Guest guest Posted August 29, 2004 Report Share Posted August 29, 2004 This message was forwarded to you by yitzeling. Comment from sender: This article is from The Star Online URL: http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2004/8/24/features/8718278 & sec=f\ eatures ________________________ Tuesday August 24, 2004 Replanting trees at Paya Indah Wetlands By TEOH TEIK HOONG THE technological innovations of the 20th century yielded a surge of progress in civilisation. At the same time, environmental destruction has spread to all parts of the globe, and it is no exaggeration to say that environmental problems, if left unchecked, will endanger the ability of future generations to build a peaceful and prosperous society. Recognising the need for concerted efforts to balance development and environmental conservation, the AEON Environment Foundation (AEF) was established in 1991 by AEON Co Ltd in Japan, with government approval for supporting environmental conservation activities with a global perspective. The latest AEF initiative will take place in Malaysia on Sept 15 together with Jaya Jusco Stores Bhd (AEON Co Ltd is the parent company of Jusco) to plant 30,000 trees in Paya Indah Wetlands in Selangor. Through tree planting efforts in Japan in areas like Shiretoko, Sado and Gifu, and overseas in areas such as the Great Wall of China and Angkor Wat in Cambodia, AEF has through its work supported organisations and individuals who strive to protect natural ecosystems, as well as community efforts to bring home the message of conservation. Since 1991, the foundation has given out 1,460 grants worth 1.17bil yen (RM38.3mil), assisting various initiatives in countries like the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, East Timor, Brazil, Bangladesh and Kenya. In a teleconference call with AEF assistant secretary general Yutaka Itadani, he said the tree planting programme was part of the foundation’s reforestation effort which is focused primarily in Asia. The AEF, according to Itadani, has been involved in assisting both individuals and groups who play an active and ongoing part in environmental conservation, both globally and locally, which it then supports. “Since 1991, we have been giving assistance locally in Japan and also in Asia to cope with environmental problems such as deforestation and global warming. “Our programme emphasises tree planting as a way of helping Mother Nature,” he said. This year itself, the foundation has helped in several projects – reforesting the World Heritage Site of Angkor Wat and at the Great Wall of China. Itadani said AEF does not merely provide funding for planting trees but also monitors on a case-by-case basis the need to return and assist in maintaining the trees. “We have helped in the reforestation project in China since 1998. We returned last year to carry out supplementary planting for withered trees and weed clearing. Some of the trees planted died because of extreme cold weather. “Grants of 100mil yen (RM3.5mil) have been awarded annually since 1991 to environment NGOs to protect our natural ecosystems,” he added. Itadani said the foundation would increase the annual grant next year to 150mil yen (RM5.2mil) to commemorate the foundation’s 15th anniversary. “We plan to organise a big tree planting initiative next year to commemorate our 15th anniversary. However, plans have not been finalised yet,” he said. To date, the foundation has planted five million trees. Itadani said after the tree planting on Sept 15, a group would proceed to Sabah to plant trees in the Kinabatangan. “We funded an orangutan project in Sabah in 2003 worth nearly 20mil yen (RM700,000) through WWF-Japan. We are continuing this assistance with tree planting on Sept 17,” he added. The motif of the activities supported by AEF is “Protecting the future of the earth”, and in addition to environmental conservation activities in developing countries, seven categories of environmental conservation activity were supported both in Japan and overseas: tree planting, greening, and anti-desertification; wildlife protection and ecology preservation; purification of mountains, rivers, oceans and lakes, and preservation of natural environments; environmental education activities; collecting and disseminating environmental information; international environmental conferences and other global environmental conservation activities. <p> ________________________ Your one-stop information portal: The Star Online http://thestar.com.my http://biz.thestar.com.my http://classifieds.thestar.com.my http://cards.thestar.com.my http://search.thestar.com.my http://star-motoring.com http://star-space.com http://star-jobs.com http://star-ecentral.com http://star-techcentral.com 1995-2003 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Star Publications is prohibited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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