STATE governments should be incentivised by companies that clear large areas of forest for agriculture to help the conservation of animal habitat, environmental activists said.

They said this will help provide funds to underfunded state governments while putting environmental conservation at the forefront.

“State governments make the most money from land conversion tax. If companies that occupy large lands, such as palm oil companies, can pay RM100 for every hectare they own, that will provide millions in revenue for the state,” said Song Horng Liang, executive director of Pertubuhan Pelindung Alam Malaysia.

“We are not opposing the palm oil sector as they are one of the largest contributors to the country’s GDP but we need them to give the state government incentives so they will stop logging the forest,” he said at the online forum entitled, Malayan Tigers & Oil Palms: Friends or Foes? last night.

The forum was organised by the Oxford and Cambridge Society Malaysia, and streamed on YouTube.

In 2019, the gross domestic product from palm oil was estimated to be RM38.24 billion. 

Song and his organisation recently helped the federal government in conducting the National Tiger Survey to determine the number of Malayan tigers remaining in the wild.

The survey, the first of its kind since independence in 1957 helped conservationists’ map where tiger habitats are and what can be done to protect the species from extinction.

Presently, there are less than 200 Malayan tigers in the wild, down from 550 in 2000.

Poachers posing a threat to tigers

One of the biggest challenges in protecting tiger habitat, president and director of Rimau, Lara Ariffin said is the haphazard deforestation that takes place in Malaysia for agriculture and mining among others.

“There are 43% of forest left in the country and a large part of it is fragmented or tiny forests not connected to a larger area. Only 11% are pristine; meaning these areas are not logged.

“The reality is any clearing of the forest will affect tiger habitat and in Malaysia, about 13% have been cleared to plant palm oil,” she said.

The fragmented forest has also contributed to problems in genetic diversity and the tigers are stuck in a small area.

“The palm oil industry should lead in connecting these fragmented forests, just like what Sime Darby is doing in Sabah. We all have a part to play, we cannot wait until it is too late like the Sumatran rhino.”

Lara, who also worked together with Perhilitan and WWF in the tiger survey, said the other problem that is driving the Malayan tiger to extinction is poachers who set traps for the animals.

“We have a lot of three-legged animals running in the forest, not just tigers,” she added.

Consumers don’t want to pay for sustainable palm oil

Meanwhile, Carl Bek-Nielsen, co-chair of Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and chief executive director of United Plantations Bhd said it is wrong to brand all palm oil growers as evil as many of the larger companies are moving towards sustainability.

“Boycotting palm oil will result in farmers clearing seven to 10 times more land as other vegetable oil does not yield as much product for the same land area,” he said.

The RSPO, which has more than 5,000 members internationally, sets criteria for sustainable palm oil production and is endorsed by 40 NGOs.

“Our criteria is no deforestation, no peat, no fire, no exploitation and a no kill policy. Any members who infringe this will be kicked out.”

In Malaysia, large palm oil growers such as Sime Darby, Felda and Felcra are members of RSPO and have committed to environmental preservation, it is small holders that need to be educated on the practices, Bek-Nielsen said.

“There is a range of good and bad practices and that is the key here. Larger companies have an obligation to assist small holders improve on the husbandry and agriculture practice,” he said, adding that this he said will reduce land use change.

About 40% of palm oil growers in Malaysia are small holders.

While the companies are moving towards sustainability, they are facing problems in the form of consumers who are not willing to pay more for their products, thus encouraging more producers to stick to their old ways.

“Eighteen per cent of the palm oil produced worldwide is RSPO-certified but there is only 50% demand. This is clear hypocrisy for those who call on us to be sustainable and yet are not willing to pay extra for sustainably sourced products,” Bek-Nielsen said.

In 2018, the European Union banned palm oil for use in biofuels out of a concern that oil palm cultivation accelerates deforestation and global warming.

In January this year, the Malaysian government filed a complaint at the World Trade Organization against the ban, citing “unreasonable trade barrier”.

In terms of the conservation of Malayan tigers, Bek-Nielsen said palm oil companies have an obligation towards conservation and not just by writing cheques as part of a CSR programme.

“If they are serious, they can set up a biodiversity department as part of their company.”

Bek-Neilsen also agreed that Song’s idea of incentivising state governments to stop land clearing is a viable option.

“This could be a great opportunity for palm oil growers. Companies may be willing to lease the forest from the state government for a number of years and they will be obliged to protect it by recruiting rangers and biodiversity professionals to run the place.” – September 16, 2021.