PUTRAJAYA, Oct 28 — The Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Ministry (NRECC) intends to cease the payment of Ecological Fiscal Transfer for Biodiversity Conservation (EFT) to Kelantan if the state continues with its plan to make changes to its development plan involving environmentally sensitive areas (ESAs), said Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

He said the plan was not in line with the principles underlying the implementation of EFT, which is an additional financial incentive from the federal government to state governments introduced in 2019 to protect and conserve protected areas, including ESAs for biological diversity.

"So far, over RM29 million has been allocated to the Kelantan government from 2019 to 2023. Therefore, the Kelantan government should utilise the EFT allocation by implementing more initiatives to improve the preservation and conservation of biological diversity,” he said in a statement today.

Nik Nazmi said the proposed changes to the development plan involving the ESAs in Kelantan would also have an impact on biodiversity conservation efforts and were not in line with the National Biodiversity Policy 2022-2030 (DKBK 2022-2030), which was just launched on October 24.

DKBK 2022-2030 outlines the need to strengthen the preservation of significant areas of biological diversity as ESAs in development plans at the state and local government levels.

It also affects the country’s goal of increasing the percentage of protected areas to fulfil obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity.

"I hope that the Kelantan government will reconsider the proposed changes to the development plan involving the ESAs and work with the federal government through the NRECC to strengthen the management of the country’s biological diversity,” he said.

Yesterday, Nik Nazmi was reported to have said that the Kelantan government’s move to make changes to its development plan involving ESAs would have implications on the federal government’s policy to achieve 50 per cent forested area in Peninsular Malaysia in line with the National Physical Plan.

He said the state government, during its state executive council meeting on October 21, had decided that permanent forest reserves, except water catchment areas, would no longer be classified as ESAs.

The declassification is still in the draft stage, and the state’s Department of Town and Country Planning (PLANMalaysia) is in the midst of collecting feedback through its Publicity and Public Engagement Programme from October 11 to November 11.

ESAs refer to areas that are of critical importance to any activity or development and must be preserved to maintain their life support value and reduce the risk of natural disasters caused by land use conversion.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, when tabling Budget 2024, announced that the allocation for EFT would be increased to RM200 million from RM150 million this year. — Bernama