Grant Agreement Nr. WGP2 - 18 GPI 37

Agreement holder: Dr. Sundari Ramakrishna
Wetlands International- Malaysia Office
3A39, Kelana Centre Point, No 3 Jalan SS7/19
Kelana Jaya , 47301Petaling Jaya
Selangor D.E., Malaysia

Country/region: Malaysia

Activity period: 1 January 2003 - 31 December 2003

Documentation and products available:

• Final report with Finance Report
• Technical outputs

1. Workshop Report on Public Awareness Program for Promotion of Peat Swamp Forest
Conservation
2. Technical Report on Sectoral Needs on Peat Swamp Forest Conservation and Management in Malaysia
3. Brochure on Peat Swamp forest
4. Booklet on the Diminishing Black Water Forest for public awareness raisin
5. Information Pack for Peat Swamp Forest managers

Perceptions on Peat Swamp Forests (PSF), including those of decision makers at state and federal level in Malaysia, generally reflect a lack of understanding of their functions and values. Many decisions on regional development are therefore made without taking into account the ecosystem functions of PSF. Resulting poor land use planning have caused floods as well as the drainage of peat soils, subsequently followed by unprecedented peat and forest fires. Little information is available to the general public about PSF. The PSF resource falls under state jurisdiction, and decision makers at state level were therefore the project's main target group.
Main problems or needs to be addressed at both the state and federal level included: Need for more PSF conservation areas, awareness raising on benefits and values of PSF, fire prevention, improving buffer zone management, improved water management, and integrated planning and enhancing inter-agency coordination.
Three of the largest protected areas of PSF under state legislation are the (a) South East Pahang Forest Reserve, Pahang, (b) Klias Peninsular in Sabah and (c) Loagan Bunut National Park, Sarawak. Here PSF also extends to outside the protected areas. The protection status can be easily degazetted. Conversion to other land uses of some areas can have major impact on adjacent PSF which is insufficiently recognised by decision makers and PSF managers.

Objective 1: Identify key peatland areas and sectoral needs in Malaysia.

Activities

• Identification of key peatland areas in Malaysia.

• Assessing the sectoral needs of these areas through a workshop forum.

• Field visits and consultations.

• Production of sectoral needs assessment.

• Development of an information kit for site owners and managers on peatland conservation and management.

• Meeting with key decision makers in the Inter Agency Planning Group Consultations conducted by the Federal Economic Planning Unit.

Objective 2: Raise awareness on the functions and benefits of peatlands.

Activities:

• Facilite the establishment of a network of improved visitor facilities at three significant peatland sites in Malaysia as a means of achieving increased public awareness and appreciation of peatlands and forming a basis to sharing experiences between the managers and their respective landowners.

• Develop public awareness and dissemination materials for the centers i.e. brochures, leaflets, posters.

• Production of a simple and attractive information booklet for the public on socio-economics and conservation importance of peatlands.

• Twice a year meeting with all the peatland managers to share experiences and lessons learned.

Outputs

• A technical report on the sectoral needs of key peatland area in Malaysia, as a basis for further inter-sectoral discussions.

• Information kit in local language (Bahasa Melayu and English); containing detailed information and guidelines on management of PSF; 2000 copies; dissemination to all state forestry departments and universities.

• Greatly enhanced awareness of peatland values and benefits to a wide and diverse audience.

• Media articles on PSF in the newspapers as a result of the public awareness raising workshop in Melaka, July 2003, which targeted both the print and broadcast media.

• WI was not successful in putting an agenda on PSF at the last meeting of the Inter Agency Planning Group held in October 2003

Outputs

• Plans have been developed for improved visitor facilities for peatlands managed by individual state forest departments at 3 sites having a strong link and network of sharing information.

• Public awareness and information materials on peat lands were produced and disseminated, including 3000 user-friendly public awareness brochures.

• The project decided to not produce a poster as this was already done in a DANCED project 3 years ago for Peninsular Malaysia.

• 2000 copies of a simple, easily understandable booklet for popular use was developed outlining the functions, benefits, and biodiversity importance of PSF with illustrations.

• The peatland managers of the 3 sites met in August 2003 to share experience about management and conservation aspects of PSF. This was carried out in collaboration with the UNDP-GEF project on PSF.

• Improvement in networking amongst the 3 key sites (Sabah, Sarawak, Pahang) was achieved through a Forum on sectoral needs of PSF management and during a national seminar on forest management practices held at FRIM.

• By the end of the project some materials were still awaiting further dissemination, which will be implemented post-project.

The project was successful to a certain extent by creating interest and awareness on peat swamp forest ecosystems. The awareness in relevant state agencies of the complexities of PSF management was enhanced, particularly with regard to the importance of hydrology, and its status as a threatened ecosystem with vulnerable species. The outputs in the form of technical and workshop reports, materials for information dissemination such as the brochure, booklet and the technical information pack for PSF managers are useful in enhancing better management practises and improving the knowledge base of all the three target groups (i.e. PSF managers, decision makers and the public). The project also helped to strengthen networks and stimulated the sharing of experiences amongst site managers and developers.
The project has made clear that it is difficult to achieve sound land-use planning in peat swamp forests as long as planning and decision making is in the hands of those who also have a major stake in obtaining revenue from forest concessionaires and sale of timber. Solutions will require changing legislation on state natural resources management and establishing an interagency coordinating group to ensure that the need to maintain the ecosystem integrity of peat swamp forests is recognised. This will need further enhancement of awareness on the specific hydrological sensitivities of peatlands and their land use suitability. To this end the development of a communication strategy is required for state government bodies that have jurisdiction over peat swamp forests and adjacent state land areas. This project has helped to set the first strides towards this.