At the Rio Earth Summit hosted in Brazil in 1992, Malaysia pledged to maintain 50% of its land under forest and tree cover.

Fast forward to today, Malaysia has reaffirmed its commitment to this pledge, but there is still work to be done.

To date, 3.2 million hectares of natural forest in Malaysia — 16% of the country's remaining forests — are at risk of deforestation, according to RimbaWatch's 'State of the Malaysian Rainforest 2024' report.

From this number, 2.4 million hectares are forest reserves converted into timber plantations, which account for 76% of deforestation. This puts Malaysia at risk of falling below the 50% tree cover mark.

Monocultural plantations — where a single crop or tree species is grown over a large area — yield economical benefits, but they cannot be seen as forests, and they should be cultivated ethically and sustainably, taking into account the diversity of forests that act as habitats for wildlife.

Unlike natural forests, monoculture plantations deplete soil nutrients and disrupt water retention. And while these plantations do absorb carbon, they release it back into the atmosphere since they are often harvested and replanted.