Malaysian Rainforest (Rainforest Case Study) | AQA GCSE 9-1 Geography

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Where is the Malaysian Rainforest? What opportunities does the rainforest provide? What challenges does the rainforest face?

This is the twenty-seventh video for the AQA GCSE 9-1 Geography course, and the seventh video of The Living World topic.

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Video Script:
Malaysia is found in South East Asia and is split in two by the South China Sea; with Peninsular Malaysia in the west and East Malaysia in the east, on the island of Borneo. 67% of the country’s land is covered by tropical rainforest, making it an excellent case study.

Unfortunately, the rainforest here faces many challenges.

Malaysia became the world’s largest exporter of tropical wood in the 1980s which meant deforestation became a massive problem. Clear felling is where all the trees in a certain area are cut down, and this became very common, leading to many habitats being destroyed. Fortunately selective logging has now become more common, which is where only fully-grown trees are cut down, however deforestation is still an issue.

Subsistence farming is where people farm for themselves, whereas commercial farming is where people farm for profit. Both of these can be problematic in the rainforest.

Subsistence farming tends to be a more sustainable method of farming, however a frequent way of clearing land in the rainforest is a technique called slash and burn. This is where fire is used to clear the land, leaving behind nutrients to help plants grow. The problem is, these fires sometimes grow out of control and destroy huge areas of forest.

Commercial farming can have a much greater impact. During the 1970s, large areas of rainforest were cleared to replace with palm oil plantations. In Malaysia these plantation owners also receive 10-year tax incentives, exacerbating this effect and making Malaysia one of the largest exporters of palm oil in the world.

The impact of all of this deforestation is severe.

Peninsular Malaysia is home to an upland region known as the Main Range, which is the largest area of continuous forest left on the Peninsular. Over 600 species are found here, including 25% of all plant species in Malaysia. However this is threatened by deforestation, as deforestation destroys ecosystems and habitats, reducing biodiversity.

Deforestation increases soil erosion. The soil is held together by roots of trees and other plants but when this vegetation is cleared the soil is left exposed. This means rain and wind can easily erode the soil.

Climate change is also exacerbated by deforestation. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, which helps reduce the greenhouse effect, so destroying them has the opposite effect. Trees also give off moisture through transpiration, meaning deforestation causes the climate to become drier. Furthermore, evaporation cools the air so the loss of trees reduces this cooling and causes temperature to rise.

Deforestation also has a significant economic impact, with both positives and negatives.

Mining, farming and energy production creates job opportunities and the money generated by these industries can be used to improve standards of living and quality of life for the population. The transport infrastructure created by these industries can also open up new areas to development and tourism. Hydro-eletric power is also a clean and cheap energy source.

However this comes at a cost. Water shortages can become more common due to the drier climate and pollution of water sources. Fires also cause pollution and could result in large wildfires if they grow out of control. The loss of biodiversity could also result in the extinction of plants that have medical benefits.

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GCSE Geography
05/05/2023
Keducate