State Unveils Bold Plan to Protect Natural Resources: 'Act Now or Lose Them'

A Malaysian state is moving to protect its forested areas and ensure their safety.

According to The Vibes , Sabah has passed legislation that makes it mandatory to secure a license before engaging in any "forest carbon activity" on certain types of lands.

Because Sabah is a heavily forested region, its natural resources are a popular target for investing in carbon credits, which are used by companies to offset their production of planet-warming gases such as carbon dioxide. Companies can invest in the forests' capturing carbon in Sabah at an equal rate to the amount of pollution they produce.

The new law will allow Sabah to inventory, regulate, and monitor all trade of carbon credits while also ensuring it continues to benefit from the sale and trade of the credits between companies.

"The amendment provides us with the necessary legal framework to oversee carbon credit operations before the anticipated federal legislation on the topic emerges later this year. It’s crucial that we take action now to protect our state resources,” stated Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister's Department Datuk Abidin Modingkir according to The Vibes.

Carbon offsets and carbon credits continue to be a contentious approach for tackling our shifting climate. Although favored by businesses, this method frequently exploitative of Indigenous and local peoples and can result in their forcible removal from land — as CarbonBrief has detailed. They can also exaggerate their positive impact and reduce biodiversity with the planting of mass quantities of singular types of trees, for example. They can heavily restrict The utilization of land by Native peoples may result in transactions taking place that never benefit the community financially.

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Sabah has previously faced examination due to its handling of carbon credits. In 2021, the United Nations initiated an investigation into this matter. investigating Sabah has reached an agreement with a Singapore-based firm to secure permissions for utilizing over half of the state’s forested area as a carbon sink. However, according to reports from Mongabay, the U.N. voiced worries about the inadequate communication regarding how this transaction might affect the indigenous communities in Sabah, which make up more than fifty percent of the state’s populace.

That deal was eventually canceled by Malaysia’s lead federal lawyer, who stated that the initiative was impractical and opaque.

Madingkir said that the new bill allowed protection for the rights of Indigenous people, and that planting trees was permitted without license, as long as those trees weren't being claimed as part of a carbon credit program, according to The Vibes. It will allow a chief conservator to close parts of the forest as well and regulate forest carbon standards that can be linked to federal and international databases to ensure transparency.

Although carbon offset initiatives in the area have faced significant criticism, Sabah seems intent on guaranteeing these practices are carried out securely and ethically, with an emphasis on keeping part of the financial benefits within the locality.

"At this juncture, it is crucial to implement a dedicated legislation aimed at regulating forest carbon activities, ensuring the protection of the state’s interests as well as the sustained health of our forest resources," Madingkir stated according to The Vibes.

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The state initiates a robust initiative to protect natural assets from exploitation: 'Acting promptly is crucial.' first appeared on The Cool Down .