Safeguarding Indo-Malaya Forests: RM177 Million Conservation Initiative Unveiled
By Vijian Paramasivam
PHNOM PENH, July 6 (Bernama) -- A global conservation agency announced a RM177 million (US$42 million) project to protect the Indo-Malaya forest, one of the world's last remaining major primary forest areas.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced last month that the Indo-Malaya forest, spanning from Bhutan to Papua New Guinea, is home to over 5,000 threatened species.
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IUCN warned that about 60 per cent of the region's original vegetation has already been lost. The remaining primary forests are under pressure from unsustainable agriculture, logging, and competing land use.
The forest plays a crucial role for over 560 million people in the region, providing resources such as water regulation, carbon removal , timber and non-timber forest products, said IUCN in a statement.
'The Global Environment Facility (GEF) funding is provided by participating donor countries and made available to developing countries and countries with economies in transition to meet the objectives of international environmental conventions and agreements,' Switzerland-based IUCN press office told Bernama.
The IUCN announced the new initiative named the Southeast Asia and the Pacific Forests Integrated Programme aimed at strengthening the health and connectivity of primary forests across the region.
Launched at an inception workshop in Chiang Mai, Thailand, the programme seeks to tap the biodiversity and climate benefits while ensuring the sustainability of local livelihoods.
The IUCN and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) are the lead implementors of the project.
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