Kuala Lumpur: The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES) will increase the number of community rangers to 3,000 this year under the Biodiversity Protection and Patrolling Programme (BP3), to curb illegal activities involving wildlife and forests.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, NRES secretary-general Datuk Dr Ching Thoo announced that the new appointments would primarily consist of members from the Orang Asli community and veterans from the Malaysian Armed Forces and Royal Malaysia Police. This initiative aims to strengthen protection efforts against encroachment in permanent forest reserves nationwide. Dr. Ching highlighted the positive impact of the program, citing reports that indicate a reduction in illegal activities, particularly poaching, following the RM80 million allocation received this year.
He further elaborated that BP3 enables more effective monitoring of forests and combats threats such as encroachment, illegal logging, and poaching. The announcement was made during the launch of the Jelajah Kelestarian Alam 2.0 programme at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), which was jointly organized by NRES, the Sultan Mizan Antarctic Research Foundation, and the Department of Environment (DOE), attracting over 250 participants.
In addition, Dr. Ching urged residents affected by wildlife disturbances to apply for the Property and Crop Damage Compensation (BKHT). He noted that although RM10 million was allocated for the program last year, only 10 percent of the funds were disbursed due to a low number of applications. The BKHT initiative, introduced to assist victims facing losses from human-wildlife conflicts, will continue this year with an additional RM1.5 million.
Dr. Ching added that the ministry is considering a proposal to increase the BKHT payout rate from 50 percent to 60 percent of the reported damages to better support affected individuals. Records indicate that most claims involve damages related to elephants, particularly in Johor, Kelantan, and Pahang, with some reports involving monkeys as well.