Wildlife Seminar by Second Year Students of Bachelor of Environmental Management

In collaboration with PERHILITAN and Malaysia Nature Society.

Now I realised why people said that you won't get bored in university. Of course you will still feel bored if you do not want to engage in all the events held (no matter it requires entrance fee or not). There are really LOTS of them around the university which need your own alertness to find them out because for some courses students are compulsory to organise events open to all students and most of them are free of charge. The main problem is sometimes we have to find it out ourselves due to limited publicity from the students organising the events.

I came across this Wildlife seminar two days before the actually event was held. This seminar was organised by second year students of Bachelor of Environmental Management (which is the other bachelor programme in my faculty besides the one I am enrolled in currently) as the final project for the course EMG 4991 Environmental Management Seminar in which students were trained to give seminar or speech in a formal way conducted by Madam Rosta binti Harun. This form of communication skill is very important for environmental students as we are responsible in instilling the environmental awareness among the public using the most efficient way. It will give the public an impression towards us and we will be judge according to the way we talk and this leads to whether they will take our message seriously or not. The aim for this seminar which consisted of 10 presentations was to raise awareness among university students about the endangered species of wildlife in Malaysia. It could be an eye opener to many people towards wild life in Malaysia (not really to me as I watched a lot of wildlife documentaries with my grandma when I was a kid, haha).

They invited Madam Rahmah Ilias, Assistant Senior Director of Biodiversity Conservation Division in Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) Peninsular Malaysia (or we called it PERHILITAN in Malay) under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment as one of the VIPs. She has worked with the department for 10 years (which she considered as not very experienced compared to others who work with wildlife for a even longer period). She gave really useful comments and informations on each topic and that was really impressing that she knew each species very well! The 10 endangered species that were in the spotlight were (Google images):

Malayan tiger (Panthera Tigris Jacksoni)
The Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MYCATS)
Source: http://www.washington.edu/news/2012/02/23/stop-putting-the-squeeze-on-tiger-territory-says-uw-alum-now-chief-scientist-with-world-wildlife-fund/

Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus)
Tapir Specialist Group (TSG)
Source: http://aws-s.com/english/topics/detail.php?id=top163

Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus)
Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center
Source: http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/sumatran-orangutan

Sun bear (Helarctos malayanus)
Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Center
Source: http://sunbears.wildlifedirect.org/sun-bear-helarctos-malayanus/

Malayan pangolin (Manis javanica)
Save Pangolins
Source: http://www.discoverborneo.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=21,7,2,17,18,23,13,16,3,12,15,14,20,8,24,10,5&search=about

Pygmy elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis)
Kuala Gandah National Elephant Conservation Center
Source: http://www.indietravellers.com/blogs/the-lower-kinabatangan/

Proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus)
Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary
Source: http://doubutsuiine.tank.jp/iine/?p=2651

Sea turtle (Chelonii / Testudines family)
Turtle Conservation Society
Source: http://www.planetdiveholidays.com/resorts/tanzania/mafia-island/

Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis)
Sungai Dusun Rhinoceros Conservation Center
Source: http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/rhinos/images/17994065/title/beautiful-sumatran-rhino-named-ratu-photo

Hornbill (Bucerotidae family)
Belum-Temengor Hornbill Conservation Project
Source: http://exploreandnature.blogspot.com/2012_09_01_archive.html

I believe many of us know a little or more about these precious species of wildlife in Malaysia. All of them are listed under the redlist of the International Union for Conservation of Nature which has given these species the status of vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered (these are the degree of vulnerability towards extinction). There is poaching activities to satisfy the market for exotic accessories (coat, necklace, ishoes etc.), food (meat, paw, egg etc.), medicine (gall bladder, scale, horn etc.) or even pets. Besides that, the logging and clearing of forest render these poor animals no place to take shelter and no source of food, causing them to wander into human residential areas and thus leading to destruction of crops or threatening the safety of livestocks. This will again cause more hunting of these animals to reduce the so called 'problems' raised by these wild animals. These are the two main factors that drive wildlife towards extinction in Malaysia. Their death is either caused by the direct killing or the indirect one which is the loss of habitats.

The government and non-government organizations have done a lot of things to prevent the extinction of these species including implementing wildlife protection acts, setting up wildlife conservation sanctuaries, education and the list goes on. However, poachers are still laying their hand on these creatures until the last one is taken down. The reason is simple: there are markets, there are money-earning opportunities, there are the chances to get rich by just one shot. The destruction of forests is also driven by human's greed towards wealth that Nature is exploited to the maximum limit that all the resources available are being sucked dry in the name of development. Yes we are just normal people who have never seen the deforestation or the poaching process with our own eyes, but there are some little things that we can do to contribute to this bigger aim which is to prevent the extinction of exotic species which roam only here in South East Asia. Their extinction will indicate the forever lost of one member from the natural ecosystem. The simplest thing that we can do is to say NO towards any wildlife-related products as it is ILLEGAL to purchase or consume any part of the animals or else you will be one of the contributor to the black market of wildlife trading. Besides, avoid forest wood product, turn to recycled materials or commercial wood such as rubberwood to lower the rate of cutting down of primary or secondary forests. In addition, sign petition! Just a click on the internet to voice our opposition towards actions that would destroy the natural habitats of wildlife! Last but not least, volunteer yourselves in conservation projects which are held from time to time in respective sanctuaries all over Malaysia. Just Google the location and make a decision to do it this coming semester break. Being part of the efforts in conservation and preservation of flora and fauna in Malaysia has become a relative easy task compared to those days. So why not do it now?

Trio.

With our mascots - the tiger and the orangutan!

P/S: Speaking fluent and correct English is crucial in conducting a presentation as we have to sound confident to convince others about our findings on the topic. But a thorough research on the topic is also important so that we are ready to face any question that might be thrown by the floor. We might make some mistakes or miss out some points that we should know regarding the topic. However, I think it is really unforgivable if we are unable to answer questions which have the answers stated in the brochures given by the presenting group. This will show that we do not take the presentation of knowledge seriously. So, as conclusion, sufficient preparation can be more important than the preparation to show our commitment towards the issues.