Guest guest Posted August 3, 2005 Report Share Posted August 3, 2005 Educating the educators M. Hamzah Jamaludin http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Tuesday/National/20050802081537/Article/i\ ndexb_html Wednesday, August 03 2005, 5:09:16 AM PEKAN, PAHANG, Mon. -- Aiming to inculcate conservation awareness in the young, a project is underway to educate the educators in conserving peat swamp forests. A total of 120 teachers participated in the first of a series of workshops which ended here yesterday. The hands-on programme has worked — the participants are all fired up and eager to share their experience with their students. Most of the teachers believe peat swamp forests can be preserved if the younger generation becomes aware of their importance. " It’s been an eye-opener for us, " said Sariah Husain of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Maxwell in Kuala Lumpur. " I never thought the peat swamp forest played such a significant role in our lives. " She said most people were unaware that peat swamp forests were sanctuaries to many endangered species, including the Sumatran rhinoceros and the Asian elephant. Phang See Wha of SMK Perempuan Bukit Bandaraya, Kuala Lumpur, said it was important for teachers to have hands-on experience so that they could better explain the environment to their students. Noor Khatijah Hamdin of SMK St Colomba, Sibu, hoped more such programmes would be held, as the information gained could be shared with all the students in the country. Peat swamp forest project national director Dr Abdul Rahim Nik said the forests should be protected as they helped maintain the world’s climatic balance. He said the forests also acted as a water filter for river systems and helped mitigate flooding. The three-day workshop was jointly organised by the United Nations Development Programme/Global Environment Facility (UNDP/GEF), the Malaysian Nature Society and the Pahang Forestry Department. The five-year UNDP/GEF Peat Swamp Forest Project began in June 2002. It aims to develop and implement the conservation of three peat swamps, namely the Loagan Bunut National Park (10,736ha), the Klias forest reserve and the surrounding Bukau Api-Api area in Sabah (6,100ha), and the peat swamp forest in southeast Pahang (87,045ha). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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