Record low levels of primary forest loss soon, says Nik Nazmi

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia is closing in on record low levels of primary forest loss, according to a report on global deforestation, says Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

The Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister said that Malaysia has reduced its primary forest loss by 57% as of 2022, placing the country fourth among the top 10 countries for reduction in primary forest loss as of last year.

He said that his ministry welcomes the positive developments acknowledged in the report by the World Resources Institute’s Global Forest Watch and the University of Maryland on global deforestation

"This achievement was due to a number of initiatives, including stricter enforcement, the spread of the Malaysia Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification, the Ecological Fiscal Transfers (EFT) for Biodiversity Conservation,” said Nik Nazmi in a statement on Saturday (July 1).

He added that it should be noted that at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, Malaysia committed to maintain at least 50% of its forest cover.

"We have held to this pledge, with the country’s forest cover at 54.58% or 18.05 million hectares.

"The United Nations Global Forest Resource Assessment Report 2020 also listed Malaysia as a 'High Forest, Low Deforestation' nation among 25 other developing peers," he said.

Nik Nazmi added that his ministry is aware that Malaysia cannot be complacent and said that more needs to be done to ensure that the loss of the nation's primary forests is halted completely in the near future.

He said that they would continue to undertake a number of initiatives, including strengthening legislation such as the National Forestry Act 1984, increasing efforts to gazette forested areas including in the Central Forest Spine and Environmentally Sensitive Areas.

Nik Nazmi added that his ministry will also increase the EFT allocation in 2023 to RM150mil (a 150% increase since its first implementation in 2019) and other similar initiatives towards enhancing the conservation of Malaysia's forests.

"We welcome all stakeholders, including the various state governments, the private sector and civil society, to work together with the ministry to strengthen the management of our forests as well as ensuring that our forest land remains forest land,” he said.

"We urge all Malaysians to continue to back our efforts to protect forests as one of our nation’s most crucial resources, to ensure we can pass on this most precious heritage to our children and their children," added Nik Nazmi.

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