Invest in research for higher yields

PERTUBUHAN Pelindung Khazanah Alam (Peka) Malaysia lauds the recent announcement by Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok on the government’s move to stop further expansion of oil palm plantations in Malaysia.

This move is in line with the government’s commitment to maintain 50% of Malaysia’s land with forest cover.

Unsustainable acts of deforestation lead to major loss of biodiversity and disruption to our forest ecosystem as well as negative socioeconomic impacts while contributing to climate change.

Deforestation also depletes our water catchment areas, causes soil erosion and sedimentation, which makes our rivers shallow, and leads to natural disasters such as landslides and floods, which have been on the rise in recent years.

Numerous wildlife species are facing extinction due to loss of habitat and the livelihood of many indigenous and rural communities is being threatened as their source of food and clean water is destroyed by deforestation.

The slash and burn method of land clearing to make way for oil palm plantations has increased carbon emissions, contributing to air pollution.

Peka Malaysia is not against palm oil plantations but we fully support the move of the Malaysian government to stop the expansion of oil palm plantations in our country.

Players in the oil palm industry should work together with the government and various non-governmental organisations to comply with the national and international standards to achieve 100% Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification.

They should invest in research and development that could result in higher yields from their existing plantations rather than expanding the size of their plantation, which would further deplete our forest reserves.