This endeavour is pending studies and legal formalities concerning the site, said state Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh.
This assurance came after The Star reported experts’ concerns that the area’s current land-use zoning of “industrial aquaculture” at the forest in Penaga, 11km north of Butterworth, might affect the haven for migratory birds that also serves as a natural defence against tsunamis.
The daily reported that there is large aquaculture activity within the Penaga mangrove forests close to the shore facing the Malacca Straits.
This has further fuelled the worries of experts and local fishermen, who fear more of such forests might be cleared.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Penang assembly today, Phee said early survey work to gazette areas of the mangrove forest had begun long ago.
He said a high-powered committee, with officials from the district office and Forestry Department, had been deliberating on the finer details of the borders of the forest reserve.
Phee said, ultimately, a balance must be struck between economic needs, such as aquaculture, as a form of food security, and jobs for the locals.
He said the state was taking a practical approach with biodiversity in mind in deciding what needs to be done there.
“Nevertheless, we are considering all concerns raised. We are putting biodiversity at the top of the list when deciding what is next and best for the forest,” he said.
Phee said the current aquaculture activities at the area appeared to have been allowed since the early 2000s during the previous state administration.
He said other than the 194ha documented for aquaculture activities, the rest will be gazetted as forest reserve.
Phee said the groups which ran the aquaculture farms had applied for an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for an aquaculture industry zone in the area but this was rejected in 2016.
He said the EIA was rejected due to stringent guidelines and conditions.
Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Foong Swee Yeok, who is a mangrove ecologist, said it was better for the authorities to turn the mangrove forest into a nature tourism site.
He told The Star that tourism could bring RM100 million a year, comparing the area to Hong Kong’s Mai Po Marshes nature reserve.