Biodiversity in Malaysia: The most undervalued natural asset

Malaysia is well endowed with rich and diverse natural asset which has been in the custodian of indigenous communities for ages. Efforts to conserve and sustainably utilize the diverse ecosystem, rich flora and fauna and the possible use of genetic materials have been taken through the national and state efforts in establishing National Parks, State Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Virgin Jungle Reserves and other protected forests. To-day a total of 1.39 million ha (about 7.6%) of the forest of all types have been set aside for in situ conservation of biodiversity. It is hoped that these protected areas have captured most of the diverse and useful species of plants and animals found in various ecosystems. Biodiversity affects the lives of rural Malaysians more than it does to the more affluent Ice with urban communities. Much of the advances in agro-industries, forestry, bioprospecting, supply of clean water and electricity, flood control and maintaining of ecological functions and balance had impacted the structure, organization, traditional practices and culture of rural communities that had contributed to impoverishment of their life style. Indigenous culture especially the use of medicinal plants is often kept out of the definition of physical and social development. There are evidences that diversity has sector in Decome tenets of great religions, traditions and beliefs. There are also examples both at global and local levels where the diverse culture, through uses of resources have contributed to our understanding of human's dependence on the complexity of biodiversity. However, developing and marketing biodiversity to create new wealth can be a complex and frustrating task. It is often said by those with experience that, "Developing biodiversity is more difficult than conserving it!". There are many reasons for this, and some are less obvious. Underlying all of them is the need to recognise the science value chain and the different techniques and competencies required to manage and package biodiversity for strategic planning and management programmes. The science value chain can broadly be described in the following sequence : idea, proof of concept, working prototype, early ations in customisation and installation of products and commercialization. The traditional sellers and international buyers of biodiversity usually operate in different paradigms with different view points of the same subject. This paper attempts to illustrate a framework within which biodiversity can support commercialization of traditional knowledge such as in biodiversity prospecting and eco-tourism.