Chapter 11
Deforestation in Malaysia: The Current
Practice and the Way Forward
Abdelnaser Omran and Odile Schwarz-Herion
Abstract Among global climate concerns, deforestation is one of the most critical,
particularly in developing countries but also in industrial countries where forests are
equally rhoded to make place for windmills and 5G masts in an attempt to satisfy the
energy need and the requirements for fast data transfer in highly digitalized Smart
Cities. Deforestation is an activity of permanent destruction—the clearing of earth’s
forests on a massive scale, damaging huge land areas by removing indispensable
sinks for CO 2 , destroying complex eco-systems, and causing a significant loss of
biodiversity. In recent years, several efforts have been introduced and implemented
to reduce deforestation, but appears such efforts are on the decline in some countries,
including Malaysia. This chapter examines the factors that contribute to deforestation as based on the perception and understanding of residents from across Malaysia.
A survey questionnaire of 59 respondents, randomly distributed among Malaysians
in different parts of the country, indicate a majority of the participants believe
urbanization is the main contributor to deforestation, with 56% of east Malaysia
respondents and 40% of west Malaysia saying so. However, those conducting the
survey concluded that palm oil plantation is, in fact, perceived as the principal cause
of deforestation, since its weighted average was highest. —In fact, Malaysia is one
of the biggest exporters for palm oil. The study also concluded that deforestation can
be successfully reduced by numerous methods, including vertical housing—the
building of structures on narrower plots of land than conventional houses.
Keywords Deforestation · Agriculture · Mining · Logging · Urbanization ·
Malaysia · Carbon dioxide sinks
A. Omran (*)
Faculty of Engineering Sciences, Bright Star University, El-brega, Libya
e-mail: naser_elamroni@yahoo.co.uk
O. Schwarz-Herion
Dres. Schwarz-Herion KG Detective Agency, Ettlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
A. Omran, O. Schwarz-Herion (eds.), Sustaining our Environment for Better Future,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7158-5_11
175
Deforestation in Malaysia: The Current
Practice and the Way Forward
Abdelnaser Omran and Odile Schwarz-Herion
Abstract Among global climate concerns, deforestation is one of the most critical,
particularly in developing countries but also in industrial countries where forests are
equally rhoded to make place for windmills and 5G masts in an attempt to satisfy the
energy need and the requirements for fast data transfer in highly digitalized Smart
Cities. Deforestation is an activity of permanent destruction—the clearing of earth’s
forests on a massive scale, damaging huge land areas by removing indispensable
sinks for CO 2 , destroying complex eco-systems, and causing a significant loss of
biodiversity. In recent years, several efforts have been introduced and implemented
to reduce deforestation, but appears such efforts are on the decline in some countries,
including Malaysia. This chapter examines the factors that contribute to deforestation as based on the perception and understanding of residents from across Malaysia.
A survey questionnaire of 59 respondents, randomly distributed among Malaysians
in different parts of the country, indicate a majority of the participants believe
urbanization is the main contributor to deforestation, with 56% of east Malaysia
respondents and 40% of west Malaysia saying so. However, those conducting the
survey concluded that palm oil plantation is, in fact, perceived as the principal cause
of deforestation, since its weighted average was highest. —In fact, Malaysia is one
of the biggest exporters for palm oil. The study also concluded that deforestation can
be successfully reduced by numerous methods, including vertical housing—the
building of structures on narrower plots of land than conventional houses.
Keywords Deforestation · Agriculture · Mining · Logging · Urbanization ·
Malaysia · Carbon dioxide sinks
A. Omran (*)
Faculty of Engineering Sciences, Bright Star University, El-brega, Libya
e-mail: naser_elamroni@yahoo.co.uk
O. Schwarz-Herion
Dres. Schwarz-Herion KG Detective Agency, Ettlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
A. Omran, O. Schwarz-Herion (eds.), Sustaining our Environment for Better Future,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7158-5_11
175