Templer Park logging

WE note with alarm and regret that there is rampant logging and land clearing inside Templer Park, Selangor.

We appeal to the authorities to issue an immediate stop-work order and to cancel all developments in areas that have been zoned for conservation.

The National Conservation Strategy and the Selangor State Conservation Strategy both note that Templer Park should be protected because the area is rich in wildlife, including birds, reptiles and serow (goat-antelopes).

Studies by MNS have confirmed that there is still a population of serow living in the vicinity.

On Sept 8, 1954, the Sultan of Selangor, the late Sultan Hishamuddin Alam Shah declared that Templer Park was dedicated by Selangor to serve as a refuge and a sanctuary for wildlife and a meeting-place for all who love and respect the beauty of nature.

The following year the Govern-ment gazetted the area as a Botanical Garden and Public Park under the land enactment (Notification 104-1955).

We recognise that the boundaries of the park have since been changed several times, with many parcels being given to private ownership, including two golf courses and several exclusive bungalows.

Now we are alarmed to see that there has been further logging, slope cutting and highway development through the park.

The current developments include more than 30ha of forest being cut for the Rawang Bypass highway and about 20ha of forest being cleared for housing development (including some steep slopes).

These developments are completely at odds with the Governments pledge to hold a moratorium on logging inside forest reserves and the promise to consult the public before any development takes place in green areas.

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Templer Park logging