PONTIAN, Sept 24 — The Migratory Birds @ Tanjung Piai programme, at the Johor National Park, Tanjung Piai here, to observe bird migration between September and April every year, has the potential to become a tourist attraction in Johor.
Tourism Johor director, Suhairi Hashim, said that in general, bird migration occurs when the country of origin is cold to the point of being uninhabitable, thus encouraging the birds to migrate to countries with warmer climates to seek protection and food sources.
"Migratory Birds @ Tanjung Piai is related to the movement of migratory birds from the Northern Hemisphere such as China, Russia, Japan and Korea, and during the journey, the birds will stop at several locations in the country, including Tanjung Piai.
"This programme should be promoted, and it should not be a problem to be included in the Johor tourism calendar as an annual event, because there are definitely fans of birdwatching, thus attracting more tourists to the Johor National Park,” he told reporters after officiating the Migratory Birds @ Tanjung Piai, here today.
Suhairi said that the programme can also foster public awareness of the importance of protecting the environment to ensure that the sustainability of the mangrove swamp forest is maintained, so that the presence of migratory birds in Tanjung Piai does not decrease.
"Previously there were around 70 species of migratory birds, but now there are only 17 or 18 species, and this decline is due to global issues and food sources. We hope that with efforts to protect the mangrove swamp forest, we can increase the number of migratory bird species," he said. — Bernama
