AN allocation is needed urgently in Budget 2020 to address the decline in biodiversity and ecosystem loss, which is an integral part of the nation’s natural heritage, said WWF-Malaysia.

Its conservation director, Dr Henry Chan, said protecting the Malayan tiger, where fewer than 200 are left in the wild, should be a national priority before the species is lost to extinction.

“The tiger is an umbrella species and the natural forests within the central forest spine (CFS) where they live is also where our water originates from. These forests protect the nation against major devastation from floods during downpours.

“By allocating resources to protect the Malayan tigers in the wild, we are investing not just in their future, but in ours as well.

“We need improved measures to address biodiversity loss and protect ecosystem services,” Chan told The Malaysian Insight.

One way this could be done, he said, is to draft the prime minister into the fight to preserve the Malayan tiger and by extension the country’s ecosystem.

A national committee led by the prime minister will definitely ramp up efforts in the conservation fight, he said.

While Putrajaya has announced an increase in enforcement capacity and enlisted assistance from the police, there is still a need to allocate higher amount of resources to combat poaching, which he said is “the direct scourge that is killing our tigers”.

Looking back at Budget 2019, Chan said it allocated RM60 million to states for protecting natural marine and forest reserves.

He would like to see that initiative institutionalised as part of the annual fiscal transfer mechanism.

Resources channelled towards the protection and sustainable use of natural resources must be viewed as an investment, he said.

While WWF-Malaysia lauds the establishment of the sustainable development financing fund by Bank Pembangunan Malaysia and the return of the green technology financing scheme (GTFS) in March, Chan wants Putrajaya to develop a natural capital financing scheme (NCFS) to support protection of natural capital that provides all the important services found in nature.

The Bank Pembangunan scheme provides financing assistance for companies to minimise their impact on the environment and more generally contributing to the achievement of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals.

The NCFS, Chan said, should include policy development and financial incentive to reduce risks when conserving biodiversity and protecting ecosystem services while supporting sustainable development in large landscapes, such as the CFS and HoB, and seascapes in the coral triangle initiative.

“The government’s drive towards sustainable consumption and production can also be encouraged through fiscal incentives.

“Tax incentives can be provided for industries that strive toward independent and credible recognition of sustainability schemes, such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Green Building Index (GBI), Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) and Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).” – October 11, 2019.