5.8 MILLION TREES PLANTED ON 2,150 HECTARES SINCE 2005

KOTA KINABALU (Sabah, Malaysia) Oct 5 (Bernama) -- A total of 5.8 million
mangrove trees and other suitable species had been planted on 2,150 hectares
nationwide, since the tree-planting programme along coastal areas began in 2005
until September this year.

The Director-General of the Peninsular Malaysia Forestry Department, Razani
Ujang, said the tree-planting programme had been implemented successfully
in collaboration with the respective State Forestry Departments including in
the east Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak.

The federal government, through the Ministry of Natural Resources and
Environment, had provided a special fund of almost RM40 million (US$12.9
million) to implement the programme under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP), he said
at the launching of the National Seminar on the Conservation of Coastal Forests
2010, here today.

Cooperation between the federal government agencies, state governments,
local governments, research institutions, the non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) and the local community must be maintained to ensure the continuity of
the programme under the 10MP, he said.

Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman, when opening the seminar, said permanent
forest management in Malaysia was among the best compared to the other
tropical countries and the Sabah state government would continue to support
positive efforts to ensure that the mangrove forests were preserved.
-- BERNAMA