“The Malaysian rainforest is millions of years old and once it is lost, it is lost permanently,” he said.
Defining and delineating natural forest cover is complex: some assessments classify abandoned timber plantations or energetic palm plots as forest cover, while others only include relatively untouched land.
RimbaWatch subsequently used three different forest cover baselines in its research: one based on EU satellite data, one based on official Malaysian data, and one based on an independent evaluation by environmental start-up The TreeMap.
RimbaWatch mapped concession grants to those baselines to find out how much the forest is in danger, based on the belief that each one trees in concession areas are in danger.
The evaluation showed that 14 to 16 percent of Malaysia’s remaining natural forests, or 2.1 to three.2 million hectares, are prone to being cleared.
Malaysia has long pledged to take care of forest cover on 50 percent of its territory, but that promise is in danger and will have already got been broken, RimbaWatch found.
The TreeMap’s Nusantara Atlas dataset estimates forest cover to be below 47 percent by 2022.
Timber and palm oil plantations are the principal drivers of deforestation risk in Malaysia, but there are also other threats, including mining projects and even hydroelectric power plants.
The report marks the second time RimbaWatch has analyzed the danger to Malaysia’s forests. Its findings last 12 months were rejected by Malaysian officials, who said the group’s definition of forest cover was incorrect.
RimbaWatch says Malaysia defines forest cover too broadly.
“The Malaysian government allows monoculture plantations to be included in forest cover, which is an extremely disturbing phenomenon,” Adam said.
“The Malaysian government will not report the loss of 2.4 million hectares in timber plantations as deforestation,” he added.
Malaysia’s Minister of Natural Resources and Sustainable Environment Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said on Tuesday that authorities would “confirm” the RimbaWatch report before responding, the New Straits Times reported.
“We know there are challenges in some places, but I think we are working very hard to protect that and we will take the report seriously,” he was quoted as saying.
However, Adam warned that Malaysia continues to push for concessions in forested areas and even offers subsidies for timber plantations where native trees are cut right down to make way for fast-growing money crops reminiscent of acacia.
“The Malaysian rainforest has hundreds of tree species per hectare, but in monoculture there is only one,” Farhan said.
