Conservation Timeline

The Bata-sponsored WWF-Malaysia mobile education unit began visiting schools to share the message of conservation. By 2004, more than one million Malaysian schoolchildren had learned about the importance of environmental protection through the unit.

WWF-Malaysia assisted the Sabah Forest Department in a two year faunal survey to develop the State's wildlife management. Sungai Samumsam Wildlife Sanctuary was gazette.

Partners for Wetlands programme was launched at Lower Kinabatangan, Sabah. The Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary was gazetted, after years of conservation efforts by WWF-Malaysia.

WWF launched the Sulu Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion (SSME) to conserve the Coral Triangle seas between Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia. WWF established the ASIAN Rhino and Elephant Action Strategy to enhance initiatives to conserve unique species.

Ma’Daerah was gazetted as a turtle sanctuary by the Terengganu government state, after years of WWF-Malaysia’s conservation efforts there. WWF-Malaysia led the formation of a local community group called Fraser’s Hill Environmentally Sustainable Heritage (FRESH), to conserve the hill’s natural environment.

Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary and Tun Sakaran Marine Park were gazetted, following conservation efforts by WWF-Malaysia. A new species of Tarantula spider was discovered by the staff of WWF-Malaysia. WWF-Malaysia and WWF-Indonesia launched the Heart of Borneo (HoB) Initiative, a programme to conserve 240,000km of Borneo's rainforests.

The Heart of Borneo (HoB) was formally declared as a three-country collaborative programme by Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. This was a significant step towards protecting the ecological and cultural richness of the rainforests of Borneo. The initiative created resources and networks that facilitated the sustainability, transparency and accountable management of the area. WWF-Malaysia initiated camera-trapping in Belum-Temengor to determine the conservation status of tigers and prey in this priority site. Prior to this, the status of tigers in this area was unknown.

WWF–Malaysia and Ma'Daerah Turtle Sanctuary Centre held the first Turtle Rescue Workshop to educate fishermen about methods of resuscitating and releasing turtles that may have been accidentally caught in fishing gear. WWF-Malaysia and the Sabah State Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the rehabilitation of 2,400 hectares of degraded forest within North Ulu Segama.

North Ulu Segama (NUS) is home to Orangutans. Their numbers were found to be declining due to poor forest structure and isolation. WWF-Malaysia provided input towards the preparation of the Sustainable Forest Management Plan to assist Sabah Forestry Department and Sabah Foundation as part of the effort to halt the declination of Orangutans populations.

WWF-Malaysia and our partners set up the Wildlife Protection Unit (WRU) to reduce poaching activities within the Belum-Temengor Forest Complex.

WWF-Malaysia, along with WWF-Indonesia and the Alliance of the Indigenous People of the Highlands in the Heart of Borneo collaborated to conserve the highlands and ecosystems for the benefit of the communities living here through sustainable agriculture, fair trade and ecotourism.

The Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 was passed in Parliament after six years of active advocacy and lobbying by WWF-Malaysia and partners.

The local womens’ group in Kampung Mangkok, Setiu that WWF-Malaysia helped established in 2007, was registered and formalised as a society known as PEWANIS. This signified a key milestone in WWF-Malaysia’s engagement to empower the local women as guardians and conservation champions of the wetlands

WWF-Malaysia conducted seagrass, seawater and reef monitoring activities with the Department of Fisheries Sabah, Sabah Parks, dive operators and representatives from the local community in Mabul Island, Semporna. The Ma’Daerah Heritage Community Association (MEKAR), a community-based group founded by WWF-Malaysia, developed a Daily Lesson Plan to communicate turtle conservation issues in Bahasa Malaysia.

On World Sea Turtle Day, WWF-Malaysia collaborated with the Terengganu and Sabah State governments to educate the public about turtles and their importance to marine ecosystems.

The Royal Intelligence Corps of Kem Terendak’s third Division Headquarters became the first military group to support WWF-Malaysia’s turtle protection efforts at Kem Terendak, Melaka.

The State Government of Terengganu announced its commitment to gazette a state park in Setiu Wetlands following continuous advocacy and lobbying by WWF-Malaysia and it’s partners. As a recognised stakeholder, WWF-Malaysia is currently involved in consultation and planning towards the gazettement via committees formed by the State Government.

WWF-Malaysia’s tiger and prey research, and advocacy contributed towards the gazettement of the Amanjaya Forest Reserve, a critical ecological corridor in the Belum-Temengor forest complex which is a priority site for tigers.

WWF-Malaysia’s first Sustainable Seafood Festival (SSF) in June 2014 successfully recruited four hotels to offer sustainable seafood menus comprising Marine Stewardship Council-certified products and Aquaculture Stewardship Council-certified products.

WWF-Malaysia’s ‘Environment and You’ project emphasised the integration of Environmental Education in the education system. Various Environmental Education teaching and learning materials were developed and currently shared in the Virtual Learning Environment of 1BestariNet, accessible to more than 10,000 schools.

WWF-Malaysia successfully advocated for the reclassification of lower Sugut Forest Reserve (8,680 hectares) from production to protection forest reserve (FR). Although relatively small, the FR contains rare and endangered forest types and has a small population of Orangutans that has survived for the past 30 years despite huge forest loss in the surrounding areas.

WWF presented its prestigious Leaders for a Living Planet Award to the state government of Sabah in recognition of their efforts in creating the largest marine park in Malaysia, Tun Mustapha Park (TMP). WWF-Malaysia played a key part in the decade-long journey towards gazettement.

WWF-Malaysia engaged Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya and Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam to take steps in minimising the adverse effects of climate change.

WWF-Malaysia's survey efforts contributed to the upgrading of protection status of an area measuring 30,989 hectares (part of Kuamut and Gunung Rara Forest Reserves) from Class II to Class I, after Sabah Terrestrial Conservation Programme’s surveys revealed an abundance of Orangutans in the area.

WWF signed an MoU with Sabah Forestry Department (SFD) to build capacity for their anti-poaching team called PROTECT. This team was set up in response to the evidence of poaching activities gathered by WWF’s patrolling activities and submitted to SFD, to highlight the threat of poaching. PROTECT is a turning point as enforcement against poaching has traditionally not been given a high priority by the department but left to the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD).

WWF-Malaysia organised the Setiu Wetlands scientific expedition involving 49 researchers from 7 organisations covering 16 research topics. The expedition obtained pertinent data to strengthen scientific knowledge that facilitated further justification and guidance towards the gazettement and management of the proposed Setiu State Park.

The state government of Sabah officially established the largest marine park in Malaysia, Tun Mustapha Park (TMP) on 19 May 2016. WWF-Malaysia played a key role in the more than a decade-long journey towards gazettement.