Kuala lumpur: State governments have been urged to expedite the adoption of the National Forestry (Amendment) Act 2022 by amending their respective Forestry Enactments to support efforts in strengthening the preservation and conservation of the country’s forested areas. Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, Datuk Seri Huang Tiong Sii, highlighted that to date, only the Federal Territory and Perlis have fully implemented the amendments in the law.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES) remains committed to enhancing efforts to preserve and conserve the country’s forested areas. The government is steadfast in its pledge to maintain at least 50 percent of the country’s land area under tree and forest cover, in line with the country’s commitment made at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992.
Huang made these remarks while opening the 100 Million Tree Planting Campaign in conjunction with the 2025 International Forest Day celebration at the National Botanical Gardens. Among the measures being undertaken to fulfil this commitment are the gazetting of forest areas based on their ecological significance and increasing the allocation of financial incentives for Ecological Fiscal Transfer for Biodiversity Conservation (EFT).
Efforts have been intensified to designate other forested areas as Permanent Forest Reserves (HSK), watershed, and fully protected areas. Proposed HSK areas, particularly those within the Central Forest Spine and Environmentally Sensitive Areas, are also being targeted for gazettement. The EFT allocation has been raised to RM250 million this year from RM200 million in 2024.
Huang noted that the incentive could assist state governments in identifying and executing high-impact projects for conservation purposes, consistent with the six scopes outlined for EFT project implementation in collaboration with the respective State Forestry Department.
Commenting on the tree planting campaign, he shared that as of June 15, a total of 115.7 million trees, covering 1,972 species, have been planted nationwide. This includes 43.9 million trees in Peninsular Malaysia, 48.3 million trees in Sarawak, and 23.5 million trees in Sabah. The target of 100 million trees was achieved a year earlier, on December 10, 2024, with the symbolic planting of the 100 millionth tree by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at Taman Herba, Parliament in Kuala Lumpur.
Despite reaching the target, Huang emphasized that the campaign will continue until the year’s end to increase public awareness of the importance of trees and foster a love for nature.