MERSING SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION ON BIODIVERSITY TO STIMULATE JOHOR ECOTOURISM - LING

MERSING, Sept 17 (Bernama) -- The Scientific Expedition on Biodiversity in the Gunung Arong Forest Reserve can stimulate ecotourism activities as well as attract more tourists to the state.

State Health and Environment committee chairman Ling Tian Soon said the expedition jointly organised by the Johor State Forestry Department, the Mersing District Office, the Peninsular Malaysia Forestry Department and the Global Environment Centre focused on collecting data on biological diversity and forest resources for planning the development and preservation of Johor's natural treasures.

He said the five-day expedition starting today, involving 132 participants from various agencies, higher education institutions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), was one of the proactive steps in exploring the treasures found in the forest reserve.

"This expedition can also help us identify species of flora and fauna that have never been discovered before and new discoveries can be turned into treasure or developed as an ecotourism product," he told Bernama here today.

Ling said this after launching the departure of the expedition participants at Maktab Rendah Sains Mara Mersing (Junior Science College) to Mount Arong.

Also present was Mersing District Officer Jamil Hasni Abdullah.

Ling added that the state government will continue to be committed to conserve and manage biodiversity in a sustainable way to maintain the balance of the ecosystem.

"Towards that end, we have implemented initiatives including tree-planting, 'coral-planting' (repopulate damaged reefs) and are studying areas for carbon credits.

"Recently, there have also been human-wildlife conflicts reported in this district. Therefore, this is the time that we need to carry out a comprehensive study before making any decisions or setting any policies in the future," he said.

Social media has gone viral on the presence of several wild elephants in Kampung Triang Besar and two fishermen who claimed to have come across the endangered tiger near the Felda Nitar 2 oil palm plantation here.

-- BERNAMA