THE truth is we really don’t have to clear any more jungles.
Not in Southeast Asia, not in the Amazon, nor anywhere else. We have cleared enough land for food and timber to last us for generations. The jungles, and all the life they support, now need to be given a respite to heal and restore.
Documentary series Our Planet offers suggestions on how we can save our jungles. It reports that more than 75 per cent of virgin jungles around the globe are gone due to human activity. It is apparent that there is no scarcity of land.
So instead of chopping down more trees, we must use existing land more efficiently, which includes restoring or repurposing degraded soil for replanting. It is also possible to help rainforests regenerate their ecosystems naturally.
Efficiency in plantations and timber harvesting promises sustainability. Big companies must commit to sustainable use of land and shift their business models.
In turn, the impetus for change ought to come from players down the supply chain — food manufacturers whose products end up in the hands of consumers.
Their membership in groups such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil can be taken as a sign of their pledge to supporting sustainable deforestation-free practices at the source. Eventually, even small farmers and producers will become open to adopting sustainable operating procedures.
We too have a role to play. First, we need access to correct information. The government, notwithstanding its protection of the palm oil industry, has to disclose environmental data transparently.
Pressure group Klima Action Malaysia says the country only has 18 per cent of its virgin forests left, a stark contrast to the government figure of 50 per cent. In Borneo, we lose 100 orang utan every week.
Concerted global efforts are essential solve the climate problem. We can start where we are, at home, by realising the immense wealth we possess in our jungles and by doing everything we can to preserve them.
Salsabil Gul
Shah Alam, Selangor