Organized data on Malaysian plants: what should be done before it is too late
1984
Stone, B.C.
Drastic and widespread accelerating changes in the natural landscapes of Malaysia are treating to reduce irreversibly or to eliminate numerous plant species found only in our region. Studies of our native plant species and our indigenous vegetation, however, are still at the beginning stages. The inventory studies which in many developed countries were often completed as long as 50 to 100 years ago, are in Malaysia and our neighbouring countries, shockingly incomplete. Subsequent studies of all kinds, ranging from ecological to phytochemical, need to be carried out, but for every study completed to date, there are hundreds of equal importance which cannot be started due to lack of manpower, facilities or support. Extinctions of species in our flora have already occurred, others are now in process, and still more are certain to happen in the near future. This amounts not only to loss of information but of opportunities for agricultural, horticultural, forestry, medical, urban and suburban design, chemical, pharmaceutical and other commercial purposes, as well as to science. It amounts to a loss of choice, a lowering in future standards of living, and forfeiture of the environmental functions of native vegetation which are provided "free". To reduce as much as possible the nagative effects botanists must aggregate currently available data on flora and vegetation. It is suggested that computerized data retrieval would maximise the benifits of such data. Moreover it is important that biologists join together to provide an accelerated pace in basic biological research on the indigenous plants, and increase the role of scientific influence in the decision-making processes of development.
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