KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 (Bernama) -- Malaysia received RM43 million in official development aid (ODA) from the European Union (EU) last year to promote legal timber trade and sustainable forest management.

In a statement Friday, the EU Delegation to Malaysia said the EU was also funding projects for small and middle enterprises to commercialise products made of biomass and for making batik production cleaner and safer for the workers.

Togo, Nigeria and Ghana have the biggest rates of deforestation out of 65 nations, according to a study described by its authors as the most comprehensive analysis of tropical forests.

The true value of nature can be shown for the very first time thanks to groundbreaking research by hundreds of UK scientists.