Malaysia

Malaysia believes that policy approaches for REDD+ should be based on  both measures taken as well as opportunity costs foregone. Developing  countries that have retained large tracts of natural forests will be under  greater pressure to convert forest to other land uses and incentives for these  countries should be maximised to ensure that the remaining forest is not  deforested. Both total protection and SFM practices should be considered as positive practices to avoid deforestation.

Malaysia believes that new and additional funds will have to be set aside  for developing countries to assist in building technical and institutional  capacity to implement effective measures for REDD. Positive incentives should be voluntary, flexible, and offer a range of market-based and fundbased  approaches that would be applicable to the wide variety of forestry  environments, management regimes and socio-economic and development  conditions of developing countries.

Malaysia is concerned that countries anticipating a mechanism which  rewards reductions in emissions over a historical baseline will give rise to a perverse incentive to increase timber harvests in the years prior to the  onset of the first commitment period. Malaysia can see the advantages of a national based approach for the REDD mechanism as it would simplify reporting and validation. Project-based approaches, however, should also be considered.