An Integrated Assessment of the Impacts of Paddy Land Conversion on Biodiversity and Food Security in Kedah, Malaysia

Paddy lands are typical wetland ecosystems that account for approximately 15 percent of the world’s arable land (Xiao et al. 2005). They occupy the largest area of agricultural land of Asia (Zhang et al. 2013) and account for about 2.2 percent of the total 329,667 km2 Malaysia’s land.

This study atempted to quantify paddy land loss in Kedah, Malaysia, probing into the reasons for land conversion and consequences of such conversion on biological diversity. The study focused on identifying problem paddy conversion areas and provided recommendations for their sustainable land use planning and management, with emphasis on conserving biodiversity and achieving food security in the study area, and in Malaysia in general.