KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has achieved its goal of planting 100 million trees ahead of its 2025 target.
At a simple ceremony on Tuesday (Dec 10), Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim planted the 100 millionth tree at Taman Herba on the Parliament complex grounds.
He was accompanied by his wife, Bandar Tun Razak MP Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
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Anwar planted a merbau (Intsia palembanica), Malaysia's national tree.
The campaign was scheduled to run from 2021 to next year.
Among other tree species planted during the campaign were the bakau minyak (Rhizophora apiculata), kelempayan (Neolamarckia cadamba), binuang (Octomeles sumatrana), meranti pasir (Parashorea densiflora) and nyatoh tembaga (Palaquium leiocarpum).
The campaign, launched on Jan 5, 2021, saw cooperation from various agencies like the Peninsular Malaysia Forestry Department, Sarawak Forest Department and Sabah Forestry Department, among others.
In a statement, the Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Ministry said Malaysia has successfully achieved 18 million hectares of forest cover or 54.58% of the country’s land area, in line with its commitment at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
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The ministry said the programme not only restores biological diversity but also mitigates the effects of climate change.
The Peninsular Malaysia Forestry Department estimates that between 20,000 and 80,000 hectares of forest will be restored by next year.
Also present at the ceremony were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek, Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and his ministry's secretary-general Datuk Dr Ching Thoo Kim.
