Malaysia in the Canopy Global 1000

Ranked of 1,000 by conservation value. Both rankings are shown: plant data is being added, and neither is the final word. Lower is higher priority.

Who manages protected areas

From Canopy’s country evidence record for Malaysia, compiled 2026-10-05 from the sources named under each item. A field marked not reported was not verified in those sources, which is not evidence that it does not exist.

Managing agency: Federal agencies for Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan, separate state agencies in Sabah and Sarawak (Jabatan Perlindungan Hidupan Liar dan Taman Negara Semenanjung Malaysia (PERHILITAN); SabahParks; Sabah Wildlife Department; Sabah Forestry Department; Sarawak Forestry Corporation and Forest Department Sarawak). Land is State land, so a national park under Act 226 can only be reserved by a State Authority at the request of the federal Minister, and Act 226 does not apply to Sabah or Sarawak. Sabah and Sarawak hold greater autonomy over land and natural resources under the Federal Constitution and run their own park, wildlife and forest bodies.

System: No single national system: federal, Sabah and Sarawak regimes plus Permanent Reserved Forests and fisheries marine parks.

Sources: Commissioner of Law Revision, Malaysia: National Parks Act 1980 (Act 226), reprint incorporating amendments to 1 Jan 2006, 2006; Macaranga (conservation research group): Tracking the outcomes of Malaysia's ecological fiscal transfers (EFT) for nature conservation; Ministry of Water, Land and Natural Resources (KATS) via CBD Secretariat: Sixth National Report of Malaysia to the CBD, 2019-12; State of Sabah (UNODC SHERLOC copy): Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 (Sabah No. 6 of 1997), 1997-12-24; Commissioner of Law Revision, Sarawak (LawNet): National Parks and Nature Reserves Ordinance 1998 (Cap. 27), updated reprint to 31 May 2008, 1998-11-26.

Legal framework

National Parks Act 1980 (Act 226), 1980-02-28.

Administration: The State Authority may, on the request of the federal Minister, reserve State land (including marine area) as a National Park by Gazette notice; a committee chaired by the State Secretary manages it under the general supervision of the Director General of Wild Life and National Parks. The State may revoke a reservation only after consulting the Minister. Finance: not reported. Limits on application: Applies throughout Malaysia except Sabah, Sarawak and the Taman Negara state parks. Leasing or occupation of park land is allowed only for listed purposes after consulting the Minister, and the Act has a general prohibition of mining in a park.

Statute summary paraphrased from the cited text; a missing finance entry means no finance provision was verified, not that none exists. Sources: Commissioner of Law Revision, Malaysia: National Parks Act 1980 (Act 226), reprint incorporating amendments to 1 Jan 2006, 2006; Government of Malaysia (FAOLEX copy): Warta Kerajaan, 28 Feb 1980, Act 226 original text, 1980-02-28.

Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Act 716), 2010-11-04.

Administration: Applies to Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan, covers regulation, protection and management of wildlife, and allows declaration of wildlife reserves and sanctuaries with permits needed to enter them. Finance: not reported. Limits on application: Licences and permits control hunting, keeping, trade and import or export of protected wildlife, with schedules for totally protected species. Reserve declaration details were not read in the Act text.

Statute summary paraphrased from the cited text; a missing finance entry means no finance provision was verified, not that none exists. Source: UNEP LEAP and UNODC SHERLOC copies of the Act: Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Act 716), 2010-11-04.

Parks Enactment 1984 (Sabah), 1984-03-14.

Administration: The Yang di-Pertua Negeri, on the Minister's advice, declares by Gazette an intention to constitute State land as a Park, after which alienation, new buildings, clearing and hunting are barred on that land; a Board of Trustees runs the Parks. Finance: Establishes a Parks Fund (contributions and income, audited annually) controlled by the Board. Limits on application: Alienation, plantations, clearing and hunting are prohibited from the notice of intention. Later park control provisions were not read in detail (OCR text partly garbled).

Source: State of Sabah (FAOLEX copy): Parks Enactment 1984 (Sabah No. 6 of 1984), 1984-03-14.

Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 (Sabah), 1997-12-24.

Administration: A Wildlife Sanctuary is proposed by the Minister, approved through Cabinet and declared by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri by Gazette notice after a 90 day notice and claims process; the Sabah Wildlife Department administers it. Finance: not reported. Limits on application: Once declared, no land may be alienated and no rights take effect except under the Enactment; hunting, harvesting and other acts are restricted inside sanctuaries.

Statute summary paraphrased from the cited text; a missing finance entry means no finance provision was verified, not that none exists. Source: State of Sabah (UNODC SHERLOC copy): Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 (Sabah No. 6 of 1997), 1997-12-24.

National Parks and Nature Reserves Ordinance 1998 (Sarawak, Cap. 27), 1998-11-26.

Administration: A national park or nature reserve (land, inland water or territorial waters, including land inside forest reserves or sanctuaries) is constituted by Gazette notification by the Minister with approval of the State Cabinet after a rights claims process; a Controller manages it and the land becomes Sarawak Government property. Finance: not reported. Limits on application: A person who does not claim a right or privilege within the notified period is deemed to have waived it. Land inside a forest reserve or wildlife sanctuary ceases to hold that status when constituted a park.

Statute summary paraphrased from the cited text; a missing finance entry means no finance provision was verified, not that none exists. Source: Commissioner of Law Revision, Sarawak (LawNet): National Parks and Nature Reserves Ordinance 1998 (Cap. 27), updated reprint to 31 May 2008, 1998-11-26.

Protected-area coverage

Terrestrial: 13.2% of national land area, 330,345 km²; as of 2016-06.

Malaysia's own Sixth National Report to the CBD, reported against its 2025 target of 20%; 4.35 million ha over 33.0345 million ha is 13.2%. A 7th national report was reportedly submitted 28 Feb 2026 (search snippet) but was not opened, so this is not the latest national figure. Source: Ministry of Water, Land and Natural Resources (KATS) via CBD Secretariat: Sixth National Report of Malaysia to the CBD, 2019-12.

Marine: 3.3% of an area not stated in the retrieved text, its area not stated by the source; as of 2016.

Report states gazetted MPAs at 3.3% or 1.51 million ha; the sea-area denominator is not given in the lines read. Fisheries Act 1985 marine parks extend 2 nautical miles from shore. Source: Ministry of Water, Land and Natural Resources (KATS) via CBD Secretariat: Sixth National Report of Malaysia to the CBD, 2019-12.

National inventory, as of 2016-06: 527 protected areas, total area not reported.

527 listed protected areas in the Sixth National Report: 275 Peninsular, 195 Sabah (including 3 in Labuan), 57 Sarawak. Land about 4.35 million ha and marine and coastal about 1.51 million ha, both rounded in the source. Predates recent gazettements such as Sabah's 2026 TPA expansion. Total not given as one figure in the source, so left unreported.

Source: Ministry of Water, Land and Natural Resources (KATS) via CBD Secretariat: Sixth National Report of Malaysia to the CBD, 2019-12.

Funding mechanisms

Selected programmes, each with the basis its source states. Amounts are programme or fund totals, not annual protected-area receipts, and are not added together or converted between currencies.

Ecological Fiscal Transfer for Biodiversity Conservation, federal to state transfers, 2019.

Amount: MYR 517,000,000 (Cumulative disbursed 2019 to 2024 per a secondary source; not converted to USD). Administrator: Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability. Scope: States are allocated funds by protected area size and ecological performance (shares 70/30 from 2022, reported as 50/50 from March 2025); 2019 allocation RM60 million and 2021 RM70 million per the same source.

Source: Macaranga (conservation research group): Tracking the outcomes of Malaysia's ecological fiscal transfers (EFT) for nature conservation.

EFT annual allocation in Budget 2024, 2023-10-13.

Amount: MYR 200,000,000 (Annual federal allocation for 2024, up from RM150 million in 2023; the same page names RM60 million for 2,000 community rangers). Administrator: State governments (recipients). Scope: Supports states expanding protected forest areas and wildlife conservation.

Source: Ministry of Finance Malaysia (press citation): Budget 2024: RM200 mln for EFT, more community rangers to be appointed, 2023-10-13.

EFT annual allocation 2025 and 2026, 2025.

Amount: MYR 250,000,000 (Annual national allocation per a search summary only; Sabah received RM30.7 million in 2026 and about RM157 million cumulative since 2019). Administrator: not reported. Scope: National EFT pool.

Source: Borneo Post: RM30.7 mln allocated to Sabah under EFT for biodiversity conservation, 2026-08-19.

What this record does not establish

Comparable C-RISK/readiness and delivery scores. No country calibration or model assessment authorized for Southeast Asia.

Current annual national PA financing need, agency budget and gap. No validated cost rate, executed agency budget or complete current funding inventory was verified; programme totals cannot fill these fields.

Complete park, carbon and legal-event inventories. Selected national documents do not establish complete inventories, status-change (PADDD) histories or park observations.

Research limit. Coverage and inventory are June 2016 figures from the Sixth National Report; the Seventh National Report was not read, and the marine denominator is not stated.

Research limit. Act 716 text, the Sarawak Wild Life Protection Ordinance 1998 and the Sarawak park revocation rule were not read; EFT amounts are in MYR with no USD conversion.

Not here yet

Canopy’s country readiness score (C-RISK) and its PACE management scores cover Africa today. They have not been published for Malaysia.

Corrections

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