KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's current efforts and commitment to deforestation are heading towards a positive direction, according to a study released by Washington-based Global Forest Watch.
The report indicated that Malaysia and neighbouring Indonesia have been showing noted a sharp reduction in forest loss.
Most importantly, the study's findings also support arguments that Europe and anti-palm oil lobbyists are unfairly discriminating against Malaysia and Indonesia's palm oil industry despite the data and facts painting a different picture.
While the two countries are the world's largest suppliers of palm oil, numerous Malaysian and Indonesian governments have long pushed for a more sustainable palm oil industry.
Since 2017, forest loss in both countries has been on a downward trend, with the expansion of palm oil plantations taking place on land previously used for other crops.
One of the key reasons for the declining trend of forest loss is that oil palm corporations in Malaysia and Indonesia are committed to a 'No Deforestation, Peat and Exploitation' or NDPE policy.
Essentially, NDPE is aimed at preventing new deforestation and the development of peat lands to protect flora and fauna, as well as the interests of indigenous communities through collaboration and engagement.
While a commitment to NDPE has been a key factor in reversing the trend of forest loss, other efforts, such as the establishment of the Malaysia Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO), also receive due credit.
Set up in 2015, MSPO set the standards for sustainable palm oil in Malaysia.
These standards are applicable not only to corporations but the over 300,000 smallholders across the nation.
MSPO certification involves rigorous auditing of standards, supply chain traceability requirements, and procedures for handling complaints.
Since 2020, MSPO certification for palm oil plantations has been mandatory.
Despite the changes in governments in Malaysia in recent years, the commitment to the greater protection of rainforests and the sustainability of palm oil has been a persistent priority.
Since 2018, a plantation area cap has been established, while amendments to the National Forestry Act have increased penalties for illegal logging.
The various deforestation and sustainability measures enacted by the Malaysian government, which in 1992 pledged to ensure at least 50 per cent of the land will remain permanently under forest cover, appear to have borne fruit.
In fact, Global Forest Watch previously reported that primary forest loss in Malaysia dropped by almost 70 per cent between 2014 and 2020, and according to the World Resources Institute (WRI), 2020 was the fourth straight year that palm oil deforestation has been trending down.
This more recent report from 2022 should ease the concerns of environmental campaigners and activists, as it suggests that the hard work of Malaysia's palm oil industry and the government is really starting to bear fruit in reversing deforestation.
The research also suggests the European Union (EU) is living in the past with its European Union deforestation-free regulation (EUDR) legislation, particularly in relation to Malaysia and Indonesia.
The report by Global Forest Watch - an online platform which allows for near real-time monitoring of forests - also indicated that in 2022, forests the size of 11 football fields worldwide were lost each minute to land clearing for agriculture and farming activities.
Most of the deforestation occurred in Brazil due to increased soy and cattle farming activities.
However, it believes that the developments in Malaysia offer hope that this trend can be reversed.