Forest Management in Malaysia: Malaysia No. 1 in Sustainable Forest Management

Interview with Dato’ Prof. Dr. Hj. Abd. Rahman Hj. Abd. Rahim, Director General of Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia

How important is forestry, the timber industry, to the Malaysian economy?  What are the challenges and the investment opportunities?

We in Malaysia are very fortunate to have these tropical rain forests. Tropical rainforests have evolved over a million years. They are very complex and consist of many species, timber and non-timber species. Forestry contributes significantly to the Malaysian economy, in terms of not only timber products but also other related forestry products. Let me begin with timber. Malaysian timber has been exported to the international market, especially to Europe, America, China and Japan. They know the quality of Malaysian tropical timber. Those timbers are grown locally under the practice of sustainable forest management. Malaysia is fully committed to sustainable forest management. We believe that when we export our timber to the international market they are sourced from sustainably managed forest areas. We are concerned about sustainability here because there is no point having a product that is not sustainable. It must be something the future generation as well as the present generation can enjoy.

Going back to the tropical timbers, our timbers have been widely exported globally, especially for furniture. Such furniture is everywhere, in your homes and schools. Tropical timber is so important and so popular. Malaysia is a participant in ITTO, the International Tropical Timber Organization. ITTO is made up of members from producer countries and consumer countries. They discuss how to sell tropical timber in the international market. Many of our consumers are in Europe, America, Africa, China and Japan.

In Malaysia, our sector, forestry, contributes significantly to the economy, following petroleum and oil palm. That is why timber is so significant. Beyond timber, forestry areas can provide other ecosystem services, for example, water. Normally when you talk about water catchment areas, it is about areas with forest trees. The forest trees act as sponges that retain water, as well as water bodies like pools and rivers within forests being catchments. Water is very important, for domestic use as well as other uses.

You can live without food but you cannot survive without water.

In terms of climate change, Malaysia participated in the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). It is so important because in today’s world the global temperatures have increased because of greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide is one of the worst of these gases. During photosynthesis, forest trees absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. We need more oxygen to control the so-called global warming effect. We call it Carbon sequestration. While trees release oxygen, they also release moisture cooling the air. Then the rainfall cycle begins again. Forests also provide habitat for wildlife – from animals that you can see to microorganisms, both terrestrial and subterranean. Forests are habitat for birds, elephants, tigers. Habitat means a place to live as well as the food to sustain life. In tropical forestry, we call it biodiversity. Tropical forests have diverse flora and fauna.

Looking ahead, forestry is important. We should continue to use timber for furniture, because it is eco-friendly. It is a green economy. Forestry is green gold. Forestry is important in creating oxygen to counter climate change and to provide habitat for animals, as well as to maintain aesthetic value. 

Then we have eco-tourism. Everything goes into the package, water, timber, and habitat. It is called nature tourism.

We get tired of our urban lives and we need a break. In America, in many parts of the world, people go out into nature, they go camping. You do not go camping in the desert. You go camping in the forest. You can have campfires and sit outside in the night. You can even go hunting in the forests. It has everything. That makes eco-tourism.

Therefore, our tropical rainforests support so many things. We are very fortunate. They provide for our not only timber production, but also eco-tourism, water supply, controlling climate change. We, in the Forest department of Peninsular Malaysia, are responsible for the management and development of our resources. That is why we are committed to sustainable forest management. In Malaysia, our land is categorized into three classes. One is the Permanent Reserved Forest, which is gazetted by law under our National Forestry Act. Two, the Stateland Forests, gazetted under the Land Ordinance and three, the alienated land forest. These lands are held for development, for roads, buildings etc. The Permanent Reserve Forests are kept safe for present and future generations. As long as we keep our forests and manage them sustainably, our citizens and foreigners can come visit them.

What are the challenges of maintaining these forests?  We have seen many news reports of encroachment and illegal logging. The fines are not enough to cover preventive management.

Well, the forests are here and so is the law. The question is one of enforcement. There are many elements to consider. First, the system. Do we have the law in place? Yes. Second, the people who enforce the law. People are not just the managers of these resources but also the consumers. As Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘the worldhas enough for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed’. As long as human greed exists, there will be people who twist the system. Offences will be committed against the system.

The number one challenge we encounter is the lifestyle of the forest people. They want to continue living in the forests. They want to live in the conventional way, in the forest. They do not want to live in the modern world. We want them to go out and be civilized. They want to maintain convention, traditional life. Which is not right. They want to continue living in the forest. When the government begins to develop this land, build infrastructure, roads, schools, they protest. They want to maintain their lifestyle, the old traditional way. These people say ‘you have disturbed our forest’. On the contrary is another lifestyle, the modern world. We live in cities. People live in cities because they want a modern lifestyle. We also need to plant more trees. Urban dwellers must come help plant more trees, especially in urban areas, be civic minded.

At the same time, the need to consume means some people cause destruction, wastage. More trees are cut to fulfill economic requirements. They want more profits. Talking of illegal logging, as you did, it is about cutting more than you’re supposed to cut. It is like eating more than you want at a buffet. It is all there. Similarly, in illegal logging, the people, the companies, they feel like they can cut more.  They want more revenue and they become greedy. In any part of the world, greed drives illegal activities. In this institution, I must not fail to admit that there are illegal activities, but they are under control. I cannot say there is none, but they are under control. The challenge is to eliminate it. However, as long as there are human beings, without changes in attitude and lifestyle, there is no way to overcome this. The human factor is so significant.

The world has begun to compare the different forest types. The Boreal forests, temperate forests and tropical forests and the role they play in today’s community livelihood. How can you compare temperate diversities with tropical diversities? In temperate forests, there are not as many species as in tropical rainforests. That means forests in the tropics contribute significantly to the world.

Going back to more serious matters like climate change, as I mentioned before, under the aegis of UNFF, United Nations Forum on Forests, tropical forestry had been the focal point of discussion. They almost forgot about temperate forests and Boreal forests. Why? Because of the significance of tropical forests in the world. The land portion of the earth has forested land. These forested lands contribute to environmental stability. When things happen to tropical rainforests, it is news. It gets wide coverage, in local and international media. When things happen to temperate forests, it is not the same kind of coverage. A forest fire in a temperate forest may mean two tree species are gone. If a tropical forest is under threat, there are many things you are going to lose, especially bio diversity.

So the challenge is how do we manage these resources, with its multiple values, multiple products and multiple ecosystems? This is our challenge as foresters, how to protect the wide array of products and services that the forest can give to consumers. In addition they are threatened by human greed. The future challenge is to make the public understand this and play their part. Love the forest! Normally if you love someone, you take care of them. If you lose someone you love, you feel the loss. People need to be aware, educated about the place of forests in their life.

Most of the developed nations are in the northern hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere, in the many developing nations, people still rely on forests for land development.

Look at the developed nations. They do not talk about maintaining their forests anymore, because they have destroyed their forests.

They go to other parts of the world and say ‘Hey you, Rahman in Malaysia, take care of our forests’. Because they know how important a role tropical rainforests play. Under the UNFCCC they talk a lot about tropical rainforests because they see the richness of flora, fauna and habitat. It is also a source of bio-based technology and biomedicine as well as modern medicine. You could not get it in temperate forests. You know what they say about Panadol? Panadol and the medicine for malaria. The source is in the forests.

You look at the world today and you know you need to plant more trees, especially tropical trees. Talk about world trade today, people associate trade to environment. How do you address the environment? You need trees. You plant so you can get environmental stability.

Malaysia allegedly planted 26 million trees. How you progressing and what are your future plans?

We embarked on a plan in 2010 to plant 26 million trees by 2014. Today I am pleased to announce that we have planted about 58 million trees. This means we have exceeded our goal before 2014 has ended. In the future, we are going to triple it to 80 million. We believe that Malaysian citizens from all walks of life know the importance of trees in their lives. This campaign had a very good response from the public. As I’ve mentioned we’ve already more than doubled what was our initial target for the last four years. And this covers trees in all the major forest types. We have dry inland forests, peat swamp forests and mangrove forests. Dry inland forest is from 300 meters above sea level to uphill areas. Then down, from 115 are peat swamp forests. Those protect the mainland from salinity. Finally, the coastal forests, called mangrove forests. We have planted all these types. Compare this to the temperate world. They only plant one species. For them there is only dry inland forests. In some countries, they have other forests. The Everglades, they have mangroves. However, their diversities are not comparable to Malaysia.

Finally, in comparison to other countries with tropical rainforests, like Brazil, some countries in Africa, some countries in Asia, how does Malaysia compare in conservation? Are you one of the leading countries in this area?

To start with, we cannot walk alone. That is the message. We cannot walk alone. All the countries with rainforests gather under the ITTO. We cannot go it alone. The best way to work is to work together. So the Brazilian, African, Asia-Pacific, ASEAN rainforest countries are actively involved in both management and conservation. I must admit that we have inherited the British way of managing resources. That is why we are fully committed to sustainable forest management. Sustainable forest management entails three important pillars: it must be economically viable, environmentally sound and socially acceptable. Malaysia has undertaken Forest Management Certification. All our forests are certified meaning those forests are well managed and assessed by a third party.

It means that our forests are sustainably managed. You can refer to the ITTO with regard to timber, in the Asia-Pacific region, which includes Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Brazil, Latin America and Africa.

I can proudly say we are the world’s number one. You can check that. It’s because many of our forests are certified forest management areas.

That is why we are actively involved in ITTO. We formulated our criteria to measure sustainability compliances. The degree of difference between Latin American countries and us is probably in terms of challenges. The challenges in Latin America are different because there are many tribes who are still forest dwellers. In our case, forest dwellers are few or in tiny groups. Then some of them are educated and come out of their conventional or traditional life. In addition, we are fortunate to have a government that is concerned about their community and livelihood. Some of our experts have been invited to other countries. In ASEAN, Malaysia is the center for Pan-Forestry Certification activities. These are recognitions that we are pioneers and our forests are well managed. Even at the global level, Malaysian experts participate in many international fora. We have participated as spokespersons and as negotiators.

Many in those other developing countries look at Malaysia, which is really a small country, but with our commitment, our seriousness and our readiness to participate in any collaborative work we have made the international community comfortable. They look to Malaysia as an example. Malaysia can implement whatever plans are formulated by the ITTO. I do not think any other country, especially producer country, can do this. This is so because we are fortunate that our political leaders are with us, with the people, the community. I must admit, as a technical department, we are able to address and implement our commitments in any international forum into our local system. So if you were to come and invest in our forests, Malaysia is ready. All our forests are certified under the sustainable forest management system.