World Wetland Day Celebration 2014, Kg Dato Hormat

Mangroves are almost as important to fishermen as the sea itself. Without their protective ecosystem, there are no breeding grounds for various species of fish and crab that habitually take refuge in the forest. Clams and cockles abound in its muddy beds. Extended further inland, mangrove forests are fortresses that protect us from roiling seas and tsunamis.

As we strive for development and industry, businesses do eventually encroach into mangrove lands. In Malaysia, large tracts of mangroves have been cleared for prawn farming and agriculture. Some, like the area in Kg Dato’ Hormat, were found to be unproductive and abandoned.

To restore this disturbed area into the important resource it was, the community of Kg Dato’ Hormat have committed to rehabilitate the damaged mangrove zone in their village. The project is jointly implemented with the Global Environment Centre (GEC) and Sabak Bernam District Office funded by the Global Environment Fund – Small Grants Programme (GEF-SGP).

The Sabak Bernam District level celebration of the World Wetlands Day 2014 will be hosting on 22nd February 2014 at Kg. Dato Hormat, is a collaborative effort by the Global Environment Centre (GEC), Sabak Bernam District Office, Sabak Bernam Drainage and Irrigation Depertment, Sabak Berban District Council, Selangor Water Management Authority and Selangor Forestry Department. The event will financially supported by the GEF-SGP Project, and 99 Speedmart Sdn Bhd.

During the event  the Global Environment Centre  will launch a community group called “ACTION COMMITTEE ON SHORELINE SOIL EROSION OF BERNAM RIVER” or   “JAWATANKUASA BERTINDAK HAKISAN TANAH PERSISIR SUNGAI BERNAM, KG. DATO’ HORMAT”. This community group would be responsible for the rehabilitation, protection and management of the mangrove on behalf of the respective government agencies. It also will enhance and create awareness amongst the fellow communities and public on the consequences of degradation, rehabilitation and protection of the riverine and mangrove.

During this event, participants will have the opportunity to experience hands-on mangrove rehabilitation and explore the importance of the Bernam riverine forest to the ecosystem and its surrounding environment. This celebration would be a platform to connect diverse mangroves ecosystems and current environmental issues; especially Climate Change (Global Warming). The programmes and activities held on this day would create awareness among participants on the significance of mangroves in a sustainable ecosystem.

To address these generic problems nationwide with regard to mangrove conservation and restoration, environmental and social NGOs/CBOs have been involved in the discussion of the National Coastal Replanting Committee since 2005. One of the initiatives that were identified to be explored further by the national task force was the formation on community focus groups called “Jawatankuasa Bertindak Hakisan Tanah Persisir Sungai Bernam, Kg. Dato’ Hormat” or literally Action Committee on Shoreline Soil Erosion of Bernam River, Kg. Dato’ Hormat. The Action Committee’s consists of members of the local communities who would be responsible for the rehabilitation, protection and management of the mangrove on behalf of the respective government agencies. 

World Wetlands Day is celebrated globally in February each year, to mark the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the city of Ramsar, Iran. As year 2014 is the UN International Year of Family Farming, the Ramsar Convention has chosen Wetland & Agriculture as the World Wetlands Day 2014 theme.The slogan for World Wetlands Day 2014 is Wetlands and Agriculture : Partners for Growth,  placing a focus on the need for the wetland and agricultural sectors to work together for the best shared outcomes.

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