(From left) Rashid, Dr Abdul Rahman and deputy director of Sarawak Forests Department Wan Shardini Wan Salleh holding the seedlings to be planted at Kuching Wetlands National Park.
KUCHING: The internationally acclaimed Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) kicked off yesterday with a mangrove planting ceremony at the Kuching Wetlands National Park, a collaboration between Petronas via its Sarawak Regional Office and Sarawak Forest Department to conserve the environment and promote biodiversity in the state.
Media representatives from around the world who had come here for RWMF also joined in the activity by planting a total of 200 seedlings.
“One of the programmes made by the state government through the Forest Department was this replanting of mangrove trees which had been going for about three years, with various participants including university students who had learnt proper ways to plant the trees, making places such as the Kuching Wetlands National Park greener, transforming Sarawak into a place that is beautiful with its flora and fauna,” Pantai Damai assemblyman Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi said when officiating the ceremony.
The 6,610ha Kuching Wetland National Park was listed as Ramsar Site in November 2005 and was deemed of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty on conservation and sustainable utilisation of wetlands signed in the city of Ramsar, Iran in 1971. So far, Petronas is the first corporate body to conserve the wetland park.
“We are indeed very fortunate to collaborate with Petronas and the Sarawak Forest Department, in the effort to identify places such as Kuching Wetland National Park with the aim of creating a different experience for people who may not be familiar with the wetlands and its ecosystems, especially the younger generation while inspiring and empowering them to safeguard the wetland areas and raise awareness on the high conservation value and important ecological role of the mangrove forest,” said chief executive officer of Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) Datuk Rashid Khan who was also present at the ceremony.
“Sarawak Tourism Board has done its greater role in growing the music festival and at the same time sustaining the environment and this is a good opportunity for us to contribute back to Mother Nature,” he added.
‘ecoBako’ started since 2012 as part of Petronas’ continuous commitment to conserve the environment and promote biodiversity in areas of its operations. Among the conservation activities already carried out is the planting of more than 2,000 seedlings of mangroves from the Rhizophora mucromata species at the five hectare plot adopted by Petronas.
RWMF has seen tremendous success in putting Sarawak on the world tourism map, being named as the ‘25 Best International Festivals’ by Songlines, a renowned world music magazine for five consecutive years.
This year, RWMF will have 22 bands, three stages and 27 workshops where visitors can experience many exotic and award-winning bands performing. Apart from good music, the cultural bazaar will be featuring local, fusion and international food and beverages as well as stalls selling festival memorabilia, performers CDs and collectibles will also be available.