Geography

Biodiversity Facts

Status and trends of biodiversity, including benefits from biodiversity and ecosystem services The content of this biodiversity profile is still draft. The text below has been prepared by SCBD and remains subject to final approval by the Party concerned.

Malaysia has undergone rapid economic development since independence which is attributed to the utilization of the country’s rich natural resources and development of human capital. Based on 2012 statistics, approximately 60% of the country’s total land area is still forested, including permanent reserved forest (PRF), state land forests, national parks, and wildlife and bird sanctuaries. This is in line with Malaysia’s commitment to maintain at least 50% of forest and tree cover in perpetuity, as pledged at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. In addition, a total of 10.6% of Malaysia’s land area has been designated as terrestrial protected areas. The remaining land uses comprise agricultural crops, rubber plantations, oil palm plantations, urban and other uses. Malaysia has an estimated 15,000 species of vascular plants, 306 species of mammals, 742 species of birds, 242 species of amphibians, 567 species of reptiles, over 449 species of freshwater fish, over 500 species of marine fish and more than 150,000 species of invertebrates.

Biodiversity

Malaysia attaches great importance to establishing protected areas for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. At present, 10.6% of Malaysia’s land area has been designated as terrestrial protected areas. With regard to marine protected areas, in 2013, the Department of Marine Park Malaysia managed 248,613 hectares of marine protected areas, covering 42 islands in Peninsular Malaysia and federal territories that have been gazetted as marine parks. Sabah Parks and the Sarawak Forestry Department manage a total of 73,793 and 234,362.4 hectares of marine protected area, respectively. Since Malaysia shares common borders with Thailand on the peninsula, and with Indonesia in Borneo, the Federal Government has also initiated the establishment of transboundary protected areas on a bilateral basis and through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). At the regional level, Malaysia is implementing the Heart of Borneo Initiative which aims to conserve 20 million hectares of forest within the 3 participating countries, namely, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. Out of this area, 3.9 million hectares are located in the states of Sabah and Sarawak. For marine conservation, Malaysia is also implementing the Coral Triangle Initiatives which is a joint collaboration project among 6 countries to conserve important marine biodiversity within the coral triangle area. Within the country, Malaysia has also started to implement the Central Forest Spine (CFS) Master Plan which aims to create a contiguous forest network linked through ecological corridors covering 5 million hectares in Peninsular Malaysia.

In addition to in situ conservation measures, Malaysia has established a number of ex situ conservation centres to preserve the genetic resources of some species. For instance, traditional varieties of rice, wild rice species, and other accessions, including pure line varieties, modern high-yielding varieties, elite breeding lines and special types are stored in various seed gene banks in Malaysia. The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) manages 11 wildlife conservation centres. The programmes include captive breeding of endangered and commercial species, research and sampling for the Wildlife Genetic Resource Bank (WGRB) and the establishment of baseline data on wildlife DNA. For example, in order to halt the decline of the Milky Stork (Mycteria cineria), the DWNP and the National Zoo began reintroducing this species into the mangrove forests of the Matang Forest Reserve in the State of Perak. Ongoing monitoring programmes have indicated that the storks have acclimatised to their natural habitat. The DWNP has also started to reintroduce captive bred gaur (Bos gaurus) into the natural habitat. In addition, various efforts have also been taken to reverse the rate of loss of natural habitats. Specific action plans also exist for flagship species, such as the National Tiger Conservation Action Plan (NTCAP) and the National Elephant Conservation Action Plan (NECAP).

To address issues on invasive alien species, a National Working Group was formed, composed of members of agencies working in the fields of agriculture, fisheries, veterinary services, environment, irrigation and drainage, wildlife, forestry, public health, medical research, maritime, transportation, aviation, customs, research institutions and universities. The working group has developed, among other plans, a National Action Plan for the Prevention, Containment, Eradication and Control of Invasive Alien Species. The Action Plan was adopted by the National Biodiversity Council in 2013.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is responsible for administering a programme dedicated to the documentation of traditional knowledge. This includes bringing together existing databases based in sectoral agencies, research institutions and universities, documenting traditional knowledge that has not yet been documented and developing a national action plan on traditional knowledge. The Government also intends to establish a Digital Library on Traditional Knowledge.