeking to make continuous improvement. Each cycle is
composed of the following key steps:
• Formulation of management framework and actions based on available knowledge.
• Implementation of management actions as formulated.
• Monitoring and assessment of the effectiveness of management actions.
• Modification of management approaches and actions as required.
Adaptive management is a management tool that was developed to deal with uncertainty. It
emphasises provisional, reversible decision-making, with careful monitoring of impacts in
order to refine decision-making. A more thorough description of adaptive management is
provided by Bormann et al. (1999) and, in a more localised context, by DWNP/DANCED
(2001b).
6.3 Legislation and Law Enforcement
6.3.1 Gazettement of GSSP
The GSSP is to be established following the Perlis State Park model, and for all means and
purposes, management will be under the Forestry Department, albeit under a new unit (State
Park or Protected Area Unit) within the Kelantan State Forestry Department.
The enabling legislation for the gazettement of GSSP is the National Forestry Act
(Amendment) Enactment 2004 of Kelantan. The Enactment was passed by the State
Legislative Assembly on 29 June 2004 and published in the Kelantan Government Gazette on
29 July 2004.
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