Earlier this week, the Malaysian federal government announced plans to compensate state governments for maintaining its forest reserves. While the quantum is still in the works, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Takiyuddin Hassan has revealed that it would be based on “the percentage of the forest reserves recorded at respective states.” Following the announcement, Kedah chief minister (menteri besar) Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor stated that the state should receive RM100 million a year for maintaining its forests, particularly its water catchment areas which provide water to Kedah as well as its neighbouring states of Penang and Perlis.

Crackdown on deforestation and logging following major flooding events is not new—we have a post several years ago pointing out this recurring trend at the state level: The Political-Economy of Land Development (or the Politics of Floods). Logging and sand mining activities have long been an issue in Kedah, justifying concerns surrounding the safety of water supply within the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia.

Editor’s comments: The data from the states on land and water-related incomes has been hard to follow. Revenues may be channelled through corporatised entities like Menteri Besar Incorporated, yayasans/foundations, joint ventures, and other efforts, without hitting state coffers. In our comparison of Kedah and Kelantan, the former appear to report higher income per hectare cleared and a higher ratio of state revenue from land-water sources. But information on forest conservation efforts and related costs are hard to come by. NGOs don't make things easy either.

I tried to benchmark the costs of conservation for primates, but couldn't find enough data to do so! And the costs to plant a tree are all over the place. Some experts have complained that some NGO/conservation entities have high overheads, e.g. flying first class to stay in Shangri-La Paris. Everybody has to do better transparency governance if we need large—if not mega—scale conservation and climate change forest projects. Why is there such a lack of data and consensus in the public sphere?

Listen to the podcast here: Compensation for States to Protect Forests

The Prime Minister has announced that the federal government will compensate states that maintain their forest reserves. We discuss what goes into this decision.

Image Source: Jeremy Bezanger, Unsplash; produced by: Alia Zefri, Raihanna Azwar; presented by: Lee Chwi Lynn, Sharmilla Ganesan