The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources has suggested that state governments conserve their jungles to obtain sustainable income through tourism instead of logging them.
Minister Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah said the Federal Government understood that logging was a source of income but believed there were better alternatives of generating income from the jungles.
“We want to encourage state governments to avoid cutting down their forests but to use them for sustainable activities which can bring income, ” he said.
He was speaking to reporters after attending a tree planting programme on the fringes of Pantai Senok in Bachok, Kelantan.
He also planted 100 Casuarina trees in conjunction with the Plant 100 Million Trees campaign during the event.
Commenting further, Shamsul Anuar said the ministry had set up an Eco-Tourism Unit to transform areas that were planted with trees into locations for tourism.
“We aspire to compete with what is available in South Korea’s Nami Island.
“Pantai Senok is one of the areas we wish to spruce up and make more attractive.
“This area will become a tourism attraction if there is good planning, despite the absence of snow.
“It can become a source of income without locals having to cut down the trees, ” he added. — Bernama
