No new approvals for oil palm plantations in forest areas - minister

Plantation and Commodities Minister Johari Abdul Ghani reiterated today that the government will not allow new oil palm plantations in forest areas.

He cited a decision by the government based on a Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) prohibition in place since Dec 31, 2019, on new forest clearings for oil palm plantations.

"We signed an agreement with the United Nations (UN) first. We gave a commitment that the percentage of forest cannot be less than 50 percent. Now we have 54 percent.

"That's why we do not allow the development of (new) oil palm plantations in forest areas, for people to go and cut down the forests to plant oil palms," he told reporters in Morib, Selangor.

He also warned that the government will withdraw MSPO certifications from factories that continue to purchase palm oil from plantations opened in forest areas.

"If they (plantation owners) insist on planting oil palms, it can't be bought by factories. If the factory insists on buying, they will lose the MSPO," he said without naming any specific project.

Impact on forest

For the record, Malaysiakini reported today that a company known as Pure Green Development Sdn Bhd had submitted an environmental impact assessment (EIA) two months ago to develop a palm oil plantation in a forest area in Kuala Nerus, Terengganu.

In addition to the impact on the forest, concerns also arose in the EIA regarding the potential for flooding and disruption of water supply during the dry season.

Pure Green Development is owned by Terengganu’s Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin’s younger brother.

The EIA also revealed that different companies owned by the sultan are also clearing forests in adjacent areas.

Johari further said the government through the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) is studying the use of RT-ECO technology which is the Treatment of Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) to ensure the sustainability of the country's palm oil production.

He said the effluent treatment technology obtained from Singapore is suitable to meet market demand regarding environmental protection.

RT-ECO is operated by Merujaya POME Solutions Sdn Bhd using electrochemical technology in filtering palm effluent to ensure that the waste produced during production is safe and can be reused by the factory thus complying with world sustainability standards.

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