KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 – An area of 3.2 million hectares of natural forest in Malaysia, which makes up 16% of the country’s remaining forests, are at risk of being cut down, reported theSun quoting watchdog.
The “State of the Malaysian Rainforest 2024” report by independent regional watchdog RimbaWatch revealed of the total area, 2.4 million hectares are in forest reserves turned into timber plantations.
RimbaWatch co-founder and director Adam Farhan said if deforestation happens, Malaysia’s forest cover will drop to below 50% of the country’s land mass, breaking the government’s promise to maintain at least that threshold as forested areas.
He said timber plantation activities represent 76% of the threat to Malaysia’s forests, with other risk factors linked to hydropower projects, degazettement of forest reserves and oil palm plantations.
“Before RimbaWatch published our map showing areas threatened by deforestation, we had no idea of the scale of the threat.
“Specific areas such as Bukit Lagong near Kuala Lumpur were assumed safe until our expose revealed plans to parcel it out to 27 quarry companies, covering about 850ha,” Adam said.
RimbaWatch, that conducts research and analyses on climate-related issues, also revealed that Sabah, Sarawak, Kelantan, Pahang are among states affected.
He said deforestation will be a significant contributor to carbon emissions as their calculations show that clearing 2.4 million hectares of the said forest will release 368 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
He added that by clearing such a huge area, Malaysia would be at risk of losing its carbon sinks and potentially fail to uphold its international commitments to mitigate climate change.
