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Environmental issues in Malaysia

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Haze over Kuala Lumpur in 2010.

Malaysia faces several environmental issues. Malaysia's environment possesses megadiverse biological diversity, with globally significant endemism and biodiversity, but is threatened by several issues. Deforestation is a major issue in the country that has led to many species becoming threatened with extinction. As a major economic sector, palm oil production has had a substantial environmental impact. Air pollution is also a major issue, with the country one of the most affected countries by seasonal Southeast Asian haze. The country is also affected by climate change.

Issues

Climate change

This section is an excerpt from Climate change in Malaysia.[edit]
Graph showing temperature anomaly in Malaysia between 1901 and 2021.

Climate change is having a considerable impact in Malaysia. Increasing temperatures are likely to greatly increase the number of heatwaves occurring annually. Variations in precipitation may increase the frequency of droughts and floods in various local areas. Sea level rise may inundate some coastal areas. These impacts are expected to have numerous environmental and socioeconomic effects, exacerbating existing environmental issues and reinforcing inequality.

Malaysia itself contributes emissions given its significant use of coal and natural gas. However, the use of hydropower has expanded in the 21st century, and other potential energy sources such as solar power and biomass are being explored. The government anticipates the need to adapt in areas such as health and coastal defences, and has ratified the Paris Agreement.

Endangered species

Main articles: Wildlife of Malaysia and Flora of Malaysia

Deforestation

This section is an excerpt from Deforestation in Malaysia.[edit]
This image reveals the overall extent of land-cover change throughout the region.

Deforestation in Malaysia is a major environmental issue in the country. British colonial deforestation efforts began in 1880 and were rapidly driven by commercial rubber and palm oil cultivation.

Between 1990 and 2010, Malaysia lost an estimated 8.6% of its forest cover, or around 1,920,000 hectares (4,700,000 acres).[4] Logging and land clearing has particularly been driven by the palm oil sector. World Bank policies in the 1970s encouraged palm oil expansion and the IMF’s bailout package, following the 1998 economic crisis, incentivised the expansion of palm plantations. However, as a megadiverse country, efforts have been made to conserve Malaysia's forests and reduce the rate of deforestation.

The following are notable projects contributing to deforestation:

Malaysia had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 5.01/10, ranking it 111th globally out of 172 countries.[9]

Pollution

Further information: Air pollution in Malaysia

Air pollution in Malaysia is a major issue, with the country one of the most affected by seasonal Southeast Asian haze.[10]

Reclamation

Main article: Land reclamation

Coastal reclamation is damaging mangroves and turtle nesting sights.

Recycling and waste management

Main article: Recycling in Malaysia

The country has numerous waste and recycling policies and initiatives but overall low rate of recycling and problems with violations and enforcement of such laws and policies.

Water

Further information: Water supply and sanitation in Malaysia

Controversial projects and policies

Project/Area affected Activity State Began Notes Ref.
Bakun Dam Dams Sarawak 2008 Forest loss. [13]
Kuala Lumpur Outer Ring Road (KLORR) Highways Selangor 2008 Forest fragmentation in the Selangor State Park. [14]
Forest Plantation Development[15] Plantation Selangor 2008- Clearance of natural forest for timber plantations. [16]
Empire Residence Development Housing Selangor 2008- Hillslope clearance. [17]
Pan Borneo Highway Highway Sarawak/Sabah 2016 Forest loss, Brunei sections and the Temburong Bridge project and its implications to Limbang [18]

Environmental organisations

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Environmental problems in Malaysia.

References

  1. ^ "Elephant - WWF Malaysia". www.wwf.org.my.
  2. ^ "About WWF-Malaysia - WWF Malaysia". www.wwf.org.my.
  3. ^ a b Clements, Reuben; Rayan, Darmaraj Mark; Ahmad Zafir, Abdul Wahab; Venkataraman, Arun; Alfred, Raymond; Payne, Junaidi; Ambu, Laurentius; Sharma, Dionysius Shankar Kumar (2010-04-01). "Trio under threat: can we secure the future of rhinos, elephants and tigers in Malaysia?". Biodiversity and Conservation. 19 (4): 1115–1136. doi:10.1007/s10531-009-9775-3. ISSN 1572-9710. S2CID 21913372.
  4. ^ "Malaysia Forest Information and Data". Rainforests.mongabay.com. Archived from the original on 7 September 2004. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  5. ^ Japan, FoE. "The Pahang-Selangor Raw Water Transfer Project in Malaysia (Kelau Dam)". FoE Japan.
  6. ^ "Development Disasters – Japanese-Funded Dam Projects in Asia" (PDF). 2016-03-03. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
  7. ^ "Bukit Cherakah Forest Reserve, Malaysia Map with Wikipedia Places". itouchmap.com. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
  8. ^ "Agkillah Maniam, Ignorance is not bliss in conservation matters, The Malaysian Insider, 12 October 2014 3:01 PM, accessed 1/25/2015". Archived from the original on 3 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  9. ^ Grantham, H. S.; Duncan, A.; Evans, T. D.; Jones, K. R.; Beyer, H. L.; Schuster, R.; Walston, J.; Ray, J. C.; Robinson, J. G.; Callow, M.; Clements, T.; Costa, H. M.; DeGemmis, A.; Elsen, P. R.; Ervin, J.; Franco, P.; Goldman, E.; Goetz, S.; Hansen, A.; Hofsvang, E.; Jantz, P.; Jupiter, S.; Kang, A.; Langhammer, P.; Laurance, W. F.; Lieberman, S.; Linkie, M.; Malhi, Y.; Maxwell, S.; Mendez, M.; Mittermeier, R.; Murray, N. J.; Possingham, H.; Radachowsky, J.; Saatchi, S.; Samper, C.; Silverman, J.; Shapiro, A.; Strassburg, B.; Stevens, T.; Stokes, E.; Taylor, R.; Tear, T.; Tizard, R.; Venter, O.; Visconti, P.; Wang, S.; Watson, J. E. M. (2020). "Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity - Supplementary Material". Nature Communications. 11 (1): 5978. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 7723057. PMID 33293507.
  10. ^ Tacconi, Luca (July 2016). "Preventing fires and haze in Southeast Asia". Nature Climate Change. 6 (7): 640–643. Bibcode:2016NatCC...6..640T. doi:10.1038/nclimate3008. ISSN 1758-6798.
  11. ^ Bradsher, Keith (2011-03-08). "Mitsubishi Quietly Cleans Up Its Former Refinery". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
  12. ^ "Pasir Gudang: How one quiet lorry sparked a toxic waste crisis". BBC News. 2019-03-20. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
  13. ^ "The Bakun Hydroelectric Project - Malaysia". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  14. ^ "Selangor State Park Blog (TREES)". Retrieved 4 August 2011.
  15. ^ "Private sector forest plantation development in Peninsular Malaysia". www.fao.org.
  16. ^ "Reserve land cleared for reforestation". Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  17. ^ "Don't Kill that Hill Campaign". Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  18. ^ "10 packages for Pan Borneo Highway project to be tendered this year, says works minister". Malay Mail. 18 February 2016.
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