Malaysia has some very well designed policies on conserving forests at the Federal level but without adequate incentives for state governments to implement them and protect the environment which is directly under their care, we are looking at continued and rapacious deforestation. Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Dr Dzaeman Dzulkifli, Executive Director, Tropical Rainforest Conservation & Research Centre, which aims to restore Malaysia’s tropical rainforests and address the critical rate of our biodiversity loss.