Malaysia faces several environmental issues. Malaysia's environment possesses megadiverse biological diversity, with globally significant

endemism Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

and

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

, but is threatened by several issues.

Deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

is a major issue in the country that has led to many species becoming threatened with extinction. As a major economic sector,

palm oil production Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...

has had a substantial

environmental impact Environmental issues are effects of human activity on the biophysical environment, most often of which are harmful effects that cause environmental degradation. Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment on t ...

Air pollution Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...

is also a major issue, with the country one of the most affected countries by seasonal

Southeast Asian haze The Southeast Asian haze is a fire-related recurrent transboundary air pollution issue. Haze events, where air quality reaches hazardous levels due to high concentrations of airborne particulate matter from burning biomass, have caused adver ...

. The country is also affected by

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

Issues

Climate change

Endangered species

* Borneo pygmy elephant *

Sumatran rhinoceros The Sumatran rhinoceros (''Dicerorhinus sumatrensis''), also known as the Sumatran rhino, hairy rhinoceros or Asian two-horned rhinoceros, is a rare member of the family Rhinocerotidae and one of five extant species of rhinoceros. It is the o ...

Malayan tiger The Malayan tiger is a tiger from a specific population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies that is native to Peninsular Malaysia. This population inhabits the southern and central parts of the Malay Peninsula and has been classified ...

Orangutan Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genus ...

Oriental darter The Oriental darter (''Anhinga melanogaster'') is a water bird of tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia. It has a long and slender neck with a straight, pointed bill and, like the cormorant, it hunts for fish while its body is submerged in water ...

Storm's stork Storm's stork (''Ciconia stormi'') is a medium-sized stork species that occurs primarily in lowland tropical forests of Indonesia, Malaysia and southern Thailand. It is considered to be the rarest of all storks,Hancock JA, Kuschlan JA, Kahl, MP. ...

Milky stork The milky stork (''Mycteria cinerea'') is a stork species found predominantly in coastal mangroves around parts of Southeast Asia. It is native to parts of Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. They were once part of the genus Ibis, but is c ...

Deforestation

The following are notable projects contributing to deforestation: *

Hulu Terengganu Hydroelectric Project The Hulu Terengganu Hydroelectric Project is an underground hydroelectric power plant located the Terengganu, Malaysia. It was built from 2010 to 2015 by Tenaga Nasional Berhad, the largest electricity utility company in Malaysia. Location The ...

*Kelau Dam *

Bukit Cherakah Bukit Cherakah ( ms, Bukit Cerakah) is a hill in Kuala Selangor District, Selangor, Malaysia with the height of . It is one of three prominent peaks along the coast of Selangor. Bukit Cherakah gives its name to a forest reserve which includes the ...

Pulai River The Pulai River ( ms, Sungai Pulai) is a river in Johor, Malaysia. It runs from Mount Pulai in Kulai District until Tanjung Pelepas, draining into the Tebrau Straits. At its mouth lies the single largest seagrass bed in Malaysia, which extends all ...

*Sungai Mas Malaysia had a 2018

Forest Landscape Integrity Index The Forest Landscape Integrity Index (FLII) is an annual global index of forest condition measured by degree of anthropogenic modification. Created by a team of 48 scientists, the FLII, in its measurement of 300m pixels of forest across the globe ...

mean score of 5.01/10, ranking it 111th globally out of 172 countries.

Pollution

Air pollution in Malaysia is a major issue, with the country one of the most affected by seasonal

. *

1982 Bukit Merah radioactive pollution The 1982 Bukit Merah radioactive pollution is a radioactive waste pollution incident in Bukit Merah of Kinta District in Central Perak, Malaysia. The outcome of the pollution case took several years to complete with no acknowledgement of resp ...

* 2019 Kim Kim River toxic pollution

Reclamation

Coastal reclamation is damaging mangroves and turtle nesting sights.

Recycling and waste management

The country has numerous waste and recycling policies and initiatives but overall low rate of recycling and problems with violations and enforcement of such laws and policies.

Water

Controversial projects and policies

Environmental organisations

Malaysian Nature Society Malaysian Nature Society ( ms, Persatuan Pencinta Alam Malaysia, abbrev: MNS) is the oldest and one of the most prominent environmental not for profit, non-governmental organisations in Malaysia. It was first established, as the Malayan Nature S ...

Global Environment Centre Global Environment Centre (abbreviated: GEC) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization which was established in 1998 to address key environmental issues of global importance such as climate change, biodiversity and water resources. GEC is bas ...

* Klima Action Malaysia

References

External links

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