The Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Ministry will halt the Ecological Fiscal Transfer for Biodiversity Conservation (EFT) allocation to Kelantan if the state government continues with its plan to modify the Conservation and Development of Environmentally Sensitive Areas (KSAS), according to a statement by minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (pic). The minister stated that the proposal contradicts the implementation principles of the EFT, which is a financial incentive introduced by the Federal Government in 2019 to protect and conserve important areas for biological diversity, including KSAS.
The Kelantan state government has received a total of more than RM29 million in EFT allocation from 2019 to 2023, with annual amounts of RM5.81 million (2019), RM5.93 million (2020), RM5.93 million (2021), and RM11.47 million (2023). Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has increased the EFT allocation for the entire country from RM150 million per year in 2023 to RM200 million in 2024 under the 2024 Budget. Previously, the EFT amount was RM70 million per year. Hence, the Kelantan state government is urged to take advantage of the provided EFT provision by implementing more initiatives to enhance the preservation and conservation of biological diversity.
Nik Nazmi further noted that the proposed modifications to the Development Plan regarding KSAS in Kelantan will adversely impact biodiversity conservation efforts and are not aligned with the recently launched National Biodiversity Policy 2022-2030 (DKBK 2022-2030). The DKBK 2022-2030 emphasizes the need to strengthen the protection of significant areas of biological diversity, such as KSAS, in Development Plans at the state and local levels. These modifications will also hinder Malaysia’s commitment to the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992, which aims to maintain at least 50 percent of the country’s land area covered by trees and forest areas.
Nik Nazmi expressed hope that the Kelantan state government will reconsider the proposal to alter the Development Plan involving KSAS and collaborate with the Federal Government through the ministry to enhance the management of the nation’s biological diversity.
EFT, Kelantan, Modify, State Governments, Allocation, Nik Nazmi, Biodiversity, KSAS.
