|
Multi-stakeholder Management of Mangrove Forests in Matang, Perak, Malaysia
Background
The Matang Mangrove Forest Management is a classical example of multiple uses of
forestry and estuarine ecology in practice. 100 year of management experience
has focused on timber production, while taking into account other considerations
such as conservation and protection of the mangrove and its environment. The
Forestry Department developed a Forest Management Plan (RPH) for managing
Malaysian forests.
Managing the mangrove estuarine involves many stakeholders with various
interests. Some of the major stakeholders include local communities, scientists
and local agencies. These stakeholders were the driving forces behind the
dynamics of the mangrove ecosystem. Although the forest is well managed, there
are other major elements of the mangrove estuarine, such as the people and other
components of the environment, which are not directly covered by the forest
management plan. Sustainability of the mangrove forest system, therefore, will
be affected.
The Matang Mangrove forest is situated in Perak, Malaysia. Perak is located
in the north-western part of West Malaysia. Its area is about 20,720 sq km. The
area of Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve was selected for this LPF project case
study. The site covers a few villages and is significantly populated by two
communities, Malay and Chinese. Kuala Sepetang is the largest populated area
within the Matang project site.
>map of project site<
Over the years, the forestry department has successfully managed the forest
for the production of timber and fisheries-related products. However, of lately,
questions on the linkage between fisheries and the mangrove ecosystem and also
the mangrove water quality, affected by the upstream pollution, have been
deliberated. Such issues have, to a certain extent, questioned the
sustainability of the mangrove ecosystem and its components.
Within the local scene, the livelihood of the fishermen is also greatly affected
by decisions made by the department of fisheries, which regularly revise the
allowable level of fish catchments to suit with the latest industrial and
sectoral development.
While the foresters were managing the timber, unknowingly they were also
managing the fisheries and the mangrove, which is heavily affected by the
pollution not only from the site, but also from upstream. Due to the complexity
of the mangrove system with its various components playing their own roles and
various stakeholders with their variety of livelihood needs, there is a
necessity for integrated management of this resource.
Key Issues
The key issue in Matang Mangrove is to understand the relationship between the
economic generating activities and the physical resource of the mangrove.
Imbalance between the different activities (fisheries, charcoal and mangrove
poles) has attracted the economic activities towards aquaculture. At the same
time the pressure on the mangrove estuarine management system has increased.
While the forestry department has the sole responsibility to manage the mangrove
forest, the fisheries department has been given the authority to look into the
matters pertaining to fishing administration. The local business activities are
under the jurisdiction of the local municipality.
However, the utilization of the resource and its benefits extends beyond the
boundary of the reserve, and so are the authorities related the economic
activities. These activities don’t seem to be directly related to the forest,
but yet are highly depending on the level of mangrove production. There appears
to be an issue of integrated management and policy across the different
departments, especially in terms of communication.
Throughout the years, all the agencies involved recognize each other’s authority
within the area. While many individuals acknowledge the interdependency of one
another, however, they are not fully coordinated.
The stakeholders
The main stakeholders are the 34 village communities, business concessionaires,
the local government and the Federal Government in the form of the Forestry
Department, Fishery Department and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks
(DWNP).
Challenges
Mangrove forests in Matang are located on state land under jurisdiction of
Forestry Department. Some parts of this area are co-managed by DWNP for tourism
activities. As there are many stakeholders involved in utilizing the area,
overlapping of powers and regulations may occur in forest management. As a
result, conflicting policies seem to occur while the Forestry Department has the
dominant role in managing the forest.
|
