Natural Forest Clearing Approved for Palm Oil Plantations in Pahang

RimbaWatch recently brought attention to the Department of Environment’s (DOE) approval of an EIA for a palm oil project in Pahang, which amounts to 8,498ha. This project involves the deforestation of intact natural forests nearly twice the size of Putrajaya, and is the largest single palm oil project approved in Peninsular Malaysia in recent years. Why is this happening, considering the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil certification (MSPO) does not allow for deforestation occurring after 2020? We discuss the major issues related to this project, including how the EIA was approved without there being adequate measures to mitigate impacts that include unavoidable adverse impacts to the area's ecology and biodiversity.