PETALING JAYA: A wildlife expert has pointed to animals roaming in urban areas after escaping the floods as proof of habitat destruction wrought by humans.
Mark Rayan Darmaraj, the Malaysian country director of the Wildlife Conservation Society, said forest clearing at the hands of developers had made the country’s natural environment less resilient to shocks.
Speaking to FMT, he said: “Pristine wildlife habitats are not greatly impacted if these flooding events are not intense and frequent.
“However, if wildlife habitats have been impacted by logging and the ecosystem is disturbed, with intense rain these areas are prone to landslides and river overflow due to the absence of trees and vegetation that play a crucial role in holding the soil intact.”
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