Looking good: Sultan Nazrin looking at the exhibits during the opening ceremony of the Lenggong Geopark Gallery. — Bernama
LENGGONG: A total of 11 sites have been recognised as national geoparks during the past seven years, says Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES) Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.
He said NRES had always supported conservation efforts and the Department of Minerals and Geosciences Malaysia (JMG), the National Geopark Committee along with the Geopark Implementation Committee had recognised these sites.
The Geosites recognised in 2017 are Jerai, Kedah and Lembah Kinta, Perak; 2021 (Labuan, Federal Territory and Lenggong, Perak); 2022 (Gombak-Hulu Langat, Selangor, Stong, Kelantan and Sarawak Delta, Sarawak); and 2023 (Kenyir, Terengganu, Perlis and Lipis, Pahang), he said.
Nik Nazmi said the country is also proud to have two Unesco Global Geoparks, namely Langkawi (2007) and Kinabalu (2023).
He said this in his speech at a ceremony to open the Lenggong Geopark Gallery here by the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah yesterday.
Sultan Nazrin proclaimed Lenggong as a Geopark during the ceremony.
Nik Nazmi said the proclamation of Lenggong as a Geopark is one of the efforts at preserving the sustainability of nature and the sustainable management of areas of national interest with extraordinary geosite value, reported Bernama.
Meanwhile, he said NRES has approved an allocation of RM4mil to Perak JMG under the First to the Third Rolling Plan (2021-2023) of the 12th Malaysia Plan to carry out geological studies and research in Lenggong.
The ministry also allocated RM1.1mil through the Small-Scale Projects under the Strategic Programme to Empower the People and the Economy (Pemerkasa) to upgrade the infrastructure at Lenggong Geopark, he said.
The Lenggong Geopark Gallery was opened on Dec 16 last year and according to Nik Nazmi, it had attracted 2,500 visitors as of last February.
Among those who attended the event were the Raja Permaisuri of Perak Tuanku Zara Salim, Raja Muda of Perak Raja Jaafar Raja Muda Musa, Raja Puan Besar of Perak Raja Nazhatul Shima Idris Shah and Raja DiHilir of Perak Raja Iskandar Dzurkarnain Idris Shah.
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad also attended the function.
