Between 1990 and 2005 Malaysia lost 6.6% of its forest cover, or around 1,486,000 hectares.

Background

Malaysia declared its independence from Britain in 1957, and formed its current state in 1963. Since then, it has seen significant economic growth, a large part of which can be attributed to its forest industry. Malaysia’s rapid rate of development has put it far ahead of several of its neighbors, such as Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. This has largely been in part to its abundance of natural resources, which constitutes significant portions of the country’s economic sector. Because of this large financial gain from logging, production has been high since initiation, and it was not until 1985 that consequences were first realized.

Benefits of logging

As stated above, Malaysia has received considerable financial gain from its logging industry. One statistic states this benefit is valued at $2,150,000,000 USD. Together with neighboring Indonesia, Malaysia produces 85% of the global supply of palm oil, the chief cause of logging. Additionally, the agriculture sector accounts for 14.5% of the labor force - more than 1 in 7 persons. 56.6% of Malaysia’ tropical forests are used for production, leaving the rest for uses such as ‘Protection’ and ‘Conservation’. These statistic clearly show how much both the general population and the Malaysian government is able to benefit from its logging sector, while still leaving untouched nearly half of its abundant forests.

Consequences of logging

Consequences have been varied across different parts of Malaysia. However, all areas have suffered some effect from deforestation. Three of the most prominent include:

• Malaysia ranks as the 21st most biodiverse country in the world, with 2,199 endemic species. 18% of these species are listed as ‘threatened’, and because they are endemic, if Malaysia fails to conserve them, extinction will result.
• Indigenous peoples in Malaysia have always depended on the rainforest for medicine, shelter, food, and other necessities. They are not known to take more that what they need as this would be seen as a transgression of the forest and would bring curses to their people. The destruction of their prime resource is resulting in the destruction of their traditional ways of life. As the forest disappears, so does their culture.
• Runoff has also increased. Though it would not be immediately suspected that logging deep in the jungle could affect a distant city on the coast, because there is less forested area to soak up rainwater and act as a slow-release reservoir, sudden floods are becoming more and more frequent.
• An increased rate of mudslides have been reported.

Conservation efforts

In Malaysia, the World Bank estimates that trees are being cut down at 4 times the sustainable rate. Logging does not have to be as destructive a practice as it currently is in Malaysia. In the past 2 decades, Malaysia has moved towards diversifying its economy, but logging still draws in many because of poor regulation and high profit. The most effect way to combat the negative effects of logging would be tighter regulation that still allows high production of palm oil, but in a more sustainable manner. This way, not only will the effects be mitigated now, but there will be more forests to log, and thus profits to make, in the future.

Malaysia still has a relatively high forest coverage percentage. Currently, it is estimated that 59.9% of the total area is covered by forests, of which, a sizable portion are untouched virgin forests (see old-growth forests) which dates back to around 130 million years.

An increase in the level of awareness of Malaysians compounded with the local folk belief that existed in the indigenous populations (see Semai

Semai

The Semai are a semisedentary people living in the center of the Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia, known especially for their nonviolence . They speak Semai, a Mon-Khmer language. The Senai belong to the Senoi ethnic group....

) has added to the strength of the many Malaysian movements in environmentalism

Environmentalism

Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...

. The Malaysian Nature Society

Malaysian Nature Society

Malaysian Nature Society is the oldest and one of the most prominent environmental not for profit, non-governmental organizations in Malaysia. It was first established, as the Malayan Nature Society, with the launch of the Malayan Nature Journal, in 1940...

 is active in advocating protection of forest. Other organizations such as the Tabung Alam Malaysia, a branch of the World Wide Fund For Nature

World Wide Fund for Nature

The World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States...

 has also established offices in Malaysia since 1972 dedicated to nature conservation as well as education on the importance of forest conservation to the wider populace. The Forest Research Institute of Malaysia has also been actively conducting research on the biodiversity of Malaysia's forests as well as in conservation.

Current issues

Deforestation in the following areas/project sites have attracted controversy:

• Terengganu:
• Hulu Terengganu Hydroelectric Project
  Hulu Terengganu Hydroelectric Project
  The Hulu Terengganu Hydroelectric Project is proposed for the Terengganu region of Malaysia.The project proponent is Tenaga Nasional Berhad, the largest electricity utility company in Malaysia.-Issues:...
  
  

• Pahang:
• Kelau Forest Reserve

• Johor:
• Sungai Mas Forest
• Pulai River
  Pulai River
  Pulai River is located within the Malaysian state of Johor. It runs from Mount Pulai until Tanjung Pelepas, draining into the Tebrau Straits. At its mouth lays the single largest seagrass bed in Malaysia which extents all the way to Pulau Merambong....
  
   Mangrove Forest

• Kelantan:
• Gunung Stong Selatan Forest Reserve

• Perak
• Teluk Rubiah
  Teluk Rubiah
  Teluk Rubiah is a beach in Manjung district, Perak, Malaysia.-External links:*...
  
  
• Belum-Temenggor

• Selangor:
• Bukit Cherakah
• Kuala Langat
  Kuala Langat
  Kuala Langat is a district of Selangor, Malaysia. It is situated in the southwestern part of Selangor. It covers an area of 885 square kilometres, and had a population of 222,261 at the 2010 Cenmsus . It is bordered by the districts of Klang to the north and Sepang to the east. Its southern border...
  
  
• Sungai Jelok

See also

• Deforestation in Borneo
  Deforestation in Borneo
  Borneo, the third largest island in the world, divided between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, was once covered with dense rainforests, but along with its tropical lowland and highland forests, there has been extensive deforestation in the past sixty years. In the 1980s and 1990s the forests of...
  
  
• Environmental issues in Malaysia
  Environmental issues in Malaysia
  Environmental issues in Malaysia-Endangered species:The IUCN Red List gives 2890 native endangered species.*Malayan Tiger-Deforestation:Deforestation at the following locations are threatening flora and fauna:*Hulu Terengganu Hydroelectric Project...
  
  
• List of environmental issues