(MY) value on biodiversity

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Putting a monetary value on biodiversity- New Straits Times

By : Nisha Sabanayagam

KUALA LUMPUR, THU.:

 

How much are bats in the forest worth in terms of ringgit and sen?

Placing monetary value on biodiversity is no easy task, say experts

from the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM). But this is

what they want to do.

 

They are working to come up with a predictive model that will help

calculate the opportunity cost of logging forest areas by placing a

quantitative value on the biodiversity.

 

As such, flora and fauna will be calculated in terms of ringgit and

sen to enable a comparison between the cost of timber produce and the

cost of non-timber produce of a specific jungle site.

 

To calculate the value of the bats, one could use the cost of durians

as the basis, since bats were the main pollinators of durians, said

project director Dr Shamsudin Ibrahim.

" No bats, no durians, " he said, adding that monetary value for bats

could equal the current cost of durians.

 

The US$5.67 million (RM19.6 million) project, the first of its kind in

the world, was aimed at helping those involved, especially

contractors, make more " informed decisions " about cutting down

forests, he said.

 

 

 

Shamsudin said the success of the " Conservation of Biological

Diversity through Improved Forest Planning Tools in Operation " project

would showcase Malaysia as a leader in sustainable tropical forest

management.

 

" Should we succeed in coming up with a practical, easy and

cost-effective tool to calculate the monetary cost of biodiversity

within a targeted production forest area, we will be the pioneers in

this sector. "

 

One criteria is that the tool can be replicated to be used in other

tropical forests around the world.

 

The project was mooted by former FRIM scientist Dr S. Appanah and

American forest scientist Dr Peter Ashton.

 

It took them six years to get the project off the ground and obtain

funding from the Global Environment Facility.

 

Project manager Dr Woon Weng-Chuen said one of the easier methods to

calculate the value of the biodiversity of a specific forest area was

to consider the amount of eco-tourism the area could attract.

 

The amount of non-timber forest produce collected from the area and

sold by the indigenous people could also assist in the value

calculation.

 

" This will give us an idea of the opportunity cost of logging that area. "

 

The bigger elements to consider in terms of opportunity cost would be

how the forest area contributes towards flood mitigation or acts as

water catchment areas with natural filtering systems.

 

" By having cleaner water upstream, less needs to be done to filter

water downstream before they reach households. The amount of money

saved in this case can be considered as opportunity cost as well, "

said Woon.

 

The Perak Integrated Timber Complex has been chosen as the project site.