After RimbaWatch's alarm, forester institute calls for action

 

Putrajaya has been urged to take proactive measures to address issues raised by RimbaWatch’s “State of Malaysian Rainforests 2023” report.

In a statement, the Institute of Foresters Malaysia (Irim) urged the government to devise a “National Forest Conservation Strategy” to prevent illegal development, logging, and mining of forests.

The group also proposed that the government devise a “Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES)” to increase state government revenue so they may undertake efforts to restore the environment and limit forest plantations to no more than five percent of a forest reserve.

“Putrajaya should also restore the National Forestry Council to ensure that the federal and state governments have a platform to discuss current issues regarding forestry,” said Irim.

The National Forestry Council was set up in 1972 to coordinate the management and utilisation of forest resources. However, its role was taken over by the National Land Council in 2010.

On March 20, RimbaWatch released its report which warned that 2.34 million hectares of forests in the country have been earmarked for deforestation.

Should there be no intervention, RimbaWatch projected that Malaysia’s total forest cover would be reduced to 47.35 percent of the country’s total land area.

In 2021, Putrajaya’s 4th National Physical Plan decided on a goal of 50 percent forest cover by 2040.

In 1992, Malaysia voluntarily pledged at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Rio Summit) to ensure 50 percent forest cover.

Officially, Putrajaya claims that 55 percent of Malaysia is still covered by forests.

However, Malaysiakini’s special report on deforestation and wildlife last week revealed that a large portion of areas included in forest cover data is in fact considered “production forests”.

These production forests are subject to deforestation via mining, forest plantations, logging, and other extraction objectives. - Mkini