National REDD plus Strategy (2016 - 2030).

The National REDD Plus Strategy (NRS) builds upon existing relevant policies. In the context of NRS, biodiversity refers to natural resources in the forest and their sustainable utilisation. The building block of the Strategy is based upon the best practices related to forest management systems in the country. This Strategy is updated in line with Malaysia s Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement (pag. 3). Impacts of climate change on food production and water resources are yet to be fully characterised and quantified. If impacts of climate change affect the food security, some re-alignment in land use may be needed and deforestation may increase periodically.
Its Vision aims to assure that forest resources and their ecosystem services are secured, and the benefits are shared fairly and equitably among all stakeholders. The Strategy Goal establishes that forestry sector will be regarded as natural capital taking into consideration the goods and services they provide by the year 2030. Its main objectives are: to promote consistency and synergies in the implementation of climate change, forest and biodiversity related policies between federal and state levels; to measure, report and verify (MRV) REDD Plus results and as part of efforts to achieve the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC); and to develop a sustainable financing mechanism for REDD Plus implementation. REDD Plus Actions Implementing the Strategy will contribute to the following national targets: (i) Maintaining 50% forest cover; (ii) Achieving the NDC pledge made under the UNFCCC s Paris Agreement for the period between 2020-2030; (iii) Achieving National Policy on Biological Diversity (2016-2025); and (iv) Forest policies (pag. 4).
Malaysia s NRS aims at ensuring the forest resources and their ecosystem services are secured, and the benefits are shared fairly and equitably among all stakeholders. This is achieved by recognising the forest as natural capital. The NRS is an ambitious initiative that facilitates transformational change in the forestry sector. The forest would not merely be regarded as a source of timber and non-forest products,instead, their ecosystem services and rich biodiversity would be recognised and appreciated. This way, the full cost of deforestation, taking into account the value of ecosystem services and biodiversity lost will be considered (pag. 4).
For the governance, given the enormous task of implementing the Strategy, a substantial amount of coordination will be required to ensure optimum utilisation of resources, reduce conflicts and maximise synergies between the various stakeholders. At the national level, the National Steering Committee on REDD Plus (NSCREDD) was established in 2011 to formulate directions and strategies for REDD Plus implementation (pag 10). The REDD Plus program contributes to broader sustainable development, respect and protection of human rights and good governance objectives (pag. 25).