The ban by the Sultan of Johor on wildlife hunting announced last week is very welcome but it will be futile if the animals’ habitats are not protected.

Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar decreed on March 4 that the ban was necessary to protect the tigers, elephants, bears, deer, mouse deer, tapir and porcupines.

Unfortunately, the Auditor-General’s recent report, however, shows that large swathes of forest reserves in Johor are still being cut down for 70,000 hectares of latex timber plantations to produce rubberwood furniture for export to China.

Tigers and other animals face a bleak future in Johor if their forest homes are broken up into areas that are just too small for them to live in.

Many of these clearings are located in critical areas – vital water catchments areas, valuable flood retention zones and forested bottlenecks which serve as corridors for tigers and other wildlife to move between larger forest habitats.

The short-term benefits of timber from logging and plantations do not outweigh the long-term costs of losing our natural forests. We must realise that conserving bio-diversity is not just good for plants and animals but also crucial to ensure our very own survival.

The continued connectivity of the forests in Johor is crucial for tigers and other wildlife. In this Year of the Tiger, we appeal to the government of Johor to take heed of the National Tiger Action Plan approved by the deputy prime minister and stop all the destructive forest clearance.

This letter is by concerned members of the conservation community comprisng the writer and Dr Mikaail Kavanagh, Dr G. Balamurugan, Dylan Jefri Ong, Lim Teck Wyn, Lim Tze Tshen, Loretta Ann Shepherd, Sara Sukor, Sheema Aziz and Surin Suksuwan.