**4. Biodiversity in Malaysia**

Located within the tropical belt of the world, Malaysia is richly endowed with a luxuriant and diverse natural environment that offers unlimited opportunities for exploration and discovery of biological diversity of tropical rainforests. The Convention on Biological Diversity in 1993, rated Malaysia as one of the world's 12th mega diversity countries. In terms of flora diversity, the tropical rainforests of the country houses over 15,000 flowering plants, 1,159 ferns and fern allies, 513 palms, 3,000 orchids, 432 mosses and 700 fungi. There is also a greater diversity of fauna in the country. For vertebrates, there are about 300 species of wild mammals, 700–750 species of birds, 350 species of amphibians and more than 300 species of freshwater fishes [9].
