‘M’sia practises zero-burning techniques’
MIRI: Malaysia, the world’s second largest producer of palm oil, has been practising zero-burning techniques and has imposed a ban on open burning in 1998, says directorgeneral of Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), Datuk Dr Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir.
In a press statement yesterday, he said the zero-burning policy is stipulated under the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) Certification Scheme.
“Malaysia has long been associated with clearing of tropical rainforests and burning of peatlands and causing air pollution. Burning down of tropical forest is prohibited and against the law of Malaysia,” he said.
According to him, Malaysia recognises the increasing extent and frequency of peatland fires which are associated to haze.
The Department of Environment (DoE) has activated the National Open Burning Action Plan and the National Haze Action Plan to coordinate measures by the government agencies in addressing open burning and haze problem in the country.
He said the regulation of highwater table of between 40cm and 60cm is one of the key elements in the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) Certification Scheme and Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) to control wildfires.
“Proper management is implemented to reduce the impact of oil palm planted in peat areas in Malaysia. Water table regulation is critical and is being implemented in peatland areas planted with oil palm trees,” he said.
Malaysia has adopted several key policies which include prohibiting the new planting of oil palm in peatland areas and strengthening regulations concerning existing oil palm cultivation on peatlands. The policies also see the capping of the total of oil palm cultivated area to 6.5 million hectares to ensure sustainable oil palm cultivation.
Dr Ahmad added that studies have also been conducted on peatland in Malaysia specifically to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to recommend sustainable management systems on peatland.
He added that Malaysia is committed to promote conservation and enhancement of carbon stocks in forest and other land use, and support climate smart agriculture.
There are many drivers of deforestation and studies reveal that oil palm is not the major cause of deforestation. This is further confirmed by reports from the Union of Concerned Scientists which states that livestock, soya and wood products cause higher amount of forest loss compared to oil palm.
“Oil palm causes the lowest amount of forest loss. Therefore, it is unfair to say that the oil palm industry is the only single significant contributor to the environmental issues and global warming as there are many other economic activities that are responsible and contribute to the environmental and global warming issues,” he said.
He added that as a matter of fact, Malaysia’s deforestation rate has decreased. According to reports, for the period 1991 to 2000, the deforestation rate was at 0.27 per cent and decreased to 0.09 per cent for the period 2001 to 2010. From 2010 to 2015, forested area has increased by 2 per cent to 18.25 million hectares.
“Forest loss has been in decline since 2016; attributed to the implementation of the MSPO which was made mandatory beginning Jan 1, 2020.
“Based on the perspective of the commitments by Malaysia including the MSPO certification, the primary forest loss decline in Malaysia for four years in a row, from 2017 to 2020 may have contributed towards the global downward trend,” said Ahmad.
The commitment of Malaysia towards conserving biodiversity and sustainable management of the forest could be seen through the pledge made during the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 – to maintain at least 50 per cent of its forest intact. The forest area in Malaysia was reported to be at 58.18 per cent of total land area in 2020, according to the World Bank.
Based on the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s State of the World’s Forests (SOFO), 22 countries including Malaysia have succeeded in raising national food security levels while at the same time preserving the increase of forest cover, showing that forests need not be cut down to produce more food.
Malaysia, the world’s second largest producer of palm oil is still ranked as the top twelve megadiverse countries in the world. It is responsible towards protecting and conserving valuable biodiversity richness and endemism in the country, added Dr Ahmad.