Case Study: Malaysia (OCR GCSE Geography)

• Malaysia is located in Southeast Asia

Location of Malaysia in Southeast Asia

Map showing location of Malaysia in southeast Asia

• Almost 70% of the land is covered by tropical rainforest

Deforestation in Malaysia

• It is estimated that Malaysia has the fastest rate of deforestation in the world
• Since 2000 an average of over 140,000 hectares of forest has been felled and cleared each year

Causes

• Logging
  • Malaysia is the largest exporter of tropical hardwoods
  • Although Malaysia has environmental protection policies there is still evidence of illegal logging in areas of Borneo
  • Selective logging is the dominant type of logging but this requires road construction and settlements which result in deforestation
• Energy
  • The construction of dams to provide Hydroelectric power results in the flooding of large areas of forest
  • The Bakun Dam will result in 700 km² of land being underwater in Sarawak, Malaysia
• Mining 
  • Tin mines are widespread and require deforestation for the mine itself but also for road construction 
  • An iron ore mine planned for the Som Forest Reserve will result in the deforestation of over 60 hectares
  • There is also drilling for oil and gas
• Commercial plantations
  • Malaysia exports over 30% of the world's palm oil and is the second largest producer
  • Many palm oil processes now adopting a zero-deforestation policy so that they do not buy palm oil from deforested areas. However, Clear felling permits are sometimes used in Malaysia to clear land and then sometime later another company will plant palm oil
• Settlements 
  • Up to 1980 people were encouraged to move to rural areas from the cities to try and reduce the pressure on urban areas
    • This led to the deforestation of approximately 15,000 hectares of rainforest
• Subsistence farming
  • This can sometimes involve slash and burn where areas are cleared using fires - these can sometimes get out of control and destroy large areas of rainforest

Sustainable management in Malaysia

• The implementation of a range of strategies is increasing sustainability in Malaysia
• Since 2001 the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) has certified 349 timber companies 
  • This means they are using sustainable management methods to fell timber

Education

• Education provides people with information about the importance of conserving the rainforest
• It also informs people of the damage deforestation can do
• Several education strategies have been implemented: 
  • Increased education programmes
  • The Ministry of Education has developed resources for integrating Environmental Education into the school curriculum.
  • They also have partnerships with NGOs such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and IGOs such as UNESCO

Community involvement 

• Increased involvement of local communities in forest conservation
• Recognition of indigenous community's land rights
• Support of small-scale economic activities among indigenous communities such as the Rungus:
  • Gombizau village - bees and honey 
  • Bavanggazo village - ecotourism

Selective logging and management system

• Selective logging has replaced clear felling in many areas
• The process involves:
  • Identification of the trees to be felled and the direction of felling. This avoids damaging other trees
  • Only trees of a certain size are selected for felling
  • Felling is carried out
  • A survey following felling leads to a treatment plan to restore any damage

Ecotourism

• The introduction of ecotourism provides income for local communities and educates visitors
• The Sungai Yu Forest Reserve is one example where visitors can:
  • Camp with the Batek indigenous community, who are semi-nomadic
  • Collect data about wildlife to help reduce poaching
• Ecotourism involves:
  • Members of the local community as guides, which provides them with an income
  • Use of local materials for building
  • Sustainable management of water, energy and waste 
  • Small groups which reduce the damage to the environment

Biosphere Reserves and National Parks

• Reserves and national parks are areas where no development or deforestation is allowed
• Penang Hill Biosphere Reserve attracts over 1.6 million visitors annually
• It consists of the: 
  • Core area: 6,304 ha
  • Buffer zone: 2,213 ha
  • Transition zone: 3,964 ha
• It includes one of the last coastal rainforests in Malaysia