Challenges Arising From Climate Change

There are enough scientific evidences to show that climate change is real and its impact is going to affect all of us. It has also been proven that this phenomenon is attributed mainly to the significant increase in greenhouse gases emission especially carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels, thereby causing unprecedented increase in global temperatures. According to scientists and experts increasing global temperatures can cause rise in sea levels, melting of glaciers, more intense storms and droughts. Already, there are signs of these occurrences in many parts of the world posing serious threats to humanity.

One could just imagine the disastrous consequences for mankind this climate change phenomenon is going to bring about if we do not take the necessary measures to overcome it. The global ecosystems, water resources and agricultural production could be severely disrupted and drastic changes to the weather coupled with high rainfall and temperatures can trigger the spread of diseases and affect our health. Scientists believe that the catastrophic events in recent times such as the Hurricane Katrina, cyclone Nargis, Sichuan Province earthquake, the Australian bushfire and Johor floods were all caused by global warming and climate change. And we also witnessed the emergence of the world’s first climate change refugees involving 1,500 residents living in the Carteret Island in Papua New Guinea which is experiencing sea level rise of 10 cm in the past 20 years. Experts predict by 2080s, between 50 million and 200 million people will be displaced from their homes directly because of climate change.

Sumber Hutan Untuk 1Malaysia

Hutan memainkan peranan yang amat penting dalam pembangunan sosio-ekonomi negara sejak dahulu lagi. Hutan telah membekalkan kita semua dengan sumber makanan yang cukup mewah, menyimpan dan menghasilkan herba untuk tujuan rawatan dan perubatan. Hutan juga menjadi tonggak utama dalam penstabilan ekosistem terutamanya dalam menangani isu perubahan iklim. Adalah penting bagi kita untuk look beyond the trees kerana sumber hutan bukan sahaja merangkumi kayu-kayan bahkan juga hasil hutan lain yang turut menyumbang dalam penjanaan pendapatan negara selama ini.

Hasil hutan bukan kayu seperti herba dan tumbuhan ubatan, rotan dan buluh, buah-buahan, ulam-ulaman dan ornamental mempunyai nilai yang signifikan. Justeru itu, sudah tiba masanya untuk kita memberi perhatian serius terhadap khazanah-khazanah berharga ini dan memastikan agar pengeluarannya diuruskan secara berkekalan bagi menjamin bekalan yang berterusan. Di samping itu, peningkatan nilai ekonomi dari produk bukan kayu akan dapat meningkatkan pendapatan rakyat. Ini akan dapat direalisasikan melalui penanaman hasil hutan bukan kayu pada skala komersial.