He, who is also the Second Minister of Natural Resources and Urban Development, stated that these discoveries are the result of several studies conducted after the 10th World Herpetology Congress held here in August.
“Among these new frog species, six have been named by the Premier based on the locations where they were discovered. For example, a frog found in Mulu is named Limnonectes Muluensis, and another found in Penrisen is called Limnonectes Penrissensis.”
He added that the remaining 20 species are still in the morphological identification stage.
He said the discovery of these new species demonstrates that Sarawak has a rich diversity of frog species.
“It is one of the important indicators of ecosystem health, as it is sensitive to environmental changes.”
In another matter, Awang Tengah announced that a new permanent forest reserve has been declared this year, known as the Mujong Pila Protected Forest, covering an area of 32,812 hectares.
“So far, the Sarawak government has declared 4 million hectares of permanent forest reserves, with a target of 6 million hectares.”
Regarding the Totally Protected Areas (TPA), he stated that the Sarawak government's goal is to reach 1 million hectares by 2025.
“To date, an area of 874,000 hectares has been declared. The Sarawak government has proclaimed 1.2 million hectares of waters as Totally Protected Areas, bringing Sarawak's total Totally Protected Areas to 2.1 million hectares.”