KUALA LUMPUR: Transboundary haze, a recurring issue in the region, is expected to be one of the key topics discussed at the inaugural Kuala Lumpur Sustainability Summit (KLSS) from Oct 14 to 16, said Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.
He said the KLSS, to be held in conjunction with Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship this year, will bring together key stakeholders from ASEAN member states to accelerate regional climate action.
“Transboundary haze is also being actively discussed at ASEAN platforms. We also want to do certain things with regard to that at this year’s ASEAN meeting on the topic, so I think that will be one of the issues that we will maybe explore during KLSS.
“With the goal of producing the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Climate Resilience, KLSS aspires to position the city as a leading platform for strategic discussions on climate resilience in the years ahead,” he told a press conference after the soft launch of the International Greentech & Eco Products Exhibition and Conference Malaysia 2025 (IGEM 2025) and KLSS here today.
Nik Nazmi said KLSS, featuring thought leaders from across ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific region, will include podcasts, keynotes, panels and roundtables, all focused on actionable strategies for local, regional and global impact.
Meanwhile, Nik Nazmi highlighted that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES) works closely with state governments, which have jurisdiction over land and water issues, to reduce deforestation.
He said this includes the adoption of the National Forestry (Amendment) Act 2022 (Act A1667), which came into effect on Feb 1 in the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan.
“So any degazettement of protected forests must go to a public inquiry, and the size that you degazette must be replaced with an equal or bigger size of protected forests. The government also increased the Ecological Fiscal Transfers (EFT) fund this year to RM250 million compared to RM60 million when it started in 2019.
“One of the criteria, when we distribute funds to the state governments, is to look at what they are doing with regard to protecting their forests, whether they’re adopting the highest standards under the National Forestry Act 2022,” he said when asked on deforestation in Kelantan.