A MALAYSIAN NATIONAL CONSERVATION STRATEGY: BASED ON STATE CONSERVATION STRATEGIES

Stimulated by the appearance of the World Conservation Strategy in 1980, Malaysia embarked, after a period of intense socio-political, economic, technical and scientific development, on a process for developing a national conservation strategy. This was implemented at State level, as States have constitutional, legal and administrative power over land, water and other key natural resources. The State Economic Planning Units of nine States, with technical support from WWF Malaysia, completed conservation strategies in the period from 1981 to 1992, and a concluding National Conservation Strategy in 1993 covered all States together with the federal overview. This was a unique approach to the conservation challenges faced by a middle income country in the period leading up to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.