RimbaWatch, formerly known as Rimba Disclosure Project, has released the results of the study titled “State of the Malaysian Rainforest 2023” in which it collated and analysed data on past and potential future deforestation.
RimbaWatch first analysed deforestation activity based on Global Forest Watch’s (GFW) tree cover loss data to estimate that between 2017 and 2021, Malaysia had deforested 349,244 hectares, with Sarawak and Pahang experiencing the highest rates of deforestation.
Using data collected from official forestry maps, forest reserve degazettements, project descriptions, approved forest-risk environmental impact assessments (EIA) and other platforms, RimbaWatch then analysed 438 alerts concerning areas at risk of deforestation in the future through the zoning of forested land for non-forest usage and real estate listings of forested land.
“From our analysis, we estimate that a further 2,346,601 hectares of forests in Malaysia have been earmarked for deforestation,” it said in a statement.
“The 2,346,601 hectares earmarked for deforestation is an area 100 times the size of Kuala Lumpur and is larger than the size of Perak, Penang and Melaka combined. If it was a state of its own, it would be Malaysia’s fourth largest after Pahang.”
RimbaWatch said their study is the first at attempting to identify the economic drivers of past and future deforestation, estimate statistics for future deforestation, and provide an overall assessment of forestry governance – all on a national scale.
It said timber plantations were the biggest driver of past deforestation that could be identified from 2017 to 2021. They accounted for 41.6% of deforestation, followed by palm oil plantations, which was responsible for 15.5%.
It said that the natural resources, environment and climate change ministry lists Malaysia’s 2017 forest cover at 18,332,583 hectares, which is 55.52% of the country’s total land area.
However, RimbaWatch estimated that Malaysia’s forest cover could decrease to 15,636,737 hectares, or 47.35% of the country’s total land area, in the future.
“This is below Malaysia’s commitment to maintain 50% of its land as forest cover.
“It also highlights the lack of proactive centralised monitoring of deforestation-related approvals and raises the question of how serious the government is on that commitment,” RimbaWatch said.
The government pledged to retain 50% of its land mass as forests at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992.
Moving forward, RimbaWatch called for the government to restore the 1,794,887 hectares of forest reserves earmarked for timber plantation concessions to natural forests, where a selective and sustainable logging system could be implemented instead.
It also said the government should amend its definitions of “forest cover” to include only natural forests, and not plantations – adding that it considered this a way of “greenwashing” deforestation.
The group also urged the government to expand on its 50% forest cover commitment and develop a time-bound strategy to maintain natural forest cover at its current maximum extent.