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Malaysia threatens hefty sentences for illegal loggers
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Malaysia vowed to jail illegal loggers for between one and 20 years, in a move hailed by environmentalists, to slow the destruction of rainforests.
The Southeast Asian country is home to some of them most species-rich and pristine forests left on earth, but legal and illegal logging have destroyed vast areas in fast-industrializing Malaysia.
Illegal logging "is jeopardizing water and air quality," Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak told the official Bernama news agency. "It can bring problems such as floods and droughts and badly affect water catchment areas."
Najib blamed a number of small illegal logging syndicates for much of the destruction and said fines had failed to deter them.
So far this year the government had only collected 200,000 ringgit (US$53,000) in fines, after taking 1.1 million ringgit last year, he said.
"This doesn't reflect the true loss in terms of environmental damage to the country," said Najib.
Environment groups hailed the decision as one of the strongest moves yet by the Malaysian Government to tackle illegal logging but said adequate resources were needed to enforce the new law.
"This does appear as a strong move, and this is something all environmental groups would support and is what we have been calling for for some time," said Meena Raman, chair of Friends of the Earth International.
"While this is a positive move, enforcement should also be stepped up to nab the culprits, because mere enhancement of punishment in the law is not enough," she said, also warning that corruption must not undermine the initiative.
"To really give effect to the law, the government must ensure that there are enough resources in terms of manpower and whatever is necessary to nab illegal loggers," she said.
In the 1990s alone, Malaysia lost more than 13 per cent of its forests, much of it on the island of Borneo, which it shares with Indonesia and Brunei.
The World Wildlife Fund at the time estimated that illegally logged trees made up about one third of Malaysia's timber exports.
As Malaysian Government takes measures to protect rainforests, about 1,000 volunteers plan to clean up rubbish-strewn Malaysian beaches where rare turtles lay their eggs amid fears over a steep decline in nestings, organizers said.
The project is jointly organized by the Australian-based environment group Clean Up the World and local authorities in the eastern Terengganu State.