KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 — For the sake of the country’s prosperity and survival, all Malaysians must continue to collaborate to protect nature and mitigate the damaging effects of climate change, said the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah.

He said the recent floods have again demonstrated clearly the dangers posed by climate change.

"The impacts of human activities on our wildlife, climate, rivers, forests and oceans are profound, as are the consequences for humanity. Restoring our planet’s health requires all of our efforts, from the government to the private sector, to the public as well.

"While responding generously to those affected, we must also be bold in our renewed efforts to address the underlying causes,” he said in his virtual royal address in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia today.

Sultan Nazrin pointed out that conservation is a crucially important element of Malaysia’s development, as the country is blessed with globally valuable natural endowments, including ancient rainforests and rich biodiversity.

"Malaysia has a grave responsibility to protect these effectively. We must rise to this challenge, for ourselves and for the global population,” he added.

According to Sultan Nazrin, Malaysia’s strong commitment to conservation can be seen in a number of areas and these include the National Forestry Policy, which mandates that 50 per cent of the country should remain under forest cover.

"We have the National Biodiversity Policy, which commits us to allocate 20 per cent of our land as protected areas. And we have also committed ourselves to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. It is imperative, however, that all these promises and plans are in fact fully implemented in practice.

"Organisations such as WWF Malaysia will continue to be at the forefront of these efforts, for the next 50 years and beyond, as we confront the challenges that await us,” he said.

Sultan Nazrin said for the past 50 years, WWF Malaysia had helped the country to rise to the environmental challenges it faced.

It had become a strong voice for nature in Malaysia, speaking out both for its protection and the restoration of areas that had been lost, he added. — Bernama