A legal appraisal of environmental regulatory mechanism for peat fires in agricultural development in Malaysia

Robust deforestation in peat land is not uncommon and is conducted in the form of land conversion that sometimes resorts to unsustainable land use methods that use fire as a tool for preparation of land for agricultural plantation. For the past two decades, the peat land bank area in Malaysia dominantly nestled in the states of Sarawak, Sabah and Pahang is reducing rapidly caused by intensive economic and human activities to encourage agricultural development largely in the oil palm industry. This paper seeks to address the Malaysian legal context in its challenges to a successful implementation of laws that prevent peat land fires from human activities. Although Malaysia has forest protection laws such as 1974 Environmental Quality Act that provides for prohibition of open burning activities in peat land, it is still plagued by risk of large scale burning on those areas due to rapid growth in agricultural sector, other changes in land use activities and lack of enforcement. Additionally, the over-generalised forest protection provisions in 1984 National Forestry Act are found to have gaps that need revision. It may be an opportune time to reinforce �polluter pay principle� in the national legal framework by proposing a Peatland Conservation and Air Pollution Prevention tax in the environmental legal framework in Malaysia. This is significant in ensuring that proper peat land management and clearing process in the agricultural sector is being carried out in a sustainable manner. � 2017 American Scientific Publishers All rights reserved.