KUALA LUMPUR – Energy and Natural Resources Minister Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan today disputed a report on major deforestation in Malaysia over the past 20 years, saying that the reference used by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to come to its conclusion was inaccurate.
Takiyuddin told the Dewan Rakyat that the tree cover loss data provided by online forest monitoring platform Global Forest Watch had included land used for agriculture and commodity production.
“This should not have been taken into account. By right, forest cover should only include permanent forest reserves, protected areas, government eco-parks, and proprietary land forests,” he said when winding up the debate on the royal address.
WWF-Malaysia said on its website that Malaysia has lost 8.12 million ha of forest from 2001 to 2019, equivalent to a 28% decrease in tree cover since the millennium.
It said the country’s remaining forests also face threats from unsustainable logging, illegal removal of forest products, and encroachment due to agricultural and urbanisation activities.
Takiyuddin said forest cover stood at 43.41% in Peninsular Malaysia as of 2018 and gave his commitment to improve the figure to at least 50% by 2040.
“This is the fact,” he said, responding to a question from Dr Lee Boon Chye (Gopeng-PH) on the country's forest cover today.
“However, the figures from 2019 to 2021 are still being reviewed and are yet to be published. I am confident they would have increased.” – The Vibes, March 15, 2022
An earlier version of the story erroneously cited, in paragraph six, the minister as saying that the forest cover percentage was for the whole of Malaysia.
