Malaysia is home to some of the world’s richest rainforests and many other rich habitats, including at least ten distinct types of wetlands. Endemism is high, with 2,199 species found nowhere else on Earth. But an alarming 18 per cent of species are threatened and 3.2 per cent are endangered, including at least 78 endemic plant species. Endangered animal species include the Indian tapir and the orang-utan, of which only a few small populations survive. As in most other tropical countries, the main threats to Malaysia’s land come from logging, slash-and-burn agriculture, and conversion into temporary paddies.
The country is the largest exporter of tropical hardwoods but the unsustainable rates of deforestation are among the highest in the world. The careless logging of upland forests, particularly vulnerable to disturbance, has resulted in erosion, siltation, soil degradation, wildlife loss, and flooding. On the mainland peninsula only 43 per cent of the land remained forested by 1990, and it is estimated that only about 10 per cent of this is undisturbed forest. Many wetlands have also been disturbed or destroyed. Malaysia has not ratified the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
A large proportion of the protected land on peninsular Malaysia is found in Kinabalu National Park, one of the largest parks in South East Asia. Protected areas cover 2 per cent of Sarawak and 7 per cent of Sabah, but planned additions would bring the totals to 8 and 9 per cent. Illegal logging and wildlife poaching are still problematic in Malaysia’s protected areas. Urbanization and industrialization have also caused problems with solid-waste management and water pollution, affecting many of the country’s coastal waters and rivers. Inshore and offshore fisheries resources are rapidly being exhausted. The government of Malaysia is seeking to mitigate these problems through various means, including the Environmental Quality Act (1974) and the Fisheries Act (1985), but implementation and enforcement are frequently bogged down by politics and lack of resources. Malaysia is party to international environmental agreements concerning biodiversity, endangered species, high seas, law of the sea, tropical timber, and wetlands. The country has also signed the World Heritage Convention and the Agreement on Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The country is the largest exporter of tropical hardwoods but the unsustainable rates of deforestation are among the highest in the world. The careless logging of upland forests, particularly vulnerable to disturbance, has resulted in erosion, siltation, soil degradation, wildlife loss, and flooding. On the mainland peninsula only 43 per cent of the land remained forested by 1990, and it is estimated that only about 10 per cent of this is undisturbed forest. Many wetlands have also been disturbed or destroyed. Malaysia has not ratified the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
A large proportion of the protected land on peninsular Malaysia is found in Kinabalu National Park, one of the largest parks in South East Asia. Protected areas cover 2 per cent of Sarawak and 7 per cent of Sabah, but planned additions would bring the totals to 8 and 9 per cent. Illegal logging and wildlife poaching are still problematic in Malaysia’s protected areas. Urbanization and industrialization have also caused problems with solid-waste management and water pollution, affecting many of the country’s coastal waters and rivers. Inshore and offshore fisheries resources are rapidly being exhausted. The government of Malaysia is seeking to mitigate these problems through various means, including the Environmental Quality Act (1974) and the Fisheries Act (1985), but implementation and enforcement are frequently bogged down by politics and lack of resources. Malaysia is party to international environmental agreements concerning biodiversity, endangered species, high seas, law of the sea, tropical timber, and wetlands. The country has also signed the World Heritage Convention and the Agreement on Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
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