KUCHING: A conservation biologist at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) has called for more targeted and strategic distribution of the Ecological Fiscal Transfer (EFT) for biodiversity conservation in Malaysia.
While welcoming the federal government’s commitment to biodiversity conservation, Professor Mohd Azlan Jayasilan Abdul Gulam Azad expressed concerns over the allocation and distribution of the fund to state governments.
“RM150 million spread across all the states is a positive step, but the distribution of this federal funding needs to be more strategically placed and based on clear criteria or indices.
“Size should certainly be factored in, but other important factors such as species richness, endemism, and threats should also be considered,” he said.
Mohd Azlan, who is also the director of Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation (IBEC), also highlighted the challenges faced by Sarawak in achieving its target of one million hectares of combined area for Totally Protected Areas (TPA), stating that “funding is just one of the factors that have contributed to this challenge. We must continue to work together and adopt innovative approaches to overcome these challenges and achieve our conservation goals.”
Protecting charismatic species such as the tiger and elephant will have an umbrella effect on other species with smaller home ranges and habitat requirements.
While he recognised the federal government’s prioritisation of charismatic mega species such as tigers and elephants, he also stressed the need to protect other species of conservation importance.
“We must remember that biodiversity conservation is not just about saving charismatic megafauna. We must also protect and conserve our critically endangered species and some of the threatened ecosystem that are biodiversity rich and sensitive to ecological changes, ” he said.
However, he cautioned against viewing compensation for logging as a solution for habitat loss.
“Compensation for logging should not be seen as a solution for habitat loss, but rather a short-term approach to encourage conservation of forest patches with the hope that states will move away from depending on such resources,” he added.
To promote conservation efforts of land and marine biodiversity areas, the EFT for Biodiversity Conservation to state governments was increased to RM150 million in Budget 2023, up from RM70 million in 2021.
The distribution of the fund took into account the gazetting of new protected areas, including tiger habitats, and increased replanting of trees in affected areas.
The funding allows states to receive reimbursement from the federal government for projects that meet specific criteria on natural or wildlife conservation.
It was first introduced in 2019 with an initial RM60 million allocation. In 2021, Sarawak received the largest allocation of RM13 million, a significant increase from its 2019 allocation of RM3.2 million.
