Deforestation in Malaysia

Deforestation in Malaysia

1. Causes

   • Logging
     • World's largest exporter of tropical wood
     • Clear felling - all trees in area are felled
       • Recently, clear felling replaced by selective logging
   • Mining
     • Drilling for oil and gas recently started in Borneo
   • Energy development
     • The Bakun Dam
       • Asia's highest dam outside China
       • Dam's reservoir flooded 700km2 of rainforest
       • Energy for Malaysia
   • Palm oil
     • World's largest exporter of palm oil
     • Plantation owners received 10-year tax incentives
   • Population pressure
     • Overpopulation made gov. encourage people to move from urban to rural
       • (transmigration)
       • 15,000 hectares felled for settlers. Many then set up plantations

2. Impacts

   • Soil erosion
     • Roots bind soil together
   • Loss of biodiversity
     • Rainforests contain 60% world's biodiversity
     • Main Range Mountains, Peninsular Malaysia
       • 500km long - largest area of continuous forest in P. Malaysia
       • 600 species
       • Home to 25% of all plant species in Malaysia
       • Many undiscovered medicinal plants

3. Economic development

   • Economic losses
     • Water shortages - pollution of water and drier climate
     • Rising temperatures devestate some forms of farming e.g. growing tea
     • Plants that could bring medicinal benefits and high profits go extinct
     • No. of tourists attracted by rainforests decreases
   • Economic gains
     • Dev. land for farming, mining, energy creates jobs directly (construction) and indirectly (support industries)
     • Companies pay tax to gov. = improved public services e.g. health and education
     • Hydro-electric power provides cheap and plentiful energy
     • Improved transport infrastructure opens new areas for industrial development