KUANTAN, Oct 13 (Bernama) -- In his voyage around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa and the Indian Ocean in 1498, Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama was recorded as telling his crew that forests, oceans and the earth are God-given treasures which will one day be destroyed by man's greed.

In a mere 500 years since this was uttered, the Earth has indeed been ravaged and pillaged for development and
the marauders are only beginning to notice the effects of their uncontrolled lust. The ecosystem of most developed countries are severely disrupted while the greenhouse effect has noticeably melted icebergs in the North and South poles which threaten the fauna.

In fact, scientists believe such damage to the ecosystem has caused extreme summer temperatures, massive floods and typhoons which have claimed many lives.

As for Malaysia, her forests are still plentiful and her seas bountiful but the signs of impending doom are already there, for eyes which are willing to see. One such eye is the United Nations Development Programme which launched the Wetlands Ecosystem and Tropical Peat Swamp Forest Rehabilitation Project in June 2002.

The five-year project amalgamates efforts of non-governmental organisations like the Global Environment Centre (GEC) and the Danish International Development Assistance (Danida) and is expected to be completed by May 2007.

Those who have no inkling about peat swamp forests may put a low value on their importance and place them on the bottom-most rung of Malaysia's treasures but in reality, the "black jewels" are very valuable, says Dr Khali Aziz Hamzah, who leads the project in Pahang.

Dr Khali opines that if not for its surrounding peat swamp forests, the royal town of Pekan, which is geographically a lowland area, would be inundated each time the monsoon season comes by.

"The peat swamp forest acts like a sponge which absorbs all the water. It is this physical attribute which can halt a lot of the overflow," he tells Bernama. The indiscriminate reclamation of peat swamp forests, for example to plant oil palm, can also bring about negative effects, he says.

"Peat swamps absorb water well but only if the forests exist. If not, they are susceptible to burning, which is what happened in Pekan recently," he says, adding that aside from educating Malaysians, the project also offers such knowledge to neighbours like Indonesia and Singapore.

Dr Khali, who has more than 10 years' experience in forestry, says Malaysia already has a head start in the area with protection afforded against haphazard development.

"Pahang, specifically, has the biggest peat swamp forest area in Peninsula Malaysia with 120,000 hectares, 87,000 of which have been gazetted as forest reserves, namely in Nenasi, Kedondong, Pekan and Resak. They are known as the Southeast Pahang Peat Swamp Forest."

Admitting that logging is still allowed in these areas, he says: "There is a give and take factor as we want to conserve the environment but at the same time protect the country's livelihood. Logging is allowed with a quota and condition that the area is not developed for other purposes".

He says Malaysia has also become a teaching centre which hosts visits from neighbouring countries, like the recent 12-member delegation from Indonesia's Sumatera and Jambi to study Malaysia's management of peat swamp forests and the zero burning practice in oil palm estates. Such management practices are beneficial, he claims, especially for Indonesia, which faces a multitude of problems like fires and illegal logging in peat swamp forests which ultimately result in environmental and political losses.

"Indonesia does not have a systematic or safe method to manage and maintain peat swamp forests and areas which have been developed. This results in illegal logging and fires which cause haze, effecting even Malaysia".

On the appeal of peat swamp forests to loggers, Dr Khali says they are rich with valuable wood like kempas, meranti paya and pulai, while the Pahang forests are abundant with the ramin which hardly grows anywhere else.

"There are many attractions which people are not aware of in the Pahang peat swamp forests. There is the Sun Bear, the frog species "Pseudobufo subasper" which is peculiar to mangrove swamps, and various unique species of birds.

"There are nine species of hornbill in Malaysia and eight of them are found in the Pahang peat swamp forests," he says.

Meanwhile, Burhanudin Ali from Kalimantan Tengah says visits to learn about other countries' ecological management are important to teach Indonesia new methods of protecting her own environment.

"I am impressed as Malaysia's peat swamp forests are well cared for, as are the oil palm estates, unlike in Indonesia. I admit that we have a lot to learn."

Teaching there may be, but it is hard to predict whether the lessons will remain to ensure Malaysians continue efforts to conserve and protect her treasures, especially with increasing economic pressures.

Maybe it is wise to heed the words of Indonesian poet Chairil Anwar: "Apabila wang menjadi raja, manusia jadi gila dan alam jadi sengsara. Apabila bumi terbelah dua dan bencana jadi warna, kebobrokan hati manusia jadi jawabnya". (When money is king, humans go mad and the environment suffers. When the earth splits into two and disaster is the only colour, the answer is chaos in men's hearts).