The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is an international framework convention with three main goals: conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of biodiversity resources and the equitable sharing of benefits from the use of genetic resources. As part of Malaysia’s response to the CBD strategic plans 2011-2020, the National Policy on Biological Diversity (NPBD) 2016-2025 was formulated to provide the direction and framework to conserve biodiversity and use it sustainably in the face of increasingly complex challenges. The Sixth (6th) National Report presents the progress of the NPBD 2016-2025 (NPBD) Indicators and Actions in achieving national and Aichi Biodiversity Targets (ABTs).
This report contains five (5) chapters: Chapter 1 provides an update on Malaysia’s biodiversity profile, biodiversity threats, and its factors, and the implementation framework of NPBD 2016-2025; Chapter 2 describes Malaysia’s progress in achieving the outlined Actions and Indicators; Chapter 3 discusses Malaysia’s efforts towards achieving the Global Aichi targets and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); Chapter 4 addresses the challenges, technical and capacity needs to achieve the national targets; and Chapter 5 reviews roles of Indigenous Local Communities (ILCs) and women in conservation through relevant case studies.
Chapter 1 describes Malaysia’s biodiversity profile and highlights key facts that make the country one of the twelve (12) megadiverse countries in the world. Malaysia’s natural ecosystem is home to about 15,000 vascular plant species, of which nearly 30% are endemic, and 2,795 vertebrate species, of which 1,103 are endemic. The marine environment of the country is also one of the richest. Other than seagrass and benthic communities, Malaysian waters have a total of 4,006 km2 of coral reefs hosting more than 77% of the world’s known coral species – some of which lie within the Coral Triangle, the centre of global marine biodiversity. Malaysia’s commitment to biodiversity is reflected in the formulation of second-generation NBSAP – the National Policy on Biological Diversity 2016-2025 which reflects aspirations to achieve the Global Aichi Targets. KATS through the Biodiversity and Forestry Management Division is the primary custodian of the NPBD. KATS is entrusted with coordinating the efforts of other government and non-governmental stakeholders to deliver actions within the NPBD.
Chapter 2 discusses the progress of NPBD targets and actions since its launch in 2016. This Chapter elaborates key measures and initiatives for specific actions, followed by the assessment of its accompanying indicator. In addition, examples of government and non-governmental stakeholder efforts implemented at all levels - federal, state, and local are included. The CBD Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO) target dashboard methodology is adapted to report progress made for each indicator.
Chapter 3 establishes links between Malaysia’s national targets defined by the NPBD with the Global Aichi Biodiversity Targets (ABT) and the 2030 United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDG). Since the Malaysian National Targets (NT) are designed based on the ABTs, efforts to deliver the NTs are, in effect representing Malaysia’s achievement of the ABTs. The key difference lies in the timeframe - where ABT sets 2020 for all its targets, while most NT extends up to 2025. In this section, each ABT is mapped onto respective NTs and SDGs, and key initiatives are listed.
Chapter 4 attempts to identify the challenges, technical and capacity needs to ensure continuous progress is made on implementing NPBD. It is recognized that effective biodiversity management can be improved by building capacity particularly related to innovative financing, scientific research and knowledge development, communication and coordination mechanisms, sustainable management of natural resources, law, and enforcement, public awareness, and partnerships. Significant biodiversity management outcomes can be achieved by overcoming the barriers and leveraging support from a wide range of government and non-governmental stakeholders.
Chapter 5 illuminates the contribution of ILCs and gender empowerment in conservation. This is being done for the first time in a CBD national report submitted by Malaysia. Three case studies were compiled, one each from Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak depicting the role of ILCs and women in biodiversity conservation. Critical success factors of these community-managed conservation initiatives were summarized. A series of recommendations were made to upscale the participation of the ILCs and gender empowerment within biodiversity conservation in the country.
