Tag Archives: conservation

Insight

Adopting Seahorses to Save Seagrass Meadows

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Finding seahorses and naming them gets people excited about conservation, even if they get stuck in silt.

WADING THROUGH a seagrass meadow at low tide, at 6.50am, is anything but graceful for a newbie. Each step in the waterlogged mud forms an air-tight seal around our feet, threatening to swallow our boots and shoes.

Earlier, the Save Our Seahorses (SOS) Malaysia survey team, and a small group of public participants had boarded a small fishing boat, scooting for approximately 20 minutes from the fishing jetty at Pendas, to the Merambong seagrass bed, less than 500m off Johor’s Forest City.

This morning’s search for seahorses goes slow at first, although we see black sea slugs, shrimp, and the occasional crab or fish darting around the centimetres-deep water.  Then, our guide Wong Jieyi sights one male seahorse.

(Feature image: At the Merambong seagrass meadow in Johor, volunteers for NGO Save Our Seahorses search for seahorses during low tide at dawn. Changing tide times throughout the year means that sometimes survey trips can take place in complete darkness as well. | Photo: Vincent Tan)

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Insight

Ingrained in Culture, Songbird Competitions Reign

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Ingrained in culture, songbird competitions reign

A platform for community, a pleasurable pastime, and continuity in tradition: songbird competitions in rural Kelantan prevail, even as their impact on wild birds is unclear.

Text and Photos by Mukhriz Hazim

Published: 8 May 2025

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In-Depth

Birds at Losing End of ‘Marathon’ Singing Competitions

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[Feature image: This newly-bought Red-whiskered Bulbul is placed in a paper bag to be taken home by its future owner | Photo by Mukhriz Hazim]

Counting how many times birds sing in 13 seconds is fun for bird owners, but these ‘marathon’ competitions are endangering the Red-whiskered Bulbul.

OUTSIDE a birdcage repair shop in Kota Bharu, Kelantan is an open space with several metal stands. During the day, these metal stands are used to hang bird cages, dozens of them. They belong to different owners, who leave them at this shop while they are at work.

It turns out that this is a ‘songbird daycare’, not just for any bird but the Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus). Popularly known as Merbah Jambul, the birds are beloved pets and need regular sunlight, so their cages must be hung outdoors.

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In-Depth

Calls Grow to Protect Magpie-robins as Trade Soars

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Growing songbird ownership, enabled by weak laws, is pushing Oriental Magpie-robins into cages – with growing concern over wild populations. A co-publication with Dialogue Earth.

THE ORIENTAL Magpie-robin’s melodious song, once a staple of Malaysia’s forests, is being silenced by the weight of a booming songbird trade. Demand is both domestic and from Indonesia, and enabled by gaps in Malaysian laws.

Known in Bahasa Malaysia as Murai kampung, the Oriental Magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis)  is listed as being of Least Concern in terms of its conservation status.

But thousands have been seized by authorities in Malaysia since 2020, due in part to missing documentation required for exports, and to curb the spread of disease, among other things.

(Feature image: Everyone wants to own a Murai kampung but are there enough wild birds to feed this demand?  | Illustration: Kabini Amin/Dialogue Earth & Macaranga)

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In-Depth

Ways to Improve Malaysia’s Ecological Fiscal Transfers

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Rock quarries have been expanding within Bukit Lagong forest reserve, Selangor. (Satellite image from Google Earth/Airbus)

Ways to Improve Malaysia's Ecological Fiscal Transfers

Conservationists broadly agree that the EFT mechanism has been good for Malaysia and that all states could benefit from more money for biodiversity protection. But increasing allocations, making the scheme legally permanent and giving states more freedom on how they can spend EFT funds could make this mechanism more effective.

A co-publication by Macaranga and Eco-Business.

Writer: Samantha Ho

Editor: YH Law

Published: 10 April 2025

Part 1 |  Part 2

(Feature image: The Selangor state government has been approving expansion of quarries (left) in the Bukit Lagong forest reserve. | Satellite image from Google Earth/Airbus)

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In-Depth

Bright spots in the dark: Tracking Malaysia’s fiscal transfers for nature conservation

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Bright spots in the dark: Tracking Malaysia's Fiscal transfers for nature conservation

The federal government said its Ecological Fiscal Transfer funds have spurred state governments to add protected areas and run conservation programmes. Yet as environmentalists are calling for more EFT funding, our analysis finds little transparency on most of the money disbursed, despite some state-level data from Johor and Sabah.

A co-publication by Macaranga and Eco-Business.

Writer: Samantha Ho  |  Editor: YH Law

Published: 8 April 2025

Part 1 | Part 2

(Feature image by Macaranga) 

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Insight

Helping Sabah’s Sun Bears Return to the Wild

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(Feature image: Sun bears Sunbearo and Loki being released into the forest in 2021. The two were among the 12 bears released by the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) between 2015–2022. (Tee Thye Lim/BSBCC))

Returning rescued sun bears to their wild homes is tough and too many die in the process. While conservationists labour to help these bears, they say it is better that the bears never left the forests.

INSIDE SABAH’S Tabin Wildlife reserve, just over an hour’s drive from the seaside town of Lahad Datu, 4 men trudge into a natural clearing in the forest, their footing sure despite the muddy terrain. They are carefully hauling the disassembled parts of a wild bear trap.

One man empties a packet of bait into a small cage made of wire mesh. He hoists and suspends the small cage into the air. His 2 other teammates rapidly assemble the bear trap.

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In-Depth

Jury Out on Whether Petting Zoos Aid Conservation

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Petting zoos are gaining in popularity and host local and exotic animals. In Part 2, we ask how petting zoos are sourcing their wildlife, especially animals that are legally protected.

PALM COCKATOOS (Probosciger aterrimus) are handsome birds. Smoky black feathers, tomato-red cheeks, and a high mohawk crest. This bird – one of the few known to make tools for music – originates from New Guinea and northern Australia.

But in Malaysia, you might find them in petting zoos and zoos. Some have even been trained to perch on human arms for photos.

Wild individuals cannot be imported into Malaysia for commercial purposes, but captive-bred ones may. However, conservationists point to the murkiness surrounding sourcing these rare parrots.

(Feature image: Insta-worthy, but how much does providing such interaction help conserve wild parrots? |  Photo by Lee Kwai Han)

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In-Depth

Petting Wildlife Sending Mixed Signals

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Petting zoos with their wildlife and exotic species, are becoming increasingly popular. In Part 1 of 2, we look at the impact of these facilities on the welfare of both wildlife and humans.

AS SOON as they entered the petting zoo, schoolchildren excitedly rushed towards the pygmy horse behind a wooden fence. Quickly, they grabbed carrot sticks from their plastic tub feeding kits. The next instant, they were waving more than a dozen carrots at the horse.

Each child was hoping the horse would pick the one in his hand. But that was just a starter for the children at Farm in the City, one of the largest petting zoos in Malaysia.

(Feature image:  The boom in petting zoos has pros and cons, as they feature wildlife, including exotic creatures such as the Aldabra giant tortoise, endemic to Seychelles |  Photo by Lee Kwai Han)

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