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not broken by anything .
“ The contiguous forest is important because wildlife needs huge area for them to look for food , find shelter and to reproduce . For example , Tigers might need around 50 square kilometres . Elephants would need bigger range .”
The conservationist also shared that Royal Belum has the most significant raw water source for Perak and other States in Malaysia as a strategic ecosystem asset . It is the source of Sungai Perak and becomes a significant energy producer to generate four hydroelectric dams .
It is also a critical water catchment area and fresh water supply and an essential water source for irrigation and agricultural activities .
He said that the park is also a village to the indigenous community of Royal Belum , which has significant roles in protecting wildlife in the park .
He then showed a picture of the village . He explained : “ It is just a charming scenic small village with around 20 families . There ’ s only one tribe there , the Jahais . They are highly skilled in hunting .”
Another interesting fact about this park is its critical habitat and range of the critically endangered Malayan Tiger .
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Malayan Tiger
There are only 13 countries in the world that are noted as tiger range , and that includes Malaysia . The Malayan Tiger is the only subspecies of tigers that exist in Peninsular Malaysia . They only roam around Johor forest right up to Royal Belum . They are endemic to Peninsular Malaysia .
“ It has been estimated that the number of Malayan Tigers is less than 200 ,” said Shah .
He claimed that it was the responsibility of Malaysia to protect this species from
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extinction .
“ No one else can protect them because they are not found anywhere else except here . If we fail to protect the Malayan Tigers , it means Malaysia has failed to save this species .”
He then shared that the biggest threat to these endangered species were poachers who mostly came from Indochina . Over the years , the number of tigers had decreased significantly due to wildlife poaching and wildlife trafficking .
He said that these syndicated poachers were highly skilled as they could stay in the forest for more than three months just to catch the wildlife there . In the last 10 years , these poachers had set up thousands of snares that would function as traps . The worst part of this was these snares did not discriminate against their victims .
“ From sun bears to elephants , to samba deer , to leopards , whatever animals which step into the snares would be caught . But the tigers would be considered a jackpot . These snares would not only kill the tigers but also their food such as wild boars .”
Efforts to protect Malayan tigers
Shah said that to protect the wildlife in Royal Belum , the State park had decided to strengthen its patrol team .
“ There ’ s no other way except strengthening the patrolling . Unlike in Savanna , there ’ s still no proven technology that works in our thick humid rainforest .”
He shared that the State park had increased their rangers , and the rangers would go patrolling from 10 to 15 days by foot through designated terrains .
Jahai community as the local heroes Shah highlighted that one of the critical
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Jahai Village
( left ) Shah Redza and MENRAQ
It has been estimated that the number of Malayan Tigers is less than 200 , No one else can protect them because they are not found anywhere else except here . If we fail to protect the Malayan Tigers , it means Malaysia has failed to save this species .”
– Shah
Rafflesia
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success of their work in Royal Belum was the local community collaboration .
He shared that the State park had enlisted the local community from the indigenous village and formed MENRAQ . MENRAQ , which means ‘ people ’ in Jahai dialect , is a communitybased wildlife patrol team set up by the State Park . It aims to let the Orang Asli take the conservation ownership and wildlife protection efforts in their own forest .
“ The State park formed a programme where we will give allowances to the villagers who go patrolling . This means that every time they go patrolling , they also contribute to their village .
“ This makes them more motivated . In short , we give them knowledge , training , values and empowerment . We also ask them to spread the conservation message to other villagers .”
He stated that the Orang Asli had their own local traditional knowledge , which was very useful in patrolling . He strongly emphasised that the State park took its responsibility towards the community very seriously . They had also started preschooling programmes for the children of the Jahai community .
“ We bring the children into the forest to learn more about conservation , including how to set up camera traps and take pictures .”
The conservationist then expressed his hope for MENRAQ members to take community leadership roles in their village .
The importance of partnership
Shah emphasised the importance of partnership and said the efforts to the conservation were made possible because of partners like WWF and RIMAU , a local NGO that focuses on the preservation of Malayan tigers .
He stated that RIMAU plays a significant role in funding the activities , allowances and equipment required by MENRAQ .
Shah also highlighted that with the collaborative effort of the State park rangers , MENRAQ and WWF patrol team who were patrolling the area , the number of snares found in Royal Belum had decreased significantly .
“ As a result , from hundreds and thousands of snares we had found over the past five years , we managed to bring down the number to only five snares in 2020 . Out of the five snares , only two of them were active ,” he said .
He also delivered some good news to the webinar participants regarding the sighting of a mother tiger and its three cubs in May 2020 . — @ Forest
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