My Forest launched

The Malaysian Nature Society  on (Thursday, 14th December 2017) launched
MY forest, the Malaysian implementation of the project, “Strengthening Non-State
Actor Involvement in Forest Governance in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and
Papua New Guinea”, funded by the European Union.
MY forest is a high-impact partnership, as it looks at Malaysia’s natural heritage, our
forests, and how non-state actors – non-governmental organisations, civil societies,
local communities, the private sector and the public – can inform and change policies
towards better forest governance.
The project’s target forest areas are the Central Forest Spine, Heart of Borneo and
selected Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs). Under the five-year project
(2017-2021), MNS is tasked with building the capacity of non-state actors from all
around the country to engage more effectively with the government in protecting
Malaysia’s forests.
MNS President Henry Goh, in his speech, said Malaysians are aware of the issues
affecting the country’s green areas, such as deforestation, fragmentation of forests
and destruction of wildlife habitats, which lead to a whole list of problems affecting
the country and the rakyat, including floods, landslides, water supply problems and
loss of our wildlife species.
He said Malaysians have always looked to the governing authorities to protect the
country’s resources, but this project seeks to change this mindset by delivering nongovernmental
participation in protecting our forests.
“One of MNS’s tennets is the promotion of responsible environmental stewardship in
Malaysia, and the Society truly believes that each and every one of us has a role to
play as stewards of our natural heritage,” he said.

Goh called on NGOs, environmental groups, local communities, the public and the
media to come together to be part of changing the Malaysian forest landscape, to
maintain the country’s green mountains and hills, its clean rivers, its home for tigers
and elephants and tapirs. “We want all Malaysians to be part of it, to look at our
natural heritage and proclaim: MY forest, MY wildlife, MY responsibility,” he said.
MY forest was officially launched by Tan Sri Dr Salleh Mohd Nor, the former MNS
president who is currently MNS senior advisor and MY forest advisor. The launch was
followed by the MY forest National Stakeholder Committee inception meeting, which
saw the participation of government agencies, 13 non-governmental organisations
and 10 MNS State Branches to plan the way forward for nationwide implementation
of MY forest. Ends