RimbaWatch urges halt to road projects threatening wildlife habitats
RimbaWatch highlighted several road projects that will allegedly cut through the Al-Sultan Abdullah Royal Tiger Reserve as well as the Titiwangsa Range through the Gapau and Lenggeng permanent forest reserves. (File pic)
PETALING JAYA : An environmental watchdog has called for a halt to several projects that allegedly cut through sensitive wildlife habitats following the death of a baby elephant in a collision along the East-West Highway in Gerik, Perak, on Sunday.
In a statement, RimbaWatch asked the government to immediately issue a permanent stop-work order for the road projects and other similar projects that would allegedly extend across sensitive ecosystems.
It highlighted three environmental impact assessments: two approved by the department of environment in 2022, and another for road projects approved in 2023.
It said that in 2022, approval was granted for the construction of Phase 3A of Jalan Kampung Pasir Raja in Hulu Dungun, as well as Zone A of Jalan Kampung Mat Daling in Jerantut, both leading to the Terengganu-Pahang border.
It said these involved a 52km road which would cut through the Al-Sultan Abdullah Royal Tiger Reserve, intended to be a core habitat for numerous wild cat species including the Malayan tiger, as well as other endangered species such as the Asian elephant and Malayan Tapir.
'The area has been protected under 'hutan perlindungan' status for some time, and RimbaWatch believes this to be a virgin forest which has never been logged before,' it said.
The 2023 approval meanwhile was for a new road from Kampung Gagu in Ulu Beranang, Negeri Sembilan, involving a 15km road that would cut through the Titiwangsa Range through the Gapau and Lenggeng permanent forest reserves, it said.
'Human-animal conflict has already materialised from the expansion of roads into these areas. In 2022, a tiger was spotted on a newly-built road near Kampung Mat Daling.
'In April, a black panther mauled a lorry driver who had briefly stopped his vehicle by the roadside in Bukit Tangga, on an existing road which also dissects the Gapau and Lenggeng forest reserves,' RimbaWatch said.
It said there was no way to build highways through highly sensitive protected areas without causing deforestation, severely hindering wildlife connectivity, and exposing endangered species to danger through roadkill, human-wildlife conflict, and poaching.
'We also question the effectiveness of constructing new highways through mountain ranges as a solution to connectivity issues. For example, the Kampung Gagu-Ulu Beranang road is parallel to an already existing road,' it added.
The watchdog urged Putrajaya to instead improve public transport connectivity outside main cities, including by reviving historical rail lines and establishing new networks on, or adjacent to, existing infrastructural right of ways.
It said that in the past, smaller towns such as Kuala Sepetang, Port Dickson, and Kuala Pilah had been connected via rail, which could provide an effective template to promote greater connectivity through establishing a safe, fast, and affordable rail network outside cities.
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