PETALING JAYA, April 13 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC), formerly known as Malaysian Palm Oil Promotion Council, has set up the Malaysian Palm Oil Conservation Fund (MPOCF) aimed at the conservation of wildlife and biodiversity.

Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui in announcing the fund here Thursday said the main objectives would be to facilitate conservation education and programmes on the flora and fauna species of the country.

He said that the fund will also be used to address and manage various other biodiversity conservation efforts in the country.

"The establishment of the MPOCF demonstrates the industry's commitment to manage resources sustainably in order to not only meet the current development needs but also of the future generation," he told reporters during his visit to MPOC today.

He said the fund will further encourage and promote initiatives of the Malaysian oil palm plantations in conservation and sustainability activities which will enhance the sustainable production of palm oil.

The fund is to also reflect Malaysia's good agriculture practice, he said, adding that the foreign press have been recently printing some misinformation about the country's palm oil industry.

Chin said the fund will also work closely with non-government organisations in similar areas to achieve the objectives of enhancing conservation, biodiversity and sustainability.

He said that MPOC has set an initial target of RM20 million for the fund, of which RM10 million will be contributed by the Malaysian palm oil industry via MPOC while the rest will be sourced from other stakeholders.

The fund will be operated on the principal of matching grant where MPOC will match every ringgit of contribution by other donors up to a maximum sum of RM10 million to sustain a revolving fund size of RM20 million.

It will be accessible to non-governmental organisations, as well as to scientific and academic institutions.

Malaysia, which is currently the largest producer and exporter of palm oil in the world produces 15 million tonnes of crude palm oil last year.

In 2005, the total export revenue of oil palm products was RM28.6 billion.

-- BERNAMA