MY Forest Watch
Burung Indonesia
Haribon Foundation
Tenkile Conservation Alliance
MY Forests
Kedah >
MY Ulu Muda
Perak >
MY hornbills
Training/ Meetings
Tapir Talks
Playing host to BirdLife guests
By MNS Conservation Division
as appeared in Malaysian Naturalist, June 2019
Being the country partner for BirdLife International hugely benefits the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS), especially in capitalising on BirdLife's wealth of bird data as well as knowledge sharing.
In February, the Society had the opportunity to strengthen its Environmental Education Division through a workshop involving sister country partners. They were Haribon Foundation, the Philippines; Viet Nature, Vietnam; Royal Society for Protection of Nature, Bhutan; Biodiversity & Nature Conservation Association, Myanmar; Bird Conservation Nepal; Bombay Natural History Society; NatureLife, Cambodia; Chinese Wild Bird Federation, Taiwan; Burung Indonesia; Nature Society, Singapore and Hong Kong Watching Society, China.
The five-day training was a comprehensive tour and talk, taking in MNS's Urban Community Forest project and Environmental Education Hub at Mid Valley Megamall, Taman Tugu, Forest Research Institute Malaysia, and SMK Darul Ehsan, Selayang, which is one of the Society's School Nature Club members.
The delegates also spent time within the Northern central Selangor coast flyway, including taking part in the Kuala Selangor District Council's World Wetlands Day celebration that included VIP guest, Selangor's Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin. They also toured Kuala Selangor Nature Park (KSNP); Sungai Buloh Sasaran mudflats; Sungai Sireh Homestay, with its paddy fields, traditional houses and coconut drinks; and Kampung Kuantan's fireflies.
In terms of knowledge sharing, there were briefings by MNS on the Society's environmental education outlook, outreach and effectiveness, while the delegates also presented a snapshot of the environmental education landscape in their countries.
Hills, caves and IBAs
In March, Malaysia was host country for the annual management meeting of the five-year project, "Strengthening non-state actor involvement in forest governance", run by BirdLife International and funded by the European Union. The meeting was attended by representatives of BirdLife and country partners Burung Indonesia, Malaysian Nature Society, Haribon Foundation (the Philippines) and Tenkile Conservation Alliance (Papua New Guinea).
At the close of the meeting, MNS hosted the participants on a tour of some of Malaysia's nature hot spots, which form part of the project's target areas, namely the Central Forest Spine and Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs).
These included Pahang's Janda Baik, where they met villagers protesting TNB's pylon project that is expected to run through ecologically sensitive areas. This foot-of-the-mountain village, famed for being a nature getaway that is sleepy and pristine despite its proximity to Kuala Lumpur, is already seeing some adverse effects by the works, including silt runoff into its streams.
The group next headed to Batu Caves, the gorgeous limestone outcrop dated at some 400 million years old, which MNS rates as "of great importance for conservation", and a repository of geological and natural history knowledge, with endemic plants and animals. The Society is involved in the conservation of the Dark Cave, while its efforts to conserve the area included a successful campaign to stop quarrying in the early 1980s.
The tour then took in the Northern central Selangor coast, which is an important flyway and IBA (MY011). They visited Sungai Buloh Sasaran's mudflats and bird roosts that are under threat of effluents and indiscriminate development, and checked out Kampung Kuantan, which serves as a benchmark for a successful non-state actor eco-tourism enterprise. The overnight stop was KSNP, which is the Society's stronghold in creating awareness about wetlands and migratory birds.
MNS believes its partnership with BirdLife is truly beneficial in capacity building its members, especially in creating networks and sharing experiences, towards a greater understanding of environmental education and conservation.
Central Forest Spine and KATS
as appeared in Malaysian Naturalist, March 2019
The MyCFS coalition in December met Dr. Xavier Jayakumar, Minister of Water, Land and Natural Resources (Kementerian Air, Tanah dan Sumber Asli, or KATS) to highlight issues regarding Peninsular Malaysia's Central Forest Spine (CFS) initiative.
The group bills itself as a loose coalition of research and conservation organisations to promote communication, collaboration and coordination among organisations working in CFS landscapes, and counts the Malaysian Nature Society among its members. The meeting was to express its support to the CFS initiative and advocate for political leadership for its successful implementation.
MyCFS contends that the Central Forest Spine initiative endorsed by the government in 2011, comprising 37 ecological linkages to connect habitat fragments in the four main remaining forest blocks (Central Range, Greater Taman Negara, Cini-Bera, and EndauRompin), could not yet be considered a success. This is because the 5.3 million-hectare landscape is beset with ecological issues, including slow implementation, jurisdictional conflict and loss of forest cover.
The group chalks these weaknesses down to lack of leadership, drive and capacity within implementation agencies; Federal-State government jurisdiction conflicts in the management of natural resources; poor overall communication of the CFS plan; and lack of focus on broader landscape connectivity and conservation.
Nevertheless, MyCFS reiterates that the initiative is arguably the most important conservation initiative in Peninsular Malaysia, and highly supported by conservation experts in Malaysia and internationally. During the meeting, it recommended various steps towards CFS's successful implementation. These included funding and collaboration opportunities; financial reward mechanisms; information sharing; and reviewing, revising and realigning CFS and its corridors.
Acknowledging these challenges and believing that successful implementation requires strong and forward-looking leadership, MyCFS also encouraged Dr. Xavier Jayakumar to become the CFS champion.
MyCFS says the successful implementation of CFS is important for biodiversity conservation, the protection and management of water catchment, enhancing nature-based tourism and recreation, and the integrated management of forest in mix-use landscapes, and confirmed the group's willingness to collaborate with the government for its implementation.
Training the next generation of conservationists
BY BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL
For nearly 80 years, the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) has led the way for conservation and environmental stewardship in Malaysia. From protecting large swathes of land, such as Royal Belum State Park, to environmental education in schools, MNS is acting on their vision "For Malaysia's natural heritage and rich biological diversity to be effectively protected, managed and conserved for the benefit and appreciation of all Malaysians".
To aid in their mission, MNS is working with BirdLife International through a European Union-funded project to increase participation in forest governance and advocacy. One way BirdLife International and MNS hope to stem forest loss is through building the capacity of staff and volunteers to effectively participate in conservation activities, projects, and understand and have access to tools that will increase the likelihood of successful implementation and advocacy for conservation impacts.
BirdLife International's Local Engagement and Empowerment Programme Coordinator provided a day-long training on developing a Theory of Change, or the process of planning, participation, and evaluation of conservation impact, along with general conservation project management. A total of 20 early career staff and volunteers participated in the interactive training where they were able to apply the approach to both the work they are doing and also MNS's strategy and vision. The training allowed participants across all departments within the organisation to share their experiences and opinions for improving conservation efforts, and better manage current projects and activities.
"By encouraging positive interest and commitment to make changes to their own practices, building the capacity of young conservationists is the only way to ensure that theirs and future generations have the tools necessary to preserve our natural world, especially our forests," said I.S. Shanmugaraj, Executive Director of MNS.
The EU-funded project is run at the regional level by BirdLife International. The country partners are Burung Indonesia, Malaysian Nature Society, Haribon Foundation (the Philippines) and Tenkile Conservation Alliance (Papua New Guinea)... SEE MORE
Forest Governance Zonal Workshop 2
Northern Zone Workshop
Date: 21 – 23 June 2019
Venue: Seri Malaysia Hotel, Alor Setar, Kedah
The workshop series follows on from the 2018 Improving Forest Governance Course under MNS's MY forest project, and seeks to introduce participants to forest governance; equip participants with knowledge, understanding and skills to foster better involvement in forest governance processes; and to enable participants to deliver training on forest governance, progress monitoring and reporting.
Participants: Representatives from MNS Branches Selangor, Kedah and Penang and MY forest National Stakeholder Committee members.
Presentations can be downloaded below. These materials are not to be used for commercial purposes.
Workshop series is on hiatus and will be back soon. Look out for announcements!
Introduction to MY forest
Speaker: Lee Ee Ling, MY forest Policy Officer
Introduction to Forest Governance
Speaker: Nik Mohd Maseri Nik Mohamad, MY forest Consultant (MY Forest Watch)
Multi stakeholder process in forest governance
Speaker: Firdaus Nisha Muhammad Faizal, Director of Ecocentric Transitions
Climate Change and the Forest
Speaker: Stephanie Bacon, Malaysia Nature Society Vice-President
Trade-based & Civil Society-led Responses to Poor Forest Governance
Speaker: Noorainie Awang Anak
Comunication and Advocacy on Forest Governance
Speaker: Lim Koon Hup, MNS Selangor Branch
MY Forest Watch ~ A Conservation Initiative for Forest Monitoring
Funding Guidelines and Proposal Writing
Project Proposal With Social Business Canvas
Eastern Zone Workshop
Date: 5 – 7 April 2019
Venue: MNS ecoCare Environmental Education Centre, Kerteh, Terengganu
The workshop follows on from September's Improving Forest Governance Course under MNS's MY forest project, and seeks to introduce participants to forest governance; equip participants with knowledge, understanding and skills to foster better involvement in forest governance processes; and to enable participants to deliver training on forest governance, progress monitoring and reporting.
Participants: Representatives from MNS Branches Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan, and National Stakeholder Committee members Pulau Banding Foundation; Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Environmental NGOs.
Introduction to the Forest Governance Zonal Workshop Series
Speaker: Shiyamala Sivakumar, Membership Manager, Malaysian Nature Society
CFS ~ An Important Initiative Towards Biodiversity Conservation
Speaker: Mohammad Shahfiz Azman, Head of Zoology Branch, Forest Research Institute Malaysia
Communication for Multi Stakeholder Processes
Speaker: Sha'ani Abdullah, President, Sustainable Development Network Malaysia
Forest and Climate Change
Speaker: Dr. Nur Hazwani Dzulkefly, Project Coordinator (Central Forest Spine), Tropical Rainforest Conservation and Research Centre
Trade-based and Civil Society-led Responses to Poor Forest Governance
Speaker: Tahirah Banu Mohamed Ariff, Programme Officer (Sustainable Markets Programme), WWF-Malaysia
Communication and Advocacy on Forest Governance
Speaker: Muhammad Mahfuz Al-Hafiz, Sustainability Technologist, Ecocentric Transitions
MY forest Watch: MyMangrove
Speaker: Dr. Ahmad Aldrie Amir, Research Fellow, LESTARI
How to Write a Proposal for Funding
Speaker: Vincent Chow, Vice-President, Malaysian Nature Society
MNS Information and Updates
Speaker: Shiyamala Sivakumar, MNS Membership Manager
Mangroves: Master's / PhD Opportunity
Research position at Universiti Malaya
Project: Net Ecosystem Productivity among Different Mangrove Types (Intact, Degraded and Restored) in Peninsular Malaysia
Description: The work will focus on establishing permanent plots, measuring trees growth, collecting litter for estimating net primary productivity of different mangrove types. We will also measure carbon accumulation rate using the naturally occurring radionuclide (210Pb) and rod surface elevation tables (rSETS), as well as GHGs emissions from different mangrove types to understand net ecosystem productivity. The findings of this study will help us understand carbon sequestration potential of different mangrove types.
Position: Full-time research position with Dr. Sahadev Sharma at Universiti Malaya, and Institute of Pacific Island Forestry, United States Forest Service, Hawaii. There is flexibility in the starting time of this project, but a proposed start-up time is in mid-October 2018.
Project duration: Until 31 December 2020, however possibility to extend one or two more years
1. Possess a Bachelor/Master's Degree with CGPA 3.0 and above in either Geography, Ecology, Marine Science, Environmental Science or related disciplines;
2. Possess a valid driving licence;
3. Be willing to work for extended periods of time in the field. Lodging, food, and other facilities will be provided;
4. Be comfortable conversing and writing at publication-level in English;
5. Conduct outreach and education programs as a marine naturalist while in the field, apart from doing scientific research;
6. Able to work independently and/ or in a diverse group of scientists.
Contact: Dr. Sahadev Sharma at ssharma@um.edu.my
Interested candidates should send their CV and a cover letter explaining their previous accomplishments and current research and why they want to join this project. Please use 'Project Mangrove NEP' as your email header.
Deadline: By or before 10 September 2018. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview.