KUALA LUMPUR — The celebration of International Day of Forests is made more meaningful to the Malaysian Palm Oil Green Conservation Foundation (MPOGCF) this year as it amplifies its green conservation efforts, in line with the national agenda through the Greening Malaysia Program with the implementation of the 100-Million Tree Planting Campaign in 2021 which was launched to address climate change and improve people’s quality of life, aligning with the theme of the celebration, “Forests for Community Livelihood.”
As a government agency under the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC), MPOGCF initiates, collaborates and supports environmental conservation initiatives as well as sustainable practices related to and within the Malaysian palm oil industry, in order to reflect the industry’s commitment in green conservation and further promoting the sustainability of the country’s forest resources.
“To achieve the objectives of our reforestation efforts, we have been working closely with various partners and experts in forestry over the years, to ramp up these efforts while we help put a spotlight on preserving and conserving our national forests, and increasing the planting of trees across the country,” said Zamakhshari Muhamad, General Manager of MPOGCF.
“We are making significant strides in the forest areas identified as degraded in Lower Kawag, Ulu Segama-Malua Forest Reserve in Sabah with 29,044 trees planted so far, as part of the planting of another 80,000 seedlings within 200 hectares which is expected to be completed in early April. This endeavour is a part of our 1-Million Forest-Tree Planting Program, one of our ongoing and high-volume programs to date,” added Zamakhshari.
With RM28 million estimated investment, the 1-Million Forest-Tree Planting Program is a 10-year project in collaboration with Sabah Forestry Department. The program focuses on planting and growing indigenous forest species and native fruit trees, in order to enrich forest biodiversity in the selected areas, as they serve as important wildlife corridors in the long run.
Among its many programs, MPOGCF is also currently focused on another high-volume program, the Reforestation of Ecological Linkage Central Forest Spine (CFS) in Kelantan, a collaboration with Kelantan State Forestry Department to convert and link fragmented forests in Peninsular Malaysia. With RM 25 million estimated funding allocated by MPOGCF, the program expects the planting of 625,000 seedlings within 1,000 hectares to take place in July.