Deforestation in Malaysia

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Deforestation in Malaysia is a major environmental issue in the country. British colonial deforestation efforts began in 1880 and were rapidly driven by commercial rubber and palm oil cultivation.

Between 1990 and 2010, Malaysia lost an estimated 8.6% of its forest cover, or around 1,920,000 hectares (4,700,000 acres).^[1] Logging and land clearing has particularly been driven by the palm oil sector. World Bank policies in the 1970s encouraged palm oil expansion and the IMF’s bailout package, following the 1998 economic crisis, incentivised the expansion of palm plantations. However, as a megadiverse country, efforts have been made to conserve Malaysia's forests and reduce the rate of deforestation.