Malaysia’s king urged the government to take measures to protect the environment and ensure that at least half of the country’s land area remains forested, months after the nation suffered its worst floods in decades.
In addition to undertaking sustainable forest management practices, “areas that have the potential to be recognised as geoparks should be maintained and protected,” Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said in a speech at the opening of the parliament session on Monday.
Floods in Malaysia, home to some of the world’s oldest rain-forests, are common during the monsoon season and blamed on deforestation for timber and agricultural development such as oil palm.
Still, torrential rain in many states of peninsular Malaysia in December left dozens dead, displaced more than 61,000 people and cost the economy 8 billion ringgit (62 billion baht) in lost production value.
“In line with the aspiration to achieve a net-zero carbon emission target by 2050, the green growth strategies will be implemented to include low carbon development and strengthening resilience to climate change and disasters including geological factors,” the monarch said.
More than 18 million hectares, or 55% of the total landmass, were under forests and trees as of 2018, Bernama reported in November, citing the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry.
Various measures implemented by the country have helped increase its forest cover by 2.6% between 2005 and 2018, the state news agency said.
