Malaysia: Forest Research Institute & its 80-year-old ‘man-made’ forest

The Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) and its 80-year-old
man-made forest will be gazetted as a national heritage this year. Its
director-general, Datuk Dr Abdul Latif Mohmod, said this would allow
the institute and its 486ha forest to enjoy more recognition and
privileges, adding that the process was in the final stage. “We bought
over the land from Selangor two years ago to protect it against
encroachment but we don’t know what may happen in the future.

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“By putting institute under national heritage status, our forest will
have double protection,” said Dr Abdul Latif during the World Forestry
Day celebration yesterday.

Previously a mining area, FRIM has been rehabilitated successfully and is one of the world’s oldest man-made rainforests, boasting some 15 million trees belonging to 2,500 species. Dr Abdul Latiff said Malaysia’s jungles were the envy of many advanced countries that had lost their forests during their development.

“For example, although temperatures outside of FRIM have been fluctuating, the temperatures within the forest have remained stable,” he said, adding that the forest acts as a giant carbon sink.

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