3.1 Data Acquisition

A number of NOAA AVHRR HRPT and LAC data were acquired from NOAA

NESDIS (USA) and EROS Data Center (USA). Despite the high temporal resolution of AVHRR data, cloud free image of Malaysia was not available. Cloud assessment report shows that both Peninsular and Sarawak/Sabah consist of more than 40% of cloud coverage at any time. Altogether 9 scenes for 1992/93 and 5 scenes for 1985/86 were found to be relatively cloud free and used in the study. In both the cases, afternoon pass satellite data was used. Acquired NOAA AVHRR data for Malaysia has been presented in the following table.

The satellite data was analysed using ERDAS Imagine (version 8.2) image processing software. GIS analysis was performed using ARC/INFO (version 3.5) software. Small programs written in-house were used for the down loading, band selection, radiometric calibration, geometric correction and cloud masking.
 
 

3.2 Classification Scheme

Considering the quality of the image and cloud coverage, only the broad land cover classes were selected for the classification. The following provides the brief description of land cover classes used in the study.
 
 
1. Forests:

This includes Dipterocarp forests, Montane forests, Heath forests, freshwater alluvial swamp forests, peat swamp forests, riparian forests and mangrove forests. Dipterocarp forests include lowland dipterocarp forests, hill dipterocarp forests and upper dipterocarp forests. Due to the availability of cloudy images in more than 40% of the country, further sub-division of forests was not attempted to minimise the mis-classification errors. A typical example for ‘Forest’ of Malaysia is presented in the Figure below.  

Waterbodies include lakes, rivers, and water depressions.

These are basically cloud-covered areas. This also includes mountain shadows.

3.3 Land Cover Assessment

Considering the quality of imageries available for the analysis, only three broad classes focusing on forest non-forest classification were selected for the classification. The land cover map of Malaysia, produced using the digital AVHRR data is depicted in Map 1, 2 and 3. Estimates of area of major land cover types are presented in Table 2.

During the interpretation, difficulties were encountered in discriminating forest and tree crops and hence some mis-classification errors persist. Urban areas were not able to discriminate with the AVHRR and hence possibly merged together with croplands. Smaller rivers and estuaries were also not discriminated with the AVHRR data. Two big dams are very much prominent in the satellite data and are included in the waterbodies

3.4 Land Cover Monitoring: 1985-1993

With the limited and cloud-ladden imageries at hand, it was not possible to produce land cover map of Sarawak and Sabah. The land cover map of Peninsular Malaysia is presented in Map 4. The land cover types and their areal distribution has been presented in the Table 3 below.

3.5 Protected Areas

Malaysia has established a network of protected areas covering a wide variety of ecosystems for the conservation of biological diversity. At present, Malaysia has 1.39 million hectares of conservation areas as listed in the table below.

Table 4. Areas under National Parks, Wildlife and Bird Sanctuaries in Malaysia,

1993: Source: (Chew, 1995)

The distribution of protected areas and associated land cover types has been presented in the Map 5.

An additional area of 1.41 million hectares is under construction for future reservation with 0.67 million hectares in Peninsular Malaysia (Chew, 1995).

3.6 Policy Implications

A number of initiatives are in place to deal with the changing role of forests and forest products. A comprehensive list of initiatives is presented in Appendix 1. Forestry of Malaysia has undergone different phases. Traditional hunting, gathering of forest products and shifting cultivation were the main uses of forests before 19^th. Century. In this period, no major policies were formulated, as the scale of the problem was not that significant. The clearance of forestland for mining and industrial plantation of agricultural crops was started in the 19^th. Century. A number of policies were formulated during this period. Recent policies, however, focuses on the need of the popular public needs and their involvement in the sustainable management of forest resources. The role of the forests has also been changed from timber focused forest uses to multiple use forestry including environmental benefits.

Since 1952, forest administration and management were guided by the Interim Forestry Policy, which was adopted as the National Forestry Policy in 1978. In response to contemporary challenges on forest to meet the needs of socio-economic development, as well as to ensure its sustainable utilisation, the National Forestry Policy (1978) was revised in 1992 (Kumari, 1996). The focus is once again on the multiple use of goods and services provided by the forest resources.

The Director General of Forestry is responsible to the Federal Government for the proper and efficient management of the Nation's Permanent Forest Estate, which is achieved by providing the State Governments, through their respective State Directors of Forestry, with technical advice, assistance and training facilities. In the interest of the community and the nation, State Governments may accept technical and professional advice given by the Director General of Forestry for the implementation of the National Forestry Policy (MTC, 1996).

3.7 GIS Database

Some of the GIS data layers such as elevation map, drainage map and administrative boundaries have been prepared and used during the analysis. Each of these maps are presented in Map 6, 7 and 8 respectively. Spatial analysis of these data sets will be performed in the future studies.