She added, the program will circuitously educate UPM students on the peril of Malaysian forest due to ignorance.
The program witnessed a massive planting of 5,800 young trees from 112 local forest species including the endemic species collected from Peninsular Malaysia. The Malaysia – Japan collaboration project , which aimed at forest conservation involved 6.5 hectare of UPM area.
General Manager of CSR & Environmental Affairs Office, Mitsubishi Corporation Japan, Minoru Akita expressed his hopes that the collaboration will continue for the benefit of younger generation and to educate them on the importance of conserving our degrading forest.
The key objective of the project is to erect a model forest and has drawn 650 volunteers ranging from principal officers of UPM, local and international students along with government agencies.
At the same location in 2008, 27 hectares of tropical forest model was established with 3000 young trees from the main species being planted.
UPM and Yokohama National University, Japan (YNU) had long established a partnership since 1990 through tree planting project held initially in UPM Bintulu Campus. The project was fully sponsored by Mitsubishi Corporation, Japan with RM5mil as a kick start fund.
At present, a number of 350,000 young trees from 128 species have been planted at the 47 hectares Bintulu campus since 1991.
The pioneer model forest in Serdang takes up after the thriving concept done in UPMKB which is the concept of vegetarian association introduced by Prof. Dr. Akira Miyawaki from YNM integrated with accelerating natural vegetation concept introduced by Dato’ Prof. Dr. Nik Muhamad Abd Majid, former Dean of UPMKB.
