YSD CALLS FOR COLLECTIVE ACTION TO PRESERVE MALAYSIA’S CENTRAL FOREST SPINE AT WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY FINALE
The Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES), YB Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, lauded YSD’s initiatives with its project partners. “The WildRoots docuseries truly encapsulates the government and many other stakeholders’ work and commitment in saving the CFS, inviting Malaysians from every segment of society to contribute to preserving our environmental heritage,” he said.
Y.A.M. Tunku Tan Sri Imran Ibni Almarhum Tuanku Ja’afar, Chairman of YSD, emphasised thevital role of the CFS in Malaysia’s biodiversity, describing it as home to critical species such
as the Malayan tigers and the hornbills. “Aside from our collaborative work on the ground in the CFS on human-wildlife coexistence management, anti-poaching efforts, and planting of trees (including endangered, rare, and threatened species), YSD focuses on advocacy and spreading important knowledge on saving the environment with innovative initiatives. With the screening of the WildRoots docuseries today, our conversation about sustainable practices and community development for environment conservation continues.”
A panel discussion followed, featuring insights from conservation experts including Dato’ Ahmad Fadzil Abdul Majid Senior Director of Forest Management Division at the Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia; Mr Shahriz Ahmad Laili, Chief Assistant Director of the Management Council of Terengganu State Parks (MPTN); Dr Dzaeman Dzulkifli, Executive Director of the Tropical Rainforest Conservation and Research Centre (TRCRC); and Lara Ariffin, President of Persatuan Pelindung Harimau Malaya (RIMAU); where the challenges and strategic approaches to conserving the CFS for the long-term were discussed. The event concluded with a sharing session on the importance of hornbill species and its protection within the CFS landscape by Sanjitpaal Singh, Environmental Awareness and Education Director of Gaia.
Month-Long Activities and Ongoing Initiatives
YSD’s June activities, aimed at raising public awareness and involvement kicked-off with the launch of the ‘YSD WildRoots’ docuseries, and continued with the introduction of ‘Trunk Tales’, a board game by the Management & Ecology of Malaysian Elephants (MEME) that educates on elephant conservation and human-elephant coexistence. Post-event, YSD’s efforts continue with initiatives with SD Guthrie Berhad and Sime Darby Property Berhad under the YSD Eco Citizen employee volunteering programme to encourage community participation in environment conservation and education.
Conservation Efforts in the CFS
The CFS is a critical ecological corridor that spans across 5.3 million hectares over eight states – Kedah, Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Johor, Pahang, Terengganu, and Kelantan providing habitat to endangered flora and fauna species. YSD’s conservation strategies in this key area focus on improving ecological connectivity and activating community-led conservation and anti-poaching efforts.
To date, nearly RM27 million has been directed towards these initiatives, part of a broader RM206 million YSD investments in environmental protection since 2009. YSD works with eight project partners – TRCRC, RIMAU, Nature Based Solutions (NBS), Gaia, Perak State Parks Corporation (PSPC), Regional Environmental Awareness Cameron Highlands (REACH), and SD Guthrie Berhad – to bolster these efforts in four out of the eight states along the CFS.
Get Involved
YSD invites the public to engage in ongoing conservation efforts by volunteering with its project partners in various initiatives promoting reforestation, environment conservation and education.