[UPDATED] Peninsular M’sia to lose forest land the size of S’pore: NGO

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia is set to lose a total of 72,584.73ha of forest land – roughly the size of Singapore and three times the land area of Kuala Lumpur – an environmental watchdog has warned, based on a list of deforestation plans confirmed last year.

According to Rimba Disclosure Project (RDP), an independent forest monitoring initiative, the figure is derived from reports of environmental impact assessments (EIA) involving forest land for sale and development projects approved last year.

So far, 86 EIAs concerning jungles were approved, with 89% or 24,973.76ha resulting in possible deforestation inside permanent forest reserves.

Pahang is reported to have the largest amount of forest land tagged to be destroyed based on 29 approved EIAs involving 11,248.5ha of jungle, said RDP in a statement today.

Meanwhile, RDP also found 43,539ha of forest land listed for sale on websites, including Mudah.my, iProperty, PropertyGuru and Facebook.

“These listings include land within forest reserves, Central Forest Spine habitat linkages and indigenous customary land.

“The most forests for sale are in Pahang (27,900ha), followed by Kelantan (10,411ha), Terengganu (3,631ha), Selangor (264ha) and Perak (202ha),” the statement added

On April 18, The Vibes reported based on data compiled by RDP that 1,754.012ha of forest land, similar to the size of Bentong, is at risk of being destroyed.

RDP’s data on this were also based on EIAs, forest for sale listings and development projects. However, the EIAs referred to by RDP were still awaiting approval by the Environment Department.

In January, The Vibes had reported on online postings where forest lands were being advertised for logging activities.

These included forest reserves found to be eyed for felling, such as the Sg Nipah Forest Reserve and Ulu Jelai Forest Reserve, which brim with numerous rare and common species of flora and fauna.

Incidentally, thirty years ago, the government had elicited heavy criticism over its plan to log on a single rainforest area about the size of Singapore for the controversial Bakun Dam project in Sarawak.

Regarded as an environmental disaster, the construction for the dam began in 1994 at the area inhabited by thousands of Penan tribespeople and boasting some of the highest rates of endemism in Southeast Asia, in reference to a large number of living species to be found in that single area. – The Vibes, April 21, 2022