Policy to pay those affected by wildlife in the works

Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the new policy would be necessary as cases of human-wildlife conflict are expected to continue rising in the foreseeable future.

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May 26, 2023

PUTRAJAYA – Aiming to reduce the effects of human-wildlife conflicts, a new policy to compensate the damage caused by wildlife to the livelihoods of the people is in the works.

Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the new policy would be necessary as cases of human-wildlife conflict are expected to continue rising in the foreseeable future.

“As more areas near forests are developed, the chances of human and wildlife conflict will only increase such as the destruction of their crops or farmland.

“We are worried that those affected may take matters into their own hands to deal with or harm the animals that caused the damage leading to further escalation.

“As such, developing a policy to compensate those whose livelihoods were affected by wildlife is important to reduce the possible hostility between animals and humans,” he said during a biodiversity dialogue yesterday.

However, the planned compensation policy would not apply to those whose farms or plantations that had illegally trespassed into forest reserves, nor would it apply to those that did not follow existing guidelines, according to Nik Nazmi.

He added that the policy was still in the discussion phase with various other ministries including the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry and the Plantation and Commodities Ministry.

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