The Politics of Sustainability: A Case Study of Forestry Policies in Peninsular Malaysia

Abstract

This thesis examines how Peninsular Malaysia addresses concerns over sustainability of forestry resources through the formulation, development, and implementation of the National Forestry Policy 1978, and its 1992 Revision. Through content and discourse analysis of these two policy documents, I examine the ways in which the Malaysian state conceives of and constructs human-environment interactions within the forestry sector, and how these policies might reflect national economic goals, international development pressures, and global environmental concerns. Inherent in Malaysia’s struggle to achieve sustainable forest management is what I deem as the politics of sustainability. My research shows that by including aspects of global discourses on sustainability into the National Forestry Policy, Malaysia acknowledges the need to conserve the forests for the nation, and the broader international community. However, what is being sustained appears not to be the global forest resources contained within Malaysia’s political borders, but, instead, appears to be contemporary Malaysia’s efforts to sustain significant economic growth, leading to its economy being successfully integrated into the rapidly globalizing world economy. Consequently, the National Forestry Policy serves to further entrench the forest as a politicized arena in which the battle over sustainability might be realized.