Saving the endangered Malayan tiger is a top priority for Malaysia. But government agencies have just approved an oil palm project that clears forests where tigers live, and which the resident indigenous community fiercely opposes.

Satellite images show hundreds of hectares of trees cleared from a site in the Malaysian state by a company majority-owned by Johor’s royal family without the proper approvals.

Malaysian authorities support the selective conversion of forest reserves into plantations. But for indigenous communities in Kelantan state, the sense of loss runs deep and spans generations.

Forest reserves in northeastern Johor are shrinking due to land clearing linked to economic projects, prompting concerns over elephant-human conflicts.