AQA Living World TRF Case Study - Malaysia

Name key geographical facts about Malaysia

• 67% of Malaysia's land is covered by rainforest.

• The natural vegetation in Malaysia is tropical rainforest

• Malaysia is part of the Middle East

• Malaysia consists of East Malaysia, part of the island of Borneo and the Malaysian Peninsular.

What is deforestation?

• A form of slash and burn farming

• The planting on new trees and pants

• The cutting down and removal of forest

• Material transported by a river

What are the main threats to Malaysia's rainforests?

• Logging and mineral extraction

• Population pressure

• Energy supply

• Commercial and subsistence farming

What is subsistence farming?

• Large scale farming operations often completed by large companies

• Plantation owners who receive tax incentives.

• Farming of both cattle and crops

• Small scale farming, for your own needs, with little to sell, often referred to as sustainable.

Why is mineral extraction a threat to Malaysian TRF?

• Mining of tin and smelting is common polluting the local environment

• TRF has been cleared for mining and road construction reducing biodiversity.

• Drilling for oil and gas has started on Borneo leading to more loss of TRF and contamination of local water supplies

• TRF cleared for construction of new housing and motorways.

Why is logging a threat to the Malaysian TRF?

• Malaysia is the world's largest exported of tropical wood.

• 'Clear felling' where all trees are felled was common leading to total destruction of forest habitats.

• Selective logging has replaced 'clear felling' however trees are still being destroyed at an unsustainable rate.

• Trees are set aside to increase biodiversity in the area

Why is commercial farming a threat?

• Too many crops are produced for the people to eat

• Fair Trade has made the crops too expensive for the locals

• Malaysia is the largest exporter of palm oil, increasing amounts of TRF are converted into plantations as plantation owners receive 10 year tax incentives.

• Too many pesticides enter water ways polluting rivers

Why is population pressure a threat to the TRF?

• People in overcrowded cities where encouraged by the government to move to the countryside

• This movement of people is called transmigration and occurred between 1950s and 1980s

• Too many people seek work as farmers

• This movement of people led to the felling of 15,000 hectares of TRF for new communities and plantations

What are the main impacts of deforestation in Malaysia?

• Soil Erosion

• More wood and TRF products

• Economic development and climate change

• Loss of Biodiversity

What are the impacts of soil erosion?

• People will have less opportunities to grown their own veg and crops

• Soil takes thousands of years to be replaced

• Deforestation means soil can be easily removed and eroded away

• Soil leads to a loss of biodiversity.