The North Korean flag and embassy signage have been removed from the premises in a Kuala Lumpur suburb. Two buses ferried the diplomats and their families to the airport, where they were seen checking in for a flight to Shanghai.
Ties between North Korea and Malaysia have been virtually frozen since the 2017 assassination of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
Two days after Kuala Lumpur extradited a North Korean man to the US to face money laundering charges, a furious North Korea on Friday announced that it was terminating ties with Malaysia. Malaysia denounced the decision and, in a tit-for-tat response, gave North Korean diplomats 48 hours to leave.
Kim Yu Song (centre) counsellor at the North Korean embassy in Malaysia, reads out a statement outside the embassy in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, Mar 21, 2021. (Photo: AP/Vincent Thian)
North Korean embassy counsellor Kim Yu Song carries a box inside the compounds of the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur on Mar 21, 2021. (Photo: AFP/Aliff Nor)
Kim Yu Song, the charge d’affaires and counsellor in Kuala Lumpur, said Malaysia had “committed an unpardonable crime". Echoing Pyongyang's earlier statement, he accused Malaysia of being subservient to the US and of being part of a US conspiracy aimed at “isolating and suffocating" his country.
“This incident made by the Malaysian authority constitutes an undisguised alignment with and direct engagement in the anti-DPRK hostile manoeuvre of the United States which seeks to deprive our state of its sovereignty and rights to existence and development," he said in a short statement outside the embassy, before heading to the airport.
"Not content with putting our innocent citizen in the dock by blindly (favouring) with the US – the principal enemy of our state – the Malaysian authority delivered our citizen to the US in the end, thus destroying the entire foundation of the bilateral relations based on the respect for sovereignty."
"The Malaysian authority will bear full responsibility for all the consequences to be incurred between the two countries," he added.
North Korea has called the money laundering charges an “absurd fabrication and (a) sheer plot” orchestrated by the US, and warned Washington will “pay a due price".
Some experts say cutting ties with Malaysia was North Korea's way of showing anger with President Joe Biden's administration, without jeopardising an eventual return to nuclear negotiations with Washington.
North Korea has insisted it would not engage in talks with Washington unless it abandons what Pyongyang’s perceives as a “hostile” policy. But experts say North Korea will eventually seek to return to diplomacy to find ways to get sanctions relief and revive its moribund economy.
Malaysia has defended its move to extradite Mun Chol Myong, saying it was carried out only after all legal processes had been exhausted. A top court ruled Mun can be extradited after rejecting his appeal on grounds that the US charges were politically motivated.
Mun, who lived in Malaysia for a decade and was arrested in May 2019, has denied US accusations that he was involved in supplying luxury goods from Singapore to North Korea in violation of United Nations sanctions while working in Singapore.
He denied laundering funds through front companies and issuing fraudulent documents to support illicit shipments to his country.
A bus carrying staff of the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur leaves the embassy compound on Sunday, Mar 21, 2021. (Photo: AP/Vincent Thian)
The North Korean flag and a plaque were taken down from the country's embassy in Kuala Lumpur and the gates were chained up. (Photo: AFP/Aliff Nor)
North Korea has long used Malaysia as a crucial economic hub where it handled trade, labour exports and some illicit businesses in Southeast Asia, but their relations suffered major setbacks over the 2017 killing of Kim Jong Nam.
Two women - one Indonesian and the other Vietnamese - were charged with colluding with four North Koreans to murder Kim Jong Nam by smearing his face with VX nerve agent. The four North Koreans fled Malaysia the day Kim died. The two women were later released.
Malaysian officials never officially accused North Korea of involvement in Kim Jong Nam’s death, but prosecutors made it clear throughout the trial that they suspected a North Korean connection.
North Korea denied the victim was Kim Jong Nam and disputed it had any role in the man’s death. Longtime North Korea watchers believe Kim Jong Un ordered his brother’s killing as part of efforts to remove potential rivals and cement his grip on power.
The North Korean flag and embassy signage have been removed from the premises in a Kuala Lumpur suburb. Two buses ferried the diplomats and their families to the airport, where they were seen checking in for a flight to Shanghai.
Ties between North Korea and Malaysia have been virtually frozen since the 2017 assassination of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
Two days after Kuala Lumpur extradited a North Korean man to the US to face money laundering charges, a furious North Korea on Friday announced that it was terminating ties with Malaysia. Malaysia denounced the decision and, in a tit-for-tat response, gave North Korean diplomats 48 hours to leave.
Kim Yu Song (centre) counsellor at the North Korean embassy in Malaysia, reads out a statement outside the embassy in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, Mar 21, 2021. (Photo: AP/Vincent Thian)
North Korean embassy counsellor Kim Yu Song carries a box inside the compounds of the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur on Mar 21, 2021. (Photo: AFP/Aliff Nor)
Kim Yu Song, the charge d’affaires and counsellor in Kuala Lumpur, said Malaysia had “committed an unpardonable crime". Echoing Pyongyang's earlier statement, he accused Malaysia of being subservient to the US and of being part of a US conspiracy aimed at “isolating and suffocating" his country.
“This incident made by the Malaysian authority constitutes an undisguised alignment with and direct engagement in the anti-DPRK hostile manoeuvre of the United States which seeks to deprive our state of its sovereignty and rights to existence and development," he said in a short statement outside the embassy, before heading to the airport.
"Not content with putting our innocent citizen in the dock by blindly (favouring) with the US – the principal enemy of our state – the Malaysian authority delivered our citizen to the US in the end, thus destroying the entire foundation of the bilateral relations based on the respect for sovereignty."
"The Malaysian authority will bear full responsibility for all the consequences to be incurred between the two countries," he added.
North Korea has called the money laundering charges an “absurd fabrication and (a) sheer plot” orchestrated by the US, and warned Washington will “pay a due price".
Some experts say cutting ties with Malaysia was North Korea's way of showing anger with President Joe Biden's administration, without jeopardising an eventual return to nuclear negotiations with Washington.
North Korea has insisted it would not engage in talks with Washington unless it abandons what Pyongyang’s perceives as a “hostile” policy. But experts say North Korea will eventually seek to return to diplomacy to find ways to get sanctions relief and revive its moribund economy.
Malaysia has defended its move to extradite Mun Chol Myong, saying it was carried out only after all legal processes had been exhausted. A top court ruled Mun can be extradited after rejecting his appeal on grounds that the US charges were politically motivated.
Mun, who lived in Malaysia for a decade and was arrested in May 2019, has denied US accusations that he was involved in supplying luxury goods from Singapore to North Korea in violation of United Nations sanctions while working in Singapore.
He denied laundering funds through front companies and issuing fraudulent documents to support illicit shipments to his country.
A bus carrying staff of the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur leaves the embassy compound on Sunday, Mar 21, 2021. (Photo: AP/Vincent Thian)
The North Korean flag and a plaque were taken down from the country's embassy in Kuala Lumpur and the gates were chained up. (Photo: AFP/Aliff Nor)
North Korea has long used Malaysia as a crucial economic hub where it handled trade, labour exports and some illicit businesses in Southeast Asia, but their relations suffered major setbacks over the 2017 killing of Kim Jong Nam.
Two women - one Indonesian and the other Vietnamese - were charged with colluding with four North Koreans to murder Kim Jong Nam by smearing his face with VX nerve agent. The four North Koreans fled Malaysia the day Kim died. The two women were later released.
Malaysian officials never officially accused North Korea of involvement in Kim Jong Nam’s death, but prosecutors made it clear throughout the trial that they suspected a North Korean connection.
North Korea denied the victim was Kim Jong Nam and disputed it had any role in the man’s death. Longtime North Korea watchers believe Kim Jong Un ordered his brother’s killing as part of efforts to remove potential rivals and cement his grip on power.
The North Korean flag and embassy signage have been removed from the premises in a Kuala Lumpur suburb. Two buses ferried the diplomats and their families to the airport, where they were seen checking in for a flight to Shanghai.
Ties between North Korea and Malaysia have been virtually frozen since the 2017 assassination of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
Two days after Kuala Lumpur extradited a North Korean man to the US to face money laundering charges, a furious North Korea on Friday announced that it was terminating ties with Malaysia. Malaysia denounced the decision and, in a tit-for-tat response, gave North Korean diplomats 48 hours to leave.
Kim Yu Song (centre) counsellor at the North Korean embassy in Malaysia, reads out a statement outside the embassy in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, Mar 21, 2021. (Photo: AP/Vincent Thian)
North Korean embassy counsellor Kim Yu Song carries a box inside the compounds of the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur on Mar 21, 2021. (Photo: AFP/Aliff Nor)
Kim Yu Song, the charge d’affaires and counsellor in Kuala Lumpur, said Malaysia had “committed an unpardonable crime". Echoing Pyongyang's earlier statement, he accused Malaysia of being subservient to the US and of being part of a US conspiracy aimed at “isolating and suffocating" his country.
“The Malaysian authority delivered our citizen to the US in the end, thus destroying the foundations of the bilateral relations based on respect of sovereignty," he said in a short statement outside the embassy, before heading to the airport.
North Korea has called the money laundering charges an “absurd fabrication and (a) sheer plot” orchestrated by the US, and warned Washington will “pay a due price".
Some experts say cutting ties with Malaysia was North Korea's way of showing anger with President Joe Biden's administration, without jeopardising an eventual return to nuclear negotiations with Washington.
North Korea has insisted it won’t engage in talks with Washington unless it abandons what Pyongyang’s perceives as a “hostile” policy. But experts say North Korea will eventually seek to return to diplomacy to find ways to get sanctions relief and revive its moribund economy.
Malaysia has defended its move to extradite Mun Chol Myong, saying it was carried out only after all legal processes had been exhausted. A top court ruled Mun can be extradited after rejecting his appeal on grounds that the US charges were politically motivated.
Mun, who lived in Malaysia for a decade and was arrested in May 2019, has denied US accusations that he was involved in supplying luxury goods from Singapore to North Korea in violation of United Nations sanctions while working in Singapore.
He denied laundering funds through front companies and issuing fraudulent documents to support illicit shipments to his country.
A bus carrying staff of the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur leaves the embassy compound on Sunday, Mar 21, 2021. (Photo: AP/Vincent Thian)
The North Korean flag and a plaque were taken down from the country's embassy in Kuala Lumpur and the gates were chained up. (Photo: AFP/Aliff Nor)
North Korea has long used Malaysia as a crucial economic hub where it handled trade, labour exports and some illicit businesses in Southeast Asia, but their relations suffered major setbacks over the 2017 killing of Kim Jong Nam.
Two women - one Indonesian and the other Vietnamese - were charged with colluding with four North Koreans to murder Kim Jong Nam by smearing his face with VX nerve agent. The four North Koreans fled Malaysia the day Kim died. The two women were later released.
Malaysian officials never officially accused North Korea of involvement in Kim Jong Nam’s death, but prosecutors made it clear throughout the trial that they suspected a North Korean connection.
North Korea denied the victim was Kim Jong Nam and disputed it had any role in the man’s death. Longtime North Korea watchers believe Kim Jong Un ordered his brother’s killing as part of efforts to remove potential rivals and cement his grip on power.
SINGAPORE: The run-up to the US-China meeting already foreshadowed the challenges that the actual bilateral discussions in Anchorage would encounter.
In fact, the two sides could not agree on how to call it. For the US, it was a meeting to communicate positions to the other side.
For China, it was a “high-level strategic dialogue”, a continuation from where the countries had left off before Trump entered the White House.
Tensions spilled over in public, in the first session, when under the eye of cameras from all over the world, the US and China had what in diplomatic terms can only be described as frosty.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken opened with criticising China for actions that “threaten the rule based order that maintains global stability.”
State Council member Yang Yiechi replied: “We believe that it is important for the United States to change its own image and to stop advancing its own democracy in the rest of the world.”
Yang spoke for 15 minutes, well in excess of the agreed 2 minutes, sparking an unprogrammed, on-camera reply by Blinken. Suffice to say that this was an unusual start for a diplomatic meeting between the two most powerful countries in the world.
THE ROUTE TO ANCHORAGE
The Chinese side came into this meeting full of confidence. The country had managed the COVID-19 crisis well, delivered growth, and had kept its commitment to eliminate absolute poverty.
Internationally, it has just scored major political victories in the form of agreements on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with Asia-Pacific countries, and the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment with the European Union.
China’s views are that this is their time and that amid “changes not seen in a century”, it has a “strategic opportunity” to deliver on its China Dream of the country’s rejuvenation. “The East is Rising, the West is Declining”, as Xi Jinping summarises China’s views.
Chinese Communist Party foreign affairs chief Yang Jiechi, right, and China's State Councilor Wang Yi, left, arrive for the opening session of US-China talks at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday, March 18, 2021. (Frederic J. Brown/Pool via AP)
China’s 14th Five-Year Plan - the first for the new era for socialism with Chinese characteristics as President Xi laid out in 2017 - aims to propel the country to a modern socialist state by 2035.
This is good insurance against the type of measures that the Trump administration imposed upon China, even if it may mean somewhat slower growth.
The plan doubles down on investment in technology, and in particular on basic science, to become self-sufficient in “choke-hold” technologies such as integrated circuits.
In addition, for the first time, “security” was included in the table of main indicators of the plan, with mandatory targets for food and energy security.
Nevertheless, China prefers continued engagement with the US on equal terms. As Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a media interview earlier this year, the Chinese “reject decoupling and uphold cooperation".
China’s characterisation of the Anchorage meeting as a “high-level strategic dialogue” is a clear reference to the Strategic and Economic Dialogue between the countries, which was initiated under presidents Barack Obama and Hu Jintao in 2009 – and was an upgrade of the former Senior Dialogue and Strategic Economic Dialogue started under the George W Bush administration.
This dialogue continued under Xi Jinping, but was abandoned under Donald Trump.
The US came to Anchorage from a very different position. After four years of the Trump presidency, it is only starting to “Build Back Better” as President Joe Biden has characterised his grand strategy.
His focus is on investing in the domestic strengths of the United States, in its R&D, in its infrastructure and in its people. The US$1.9 trillion stimulus package that had recently passed Congress is a first step, but the route is a long one.
The administration has made clear that it will take its time to develop a China strategy, but the Interim National Security Strategic Guidelines already offers a down payment: China is an adversary, a competitor and a partner, depending on the topic at hand.
The US strategy’s aim is to allow it “to prevail in strategic competition with China or any other nation.”
The Biden administration has also made clear its commitment to the status quo on Taiwan, and has sent freedom of navigation patrols through the South China Sea.
Secretary Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan visited Japan and South Korea first, before heading to Anchorage.
Moreover, just before the meeting, the US put several deputy chairpersons of the National People’s Congress, China’s Parliament, on a sanctions list because of their role in passing the National Security Law for Hong Kong.
ANCHORAGE IS NOT SUNNYLAND
The frank exchange in Anchorage was not necessarily a bad thing, though. First, that the meeting happened was important by itself.
Second, that the two parties were willing to express their positions and grievances, even in public, was refreshing, and perhaps healthy for a longer-term relationship, in which there surely will be more difficult issues to discuss.
U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan (R) speaks as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken looks on at the opening session of US-China talks at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S. March 18, 2021. Frederic J. Brown/Pool via REUTERS
In addition, a meeting beats no meeting, given the downside risks of the latter.
At the same time, the gathering did not result in an agreement of any sort, nor did it set a possible agenda for future engagement, let alone a date for a future Biden-Xi summit.
Anchorage made it clear that there is no return to Sunnyland, the venue of the Obama-Xi meeting in 2013. That meeting, among others, laid the basis of the Paris Climate Change Accord of 2015.
The Sunnyland spirits did not last, though, and by the time Trump took office, the US-China relationship had already soured on multiple fronts, including on industrial policy, cyber espionage, and intellectual property rights.
Trump, despite bragging about his good relationship with Xi, ran down the bilateral relationship, especially in the final year of his administration when poor management of COVID-19 started to threaten his re-election.
At the same time, Trump did China a big geopolitical favour by backing out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and by alienating America’s traditional partners as former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd pointed out in his recent Goh Keng Swee Lecture at the East Asian Institute.
Anchorage saw the emergence of a new baseline in relations: One with more select engagement, and diminished expectations as to where China-US engagement may lead.
WHERE TO GO FROM HERE?
The US is likely to focus on its domestic agenda and further rebuilding of ties with its traditional allies. President Biden already reconfirmed his strong commitment to European allies and NATO at the Munich Security Conference last month.
US President Joe Biden said of his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, pictured on March 11, 2021, that he didn't have a "democratic bone in his body" AFP/NICOLAS ASFOURI
He has also signalled his intend to work closely with the Quad, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, in the Indo-Pacific. The first summit of the leaders of the Quad members - the US, Japan, India and Australia - on Mar 12 signalled this could become an important tool for the Biden administration’s foreign policy.
France and the United Kingdom are already seeking closer engagement with the group, and are set to join maritime manoeuvres together with Quad countries.
Moreover, according to the summit’s joint statement, the Quad is expanding its engagement into areas such as health, technology and trade, and seeks to “uphold peace and prosperity and strengthen democratic resilience, based on universal values".
The big question is whether ASEAN countries are interested in the Quad. As observers have noted, the closing statement of the Quad leaders’ summit mentions ASEAN centrality - which is a subtle invitation of sorts to ASEAN countries to join in.
Some may well do so in select areas of concern, such as technology. For now though, the Quad falls well short of offering the economic attraction that a China has for the rest of Asia.
China has a busy domestic agenda of its own in the coming two years. This July is the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, and next year, China is hosting the winter Olympics.
China's President Xi Jinping applauds after the National People's Congress votes to change the election system of Hong Kong, a concern that the United States has vowed to raise AFP/NICOLAS ASFOURI
In 2022, the Communist Party will also convene its 20th Party Congress, a once-in-every five-year event. It is of particular importance this time because it is likely to reaffirm Xi’s ambitions for another term as the Party’s general secretary as well as China’s President.
These domestic events will absorb most of Beijing’s political attention.
Having both countries focus on a domestic agenda may not be a bad thing, as long as lower-level exchanges continue.
This is particularly in areas such as the military where the risk of incidents is increasing in light of growing activities in the region from both sides.
It will also allow time to develop a more in-depth substantive agenda for any future high-level engagement. Meanwhile, big global issues such as climate change can still be addressed, but multilaterally rather than in the context of the China-US relationship.
Hopefully the next high-level meeting will come with lunch included.
KUALA LUMPUR: Carolyn Lau and Lydia Lubon from the Free Tree Society (FTS) were getting a trio of first-time participants ready for a tree-planting session at Federal Hill, a hill behind the upscale Bangsar neighbourhood.
This is the first trail planting session for the non-governmental organisation (NGO) since the restriction on social activities in Kuala Lumpur was lifted on Mar 5.
Lau and Lubon placed some saplings in reusable bags, and the group set off. They were going to plant fruiting trees such as ficus and bachang, as well as Rangoon creeper which serves as a source of pollen and food source for animals.
Along the short trail created entirely by FTS members, Lau explained that trail planting is to help repopulate the area’s biodiversity.
"Previously, Bangsar and Federal Hill used to be hectares of rubber estate during colonial times, and even though the hill is now considered secondary forest, one can still find full-grown rubber trees and rubber saplings," she said on Mar 10.
Free Tree Society's executive committee member Carolyn Lau (right) shows two volunteers how to clear and plant a new sapling along the Pulai Trail at Federal Hill in Kuala Lumpur. (Photo: Vincent Tan)
The saplings were planted at different parts of the trail as Lau led the volunteers further in. The Rangoon creeper, the last to be planted, took some time as the group discovered household waste buried at the spot, presumably dumped by irresponsible parties in the past.
Vivitha Naidu, a volunteer who took part in the trail planting, found the experience rewarding and an educational one.
"It's not just about planting trees, but learning about our own country and the implications of clearing forests."
"You get to learn about biodiversity and our own tropical rainforests. It was an eye-opener for me. I only thought we only had one kind of palm - the oil palm, but I'm surprised to learn we had so many types of palm trees growing here," she said.
In the Klang Valley and across the country, organisations such as the FTS and private corporations are attempting to repopulate the land with native trees in an attempt to reforest and restore Malaysia’s biodiversity.
Replanted forests help to maintain endangered and endemic flora and fauna. (Photo: Global Environment Centre)
Usually, tree-planting events are done with public participation in an effort to get more saplings planted, as well as to spread the environmental message to the wider Malaysian public.
Although COVID-19 and the resulting lockdowns since last year have put a damper on some of these public events, some efforts have managed to go on. With movement restrictions eased in most parts of the country, organisers are up and at it again with physical workshops and tree-planting sessions.
Despite last year’s lockdowns, FTSfounder Baida Hercus said the NGO still managed to plant more than 400 native trees and other plants along the Pulai trail at Federal Hill.
While the land is government owned, FTS actively maintains the trail.
“One goal of the Pulai trail exercise is to help repopulate its biodiversity. The other is to make sure it becomes beloved by the community, as with another part of Kuala Lumpur where the community came together to protect their green space,” said Hercus.
“All (of the replanting) is aimed at supporting wildlife in the area, and eventually increasing biodiversity in what used to be a rubber estate and now a recovering jungle,” she said.
Not enough importance is given to secondary forests in urban areas, she continued, for potential rehabilitation and conservation.
Saplings are being dispatched for replanting efforts along the Kinabatangan river in Sabah. Nestle Malaysia's current nationwide RELeaf project builds on its earlier, smaller-scale RiLeaf which took place along the same river. (Photo: Nestle Malaysia)
“But they are important as carbon sinks and flood mitigators in cities like Kuala Lumpur, and as they are undervalued, they become very vulnerable to threats like unchecked development,” she said.
It was hoped, Hercus said, that by maintaining the trail and planting a diverse range of local plant species, more people would grow to appreciate such green spaces in the city.
“So far we've been seeing increased attention to the trail on neighbourhood Facebook pages with people from the surrounding community coming to walk the trail and participate in trail maintenance, which is very encouraging,” she added.
All in all, Hercus said, FTS has given away over 40,000 plants since they started in 2013.
For other corporations, the number of replanted trees are targeted in the millions.
For instance, Nestle Malaysia Berhad aims to replant 3 million trees in Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia by 2023 through its RELeaf Project which kicked off last September.
For Nestle Malaysia CEO Juan Aranols, this project has proceeded in sequence since October with field planting activities in Sabah’s Kinabatangan Wetlands and Merisuli in Lahad Datu.
The company’s replanting effort has also seen local Orang Asli communities living on the fringes of the Klang Valley being engaged for the reforestation project as well.
Minister for Energy and Natural Resources Shamsul Anuar Nasarah and Nestle Malaysia CEO Juan Aranols mark the start of the RELeaf Project with the planting of Jelutong trees. (Photo: Nestle Malaysia)
“By mid-2021, we aim to commence reforestation efforts along the peninsula’s Central Forest Spine, and the riparian (wetlands adjacent to rivers) and forest reserves around oil palm plantations,” said Aranols.
This RELeaf Project is an extension or an earlier, small-scale reforestation effort called “RiLeaf” which took place in the Kinabatangan River area.
These two efforts, Aranols said, would result in a total of 4 million trees being planted by the target year of 2023.
In Peninsular Malaysia, another environmental NGO, the Global Environment Centre also has tree-planting goals. Its spokesperson said that over the next two years, it was working with the various corporate social responsibility (CSR) arms of Malaysian and international corporations to plant over 100,000 trees.
At the same time, the effort would include fire prevention, rewetting (especially for degraded and dried-out peatland, which is a fire hazard), post-planting care and maintenance.
Although no specific trees were listed, GEC said the species selected for restoring the degraded forest and riverine areas are local ones which can tolerate hot and wet conditions and thrive in degraded areas.
As Malaysia underwent its first and second lockdowns, traditional public outreach programmes such as tree planting and sapling or plant giveaways had to be reworked to comply with social distancing limits, or cancelled entirely.
In GEC’s case, tree-planting in 2021 was currently being done at a very small scale for select degraded mangrove and peatland sites.
Restored peat swamp forest in North Selangor, following replanting efforts by GEC and volunteers after a devastating peat fire in 2012. (Photo: Global Environment Centre)
“The tree planting is mainly conducted by trained local communities at the adjacent forest reserves, and not open for public participation due to COVID-19 and movement control rules,” GEC’s spokesperson said.
In addition, the NGO had prepped items such as personal protective equipment, comprising face mask, hand sanitiser, gloves and drinking water for the local community members taking part.
Planting time is limited to one hour, involving 10 to 20 people. In one session, 300 to 600 trees are planted.
For FTS, it pivoted online to continue its public outreach efforts, hosting online programmes and workshops on topics like composting, planting and gardening basics, and environment-themed talks.
Free Tree Society members Carolyn Lau (left) and Lydia Lubon (right) lead trail planting participants Vivitha Naidu (in pink) and Peter Jan on to the Pulai Trail to plant some saplings. (Photo: Vincent Tan)
“Our nurseries (at Bangsar and Taman Tugu) are actually rather full at the moment, but we can’t conduct mass giveaways because of the pandemic. Likewise, our usual hands-on environmental stewardship programmes have been impacted as well,” said Hercus.
Despite the lack of physical programmes, FTS’s employees and volunteers still tended to the new Pulai trail and the nurseries.
And as of Mar 9, the NGO had restarted its physical workshops and trail plantings.
Meanwhile, Nestle's RELeaf project, which is still in its early phases, has been proceeding apace.
Free Tree Society's Bangsar nursery, which is teeming with saplings and other plants ready to be given away to the public. (Photo: Vincent Tan)
Nestle and its project partners are currently working with the local communities they have engaged to maximise seedling production, which will then feed into the reforestation effort.
“These activities are proceeding, and haven’t been much impacted by the movement restrictions,” Aranols, the CEO, said.
MANAGING EXPECTATIONS
Although reforestation efforts are always encouraged, it is only one half of the equation for activists like Hercus.
“We need to emphasise that the best strategy for ensuring our forests’ survival is to stop logging and conserve the forest areas we have left,” she said.
Free Tree Society's Lydia Lubon dispenses fertiliser to some fruit tree saplings at the NGO's Bangsar nursery, which abuts Federal Hill in Kuala Lumpur. (Photo: Vincent Tan)
While FTS was proud of its work in contributing towards replanting and rehabilitation, these were still actions taken after destruction had been wrought already. Hence, a lot of its programmes focus on knowledge sharing to prevent the loss of trees in the first place.
As with other NGOs last year, the economic downturn accompanying the pandemic meant funding was tight. In addition, Hercus had to manage donors’ expectations.
One of the areas Nestle Malaysia aims to help restore is the riverbank of Sabah's Kinabatangan river. (Photo: Nestle Malaysia)
Sponsorship, she said, was often tied to donors’ wants.
“Having to navigate these kinds of issues is more commonplace as corporations are increasingly seeking to align themselves with environmental causes, while lacking the knowledge to create an effective environmental programme.”
“As such, we do our best to create the most impactful programme with receptive corporations or channel their funds into our existing programmes that are already effective in reaching the people and changing mindsets to build a greener Malaysian society,” Hercus explained.
Patience or instant gratification is also a factor NGOs have to navigate.
“There needs to be a better understanding of the time scale we’re working with when it comes to forests and trees. Forest replanting and rehabilitation are not quick work, as it takes decades for a forest to grow,” Hercus said.
Restoring a degraded forest can be challenging and complicated, the GEC said, as the effort involved a variety of ecological and social systems which were not always fully accounted for or understood.
The edge of North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest with peat water irrigating paddy fields after restoration efforts. (Photo: Global Environment Centre)
Besides managing participation and knowledge transfer by and to the local community and stakeholders, replanting is also fraught with issues such as weather, fires, pests and regular maintenance.
However, more fundamental was the objective of reforestation itself.
“It’s not just a matter of tree species, but environmental ethics. Deciding what tree species to plant leads one back to the question of what is the reason for reforestation,” the GEC spokesperson said.
“More recently, we have seen large reforestation projects taking place under the Voluntary Carbon Market, where the purpose is to create large banks of carbon offsets.”
“The type of trees planted then become important in terms of which species absorb the most carbon and are the fastest growing species,” GEC added.
