In July 2017, our partnership continues with HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad through a three year project to further expand the rehabilitation initiative through local community participation at North-eastern and South-eastern part of the North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest. With total area of 2000 hectare, this rehabilitation initiative implements sustainable management and wise use of peatlands, reduce risk of fire and associated haze and contribute to socioeconomic development of local community. On top of that, it complements the implementation of Integrated Management Plan for North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest 2014 – 2023.

Duration: 2014 - 2023

Funder: HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad

Partners: Kuala Selangor District Council, Selangor State Forestry Department (SSFD), District Education Office, Sahabat Hutan Gambut

Project Goal:

To promote sustainable management and wise use of peatlands in North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest and the surrounding areas, so that

• the local livelihoods can be sustained,
• the risk of fire and associated haze can be reduced, and
• contribute to local and global environmental management.

Aim/objective:

To enhance the implementation of Integrated Management Plan for North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest (2014 – 2023) and surrounding areas through strengthened capacity of local community, multistakeholder partnerships, and testing of innovative approaches and rehabilitation in selected project site.

Project Output:

Activity1: Rehabilitation of degraded areas of North-eastern and South-eastern part of NSPSF (Bukit Belata (Extension) & Sungai Karang Forest Reserves)

• GEC with guidance from SSFD carried out project site assessments in March 2018. Potential location for rehabilitation activities (canal blockings and planting at the degraded area) were successfully mapped and analysed.
• 3,600 trees were bought and planted in 6 hectares of degraded project area through tree planting activities. A total of 1,167 volunteers from Malaysian public and foreigners were involved.
• 70 pax of local communities, government agencies and non – government agencies joined a workshop focused on community participation in the Conservation and Rehabilitation of Peat Swamp Forest in Selangor (July, 2018).
• On-going maintenance activities being carried at FC 82 and FC 38 including weeding, thinning, fertilizer application and replanting at 3 ha of planted sites in FC 82.
• Regular fire prevention and patrolling  

Activity 2: Strengthen and empowerment of the Local communities and the private sector in the protection and wise use in North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest and surrounding areas to prevent and control fires

• The Sahabat Hutan Gambut Selangor Utara (SHGSU) members are actively involved in the forest patrolling and monitoring activity around the RMFR and its vicinity to monitor and prevent any peatland wildfire occurrences.
• Patrollers consist of member from SHGSU are hired to perform water table monitoring activities from 16 piezometers at the forest and adjacent oil palm plantations twice a week.
• A Fire Danger Rating System (FDRS) has been installed in 2017. Patrollers are hired to update the FDRS boards on daily basis based on data obtain from MetMalaysia. 
• GEC and SSFD have assisted PKPS in constructing canal blocks within their oil palm plantation to control water levels and prevent fires.
• A 'Stingless Bee Farming Programme' was organised on 22 July 2020 at Selangor Fruit Valley to train the local communities (SHGSU) and have them explore the potential of stingless honey as a sustainable livelihood. PHOTOS

Activity 3: Enhance the engagement of school children in peatland conservation, (Peatland Forest Ranger Programme & Junior Peatland Forest Ranger)

• Carried out annual tree planting activity in conjunction with World Wetlands Day 2018 Forest Compartment 99 and 100 of Raja Musa Forest Reserve. 214 participants comprising various agencies, state government departments, corporate bodies, educational institutions and local communities joined the event.
• In line with new normal of COVID-19, online learning activities was organised for schools to replace the training camps and talks at schools under the Peatland Forest Ranger (PFR) Programme which runs from December 2020 until March 2021. More info click HERE
  
  Online Learning Activity 1 - Interactive Online Learning Sessions on Peat Swamp Forests and Quiz Competition
  Prior to holding the Quiz Competition, the students had 5 series of virtual learning and demonstration sessions from 16 Dec 2020 to 13 Jan 2021. The topics include Introduction to Peat Swamp Forests (16 Dec 2020); Introduction to Peat Soil (23 Dec 2020); Biodiversity Conservation (30 Dec 2020); Hydrology Management and Fire Prevention (6 Jan 2021); and Conservation and Rehabilitation of Peatland Forest (13 Jan 2021).
  
  At the end of the online learning sessions, an ‘Online Quiz Competition’ was conducted on 23 Jan 2021 (Saturday) to evaluate the PFR students' understanding and also to ingrain an in-depth knowledge related to peat swamp forests, associated issues and mitigation approaches. About 56 students from SMK Rantau Panjang, SMK Raja Muda Musa and Kolej Vokasional Kuala Selangor took part in the competition.
  
  Winners of the competition has been announced at GEC’s Facebook and Instagram pages. 
  
  
  Online Learning Activity 2 - Poster Competition on the theme of “Peatland Biodiversity and Climate Change"
  The competition was carried out in 2 categories which are (i) in English language from 22 January 2021 to 19 February 2021 for PFR school students and (ii) in Malay language from 9 February 2021 to 26 February 2021 for JPFR school students. Prior to the competition, the students were presented with the importance and preservation of peatland forests as vital terrestrial carbon reservoirs and wildlife habitats. Then, they were asked to illustrate the state of the natural peatland forests as home for unique biodiversity and terrestrial carbon storage.
  
  About 30 posters were received from SK (A) Bukit Cheeding, SK (A) Busut Baru, SMK Rantau Panjang and Kolej Vokasional Kuala Selangor and below are the winners for both categories:
     
  
  
           
       
  
  Online Learning Activity 3 - Essay Competition on the theme of “Voice of Future - Peatlands and Humans”
  The essay competition was carried out from 22 January to 19 February 2021 for PFR school students. We empowered them on the awareness and knowledge of local communities to improve the sustainable management of Raja Musa Forest Reserve (RMFR). Then, we asked them to elaborate on the important criteria to sustainably manage and improve the values of RMFR. The submissions were evaluated according to the criteria such as content – originality (60%), creativity and innovative ideas (10%), practical application of the ideas (10%), language (10%) as well as structure (10%). 
  
  Winners has been announced on GEC's Facebook and Instagram pages. 
  
  
  Online Learning Activity 4 - The Implementation of School-Level Activities and Video Competition on the theme of peatland forests (eg. conservation of peatland forests, fires, carbon, flora, fauna etc.)
  The video competition was carried out from February to March 2021 for PFR school students. First, we asked the students to conduct small-scale activities like growing peat trees, establish education corners, mural paintings and others. Then, we asked them to produce a video presenting what they have done and how the activities are creating awareness on peat swamp forest. The submissions were evaluated according to the criteria such as creativity and innovative ideas (30%), originality (25%), self-explanatory, logical and informative (25%), attractiveness (10%) as well as relevance (10%). 
  
  Winners has been announced on GEC's Facebook and Instagram pages. 
  

Activity 4: Promote the importance of community based peatlands water management and rehabilitation, especially North-eastern and South-eastern part of NSPSF (Bukit Belata (Extension) & Sungai Karang Forest Reserves to the general public.

• Regular update of current information on peatlands on GEC's peat portal. 

For more information about the project, please e-mail us at outreach@gec.org.my