Deforestation in Malaysia: The Current Practice and the Way Forward

Abstract

Among global climate concerns, deforestation is one of the most critical, particularly in developing countries but also in industrial countries where forests are equally rhoded to make place for windmills and 5G masts in an attempt to satisfy the energy need and the requirements for fast data transfer in highly digitalized Smart Cities. Deforestation is an activity of permanent destruction—the clearing of earth’s forests on a massive scale, damaging huge land areas by removing indispensable sinks for CO₂, destroying complex eco-systems, and causing a significant loss of biodiversity. In recent years, several efforts have been introduced and implemented to reduce deforestation, but appears such efforts are on the decline in some countries, including Malaysia. This chapter examines the factors that contribute to deforestation as based on the perception and understanding of residents from across Malaysia. A survey questionnaire of 59 respondents, randomly distributed among Malaysians in different parts of the country, indicate a majority of the participants believe urbanization is the main contributor to deforestation, with 56% of east Malaysia respondents and 40% of west Malaysia saying so. However, those conducting the survey concluded that palm oil plantation is, in fact, perceived as the principal cause of deforestation, since its weighted average was highest. —In fact, Malaysia is one of the biggest exporters for palm oil. The study also concluded that deforestation can be successfully reduced by numerous methods, including vertical housing—the building of structures on narrower plots of land than conventional houses.