Cost–Benefit Analysis of Climate Change Mitigation Measures in the Forestry Sector of Peninsular Malaysia

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) have been increasingly dominated by carbon dioxide (CO₂) with its negative effects on the global climatic system. Malaysia has forest land around 67% of the total land area which helps to mitigate climate change by absorbing atmospheric CO₂ and enhancing the national carbon sink. However, there is a lack of study on the cost-effectiveness of potential mitigation measures in the forestry sector of Malaysia (e.g., forest conservation, afforestation, natural regeneration). Therefore, this article attempts to do a cost–benefit analysis (CBA) of the potential mitigation measures for 25, 50 and 75 years by considering the discount rate of 0% and 3%. The costs considered for the CBA include the establishment and maintenance cost of the mitigation measures. The CBA considered benefits associated with carbon sequestration, timber production, forest revenue, biodiversity, and other forest ecosystem services. A meta-analysis has been conducted to evaluate the carbon density in Malaysian forests, which has been used to assess the forest carbon sequestrated by each mitigation measures. This study found that the forestry sector of Malaysia has a huge potential to mitigate climate change whereas natural regeneration is the most cost-effective mitigation measure followed by forest conservation and afforestation. The outcome of this research would be useful for forest management planning to mitigate climate change in a cost-effective way. This study could encourage other countries to identify and implement the most cost-effective measure to mitigate climate change by achieving maximum carbon sink with minimum cost.