Kuala lumpur: The government is actively collecting forestry data from state governments to be submitted to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) next year, as announced by Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani. He emphasized the importance of state governments providing accurate data on their forestry activities to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES).

According to BERNAMA News Agency, a committee comprising the Ministry of Plantation and Commodities (MPIC) and NRES has been established to coordinate the data collection process. Johari, who also oversees the NRES portfolio, stated that his role would facilitate the harmonization of the data.

The announcement was made during a press conference after the launch of the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO), where the introduction of the MSPO Impact Alliance was also discussed. This platform aims to strengthen Malaysia's leadership in sustainable palm oil by testing new approaches and addressing challenges.

The Alliance aims to bring together various stakeholders, including the government, industry, financiers, and civil society, to collaboratively shape solutions. One of its initiatives is a smallholder European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR)-readiness sandbox to document smallholder plots and meet EUDR requirements.

Johari also highlighted that the Alliance would serve as a testbed for innovations that connect sustainability with competitiveness. It could potentially pilot initiatives to strengthen worker protections and pave the way for environmental progress with strategies integrating biodiversity corridors and carbon sequestration.

He concluded by emphasizing the Alliance's potential to translate objectives into action, pilots into policy, and evidence into stronger international recognition.