PUTRAJAYA, May 11 – Malaysia remains committed to maintaining 50 per cent of its land under forest and tree cover, in line with the pledge made during the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil back in 1992.
Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said he emphasised this position during a roundtable session at the High-Level Segment (HLS) of the 19th United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF19) held from May 6 to 10 in New York, United States.
“To date, Malaysia has 54.58 per cent or 18.05 million hectares of forest cover,” he said in a statement here on Saturday.
Nik Nazmi also highlighted the importance of international financial assistance involving global institutions such as the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to UNFF member countries through technology transfer and capacity building, particularly for developing countries, to help implement sustainable forest management initiatives.
“I also propose that UNFF be empowered from a voluntary and non-legally binding instrument to a more formal framework resembling a convention that can reinforce a country’s commitment to the sustainable management, conservation and development of forest resources,” he said.
The Malaysian delegation to the UNFF, led by Nik Nazmi, comprised senior officials from the Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Ministry and related departments and agencies, including those from Sabah and Sarawak.
