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Deforestation in Malaysia (Selective Logging (3-6 months after felling…
Deforestation in Malaysia
Economic opportunities in rainforests
Transmigration = when the urban poor were encourages to move into the rainforest to live
Many weren't experienced farmers and millions of hectares are destroyed for this. Soil becomes infertile and dries out, therefore rain washes it away
Cattle-ranches to graze the cattle on a large area
Create palm-oil and rubber tree plantations
To build a road through the rainforest to export timber etc. / to make the rainforest accessible (a network of roads)
Logging the wood (felling) for their value
This damages other trees and disturbs the wildlife
Developing of urban areas
Built from the wood of the forest
Malaysia
It's made up of Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia, which is part of the island of Borneo, north to Indonesia and south of Thailand and the Philipinnes
67% of Malaysia's land is covered by vegetation
Malaysia is a country in South East Asia and is north to the Equator
The natural vegetation is tropical rainforest
Strait of Malacca is one of the busiest sea routes in the world and very important for trade
Threats to the Rainforest
Commercial Farming
Malaysia is the largest exporter of palm oil in the world
During the 1970s, large areas of land were converted to palm oil plantations
Mineral Extraction
Rainforest has been cleared for mining and road construction
Common in Peninsular Malaysia
Drilling for oil and gas has recently started on Borneo
Mainly tin and smelting
Population Pressure
Poor urban people were encouraged to move to the rainforest, called transmigration
Between 1956 and 1980s, about 15,000 hectares of rainforest was felled because of this alone
Many settlers then set up plantations
Logging
Malaysia became the world's largest exporter of tropical wood in the 1980s. Clear felling, where all trees are chopped down in one area, was common. This led to the total destruction of forest habitats
Selective Logging
Where only fully-grown trees are cut down. Trees that have important ecological value are left unharmed
Subsistence farming
This type of farming is small scale and sustainable
Tribal people practise this type of farming. Traditionally, local communities would hunt and gather food form the forest as well as grow some food crops in cleared parts of the forest
One method of clearing is called 'slash and burn'
Can destroy large areas
The use of fire to clear land
Creates valuable nutrients that helps plants grow
These fires can burn out of control
Selective Logging
3-6 months after felling
Survey to check what has been felled. Prosecution may result from illegal felling
2 years after felling
Treatment plan drawn up to restore forest
Felling
Trees felled by licence-holders
5-10 years after felling
Remedial and regeneration work by state forestry officials. Replacement trees planted
1 year before felling
Trees marked for felling. Arrows painted on the trees indicate direction of felling to avoid damaging other valuable trees
30-40 years after felling
Cycle begins again
2 years before felling
Pre-felling study to identify what is there