Awang Tengah: Bako, Lambir Hills National Parks nominated as Asean Heritage Parks
Photo shows part of the Bako National Park coastline. – SFC photo
KUCHING (May 28): Two national parks in Sarawak have been nominated as Asean Heritage Parks (AHPs) following the successful inscription of Niah National Park as a Unesco World Heritage Site last year, said Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan.
He said the two parks are Bako National Park in Kuching and Lambir Hills National Park in Miri.
'An assessment by the Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) has been carried out and the results of this assessment are expected to be known in September 2025,' he told the august House at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) Sitting today.
According to the ACB, AHPs are defined as 'protected areas of high conservation importance, preserving in total a complete spectrum of representative ecosystems of the Asean region.' These areas are established to generate greater awareness, pride, appreciation, enjoyment and conservation of Asean's rich natural heritage, through a regional network of representative protected areas, and to generate greater collaboration among Asean Member States (AMS) in preserving their shared natural heritage.
Bako National Park, which was gazetted as a protected area in 1957, is the oldest national park in Sarawak. It covers 2,742 hectares at the tip of the Muara Tebas peninsula.
Lambir Hills National Park spans 6,949 hectares of naturally formed hilly terrain and is home to around 1,200 species of trees and an equal number of insect species.
Awang Tengah, who is Second Natural Resources and Urban Development Minister, also updated the august House on Sarawak's progress in obtaining the Unesco Global Geopark Site recognition for Sarawak Delta Geopark in 2026.
'We are currently in the final stages of preparations for the Unesco assessment scheduled for June 22 to 25, 2025.
'To ensure that all preparations run smoothly, two pre-assessment sessions were conducted in April and May 2025,' he said. Asean Heritage Parks Bako National Park Lambir Hills National Park lead
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