"Located in one of the 17 forest reserve areas in Cameron Highlands, the mossy forest in Batu Gangan on Gunung Brinchang needs to be preserved.
The forest... about 1,500m above sea level on the mountain, has been the water catchment area for Cameron Highlands and it lies along the boundary of Pahang-Perak. As it is the only route for trekkers to Gunung Irau, the forest has been disturbed, causing the demise of some of the floral species in the area including forest orchid... State Arts, Culture, Tourism, Heritage, Women and Family Development Committee chairman Datuk Maznah Mazlan said the state government would provide a 200m long board walk as the platform for trekkers and other visitors to walk over the mossy area. ... to reduce the disturbances in the area as some parts were badly affected because of trekking activities. She said the state Forestry Department had been assigned to design the project, so that the mossy areas of the forest and its surroundings of flora would be intact at all times. "The mossy area is important to preserve the micro climate and as a water catchment area. ... "With all these activities, the mossy forest will be damaged if no efforts were taken to conserve it. "Packages of tourists visiting here have to be controlled so that the place will not be over-populated in terms of visitors," she said... Other basic amenities needed in the areas were waste bins, parking lots and a guard house for caretakers to control the number of vehicles entering the area and to check on any illegal activities such as the removal of species of flora from the area. Maznah said some of the popular species in the forest included... orchids." article URL : http://thestar.com.my/services/printerfriendly.asp?file=/2007/3/27/southneast/17252968.asp&sec=southneast ************** Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) orchids@orchidguide.com http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
