MNS expects hurdles to be encountered in implementing the policy, with the first expected hurdle being the weak support of state governments and agencies, as, at the state level, the concept of bio-diversity conservation is nebulous, and is perceived to be of lesser priority when compared to the more pressing needs of social and economic development. Furthermore, as state policy-makers are usually not trained in the biological sciences, support in biodiversity conservation will generally be lacking. Due to these constraints, full implementation might be delayed.

Nevertheless, a National Bio-diversity Policy is a good start, as it provides guidelines for the integration of bio-diversity planning, implementation, utilisation and management into formal national and state development planning and policies. Apart from providing a guideline, it is hoped that the Policy could also provide an additional impetus for the increased awareness of conservation and related issues to policy makers; to complement the existing educational syllabus and the educational efforts of NGO's, (which, however, mostly targets schoolchildren and laymen).

There is a need to realise that bio-diversity conservation is more than the identification, enume-ration, and conservation of species and their natural habitats. Bio-diversity conservation means conservation of natural ecosystems that provide values that are more than the sum total of their direct economic benefits. Bio-diversity conservation is also the conservation of ecosystem services, which includes the protection and cycling of nutrients, climate stability, pollution break-down and absorption, and the protection and conservation of water resources. And bio-diversity conservation is also the conservation of biological resources that provide known and potential economic value to humans, and would also mean the conservation of socio-cultural values of traditional communities living within and near the natural habitats or ecosystems being conserved.

The Convention on Biological Diversity, organised by the United Nations Conference on Envi-ronment and Development, was signed by 157 nations in 1992, with world-wide implementation in 1993. Malaysia, as one of the signatory nations, has to show her commitment towards the conservation of biological diversity and sustainable development, as outlined in the framework agreement. Increased urgency and commitment is required, as Malaysia is a mega-diversity country, and along with Zaire, Brazil, Venezuela, Indonesia, plus a few other tropical nations, are collectively responsible for some 70% of the planet's total biological species diversity.

Dato' Dr. Salleh Mohd Nor
President
Kuala Lumpur (April 17, 1998)