KUALA LUMPUR – Forest land and logging licences seem to be advertised openly online without violating any laws – but authorities can still intervene to prevent further deforestation.
Rimba Disclosure Project (RDP), an independent initiative aimed at centralising sources of data to disclose activities harmful to the environment, said that nothing much can be done about the advertisements and sale of the lands and licences.
However, they stressed that government bodies such as the Environment Department (DoE) have the final say on the matter.
A spokesman for the project, who requested anonymity, told The Vibes that DoE could simply reject environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports for harmful activities taking place in the forest.
We don't doubt that the sale of forest land is being done legally, but greater pressure must be placed on DoE to stop approving EIAs involving unsustainable logging and conversion of natural forests into plantations,” the spokesman said when contacted.
He explained that the unrestrained transfer of licences of land ownership could “lock” the country into further deforestation.
Given that forest land and licences fall into private hands, which then becomes subject to contractual obligations, RDP believes that this will not result in the revocation of the land titles, even if a more environmentally concerned government is appointed into office.
“The landowners are likely still required to adhere to environmental laws such as submitting EIAs before doing anything with the land.
We are aware of cases where forests have been sold, but the owners are unable to carry out any deforestation because DoE will not approve their EIA,” the spokesperson added.
The non-government organisation also pointed out that the sale of forests and logging licences is not a new phenomenon, and advertisements have existed since 2019.
Currently, RDP is in the process of collating all the listings sighted in 2021 and plans to make the data available publicly.
Former Malaysian Nature Society president Tan Sri Salleh Mohd Nor said the sale of concessions online is nothing new, especially in the digital era.
He further warned when such transactions now enter the online sphere, it could only become more rampant.
“As these things go widespread, all of Malaysia’s forests could end up being for sale.
Just selling forest lands alone, once the purchaser owns the land, he could bring in his bulldozers, and the Forest Department may not be aware of what's going on,” Salleh told The Vibes.
The Vibes had previously sighted the listings, which mentioned that logging activities could take place through the “marking system”, where the trees that can be logged are marked or the “cuci mangkuk” system where all the trees in the area can be felled.
Salleh explained that the cuci mangkuk method is usually reserved for land designated as forest plantation or for agricultural activities.
On the other hand, logging in forest reserves uses the marking system, where the Forestry Department determines what trees can be cut.
He also warned that while there could be further detrimental impact on the environment, he cautioned that the proliferation of these online advertisements could be misused by fraudsters too.
On Sunday, The Vibes reported that rainforest lands and logging licences were listed for sale on websites such as majalah.com.
Upon speaking to the agents who put up those advertisements, they explained that the transactions were legal given all necessary approvals were obtained from authorities.
Some of the advertisements listed logging licences applicable to forest reserves in Pahang and Terengganu.
Only last month, it was reported that DoE approved 46 EIAs in Pahang alone, some of which involve logging activities and deforestation activities. – The Vibes, January 11, 2022
