The Sufficiency of Malaysia's Environmental Laws for the Protection of the Tasik Chini UNESCO Biosphere Reserve

Abstract

Protection against environmental crime is of particularly high importance in protected areas such as UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, which are focused on the synergistic relationship between man and environment. This paper explores environmental protection of the Tasik Chini Biosphere Reserve, located in a rural part of the State of Pahang in Malaysia. Tasik Chini was granted the status of the first Malaysian Biosphere Reserve in 2009 and was up for review by UNESCO in 2019. The alarming state of the lake's ecosystem, due to unabated anthropogenic interferences, exposes it to the risk of losing international recognition. This paper aims to examine the condition of Tasik Chini in the legal context, focusing on how the area can be better policed and managed to prevent environmental crime. The paper will firstly describe environmental harm caused (which continues) from logging and mining activities, as well as from agriculture in the reserve, followed by a review of relevant legislation in Malaysia. The study finds that there is no specific Malaysian legislation dedicated to the protection of Biosphere Reserves. However, there are relevant applicable laws, sufficient for conservation of the area and criminalisation of environmental harm.