Besar Biodiversity
Added to website: 06 June 2004
The latest CCC venture was realised at the end of March with the arrival of the first volunteers to the Malaysia Tropical Forest Conservation Project (MTFCP).
Exploring the ‘unknown’ under the direction of the Coral Cay staff following a highly successful pilot project, these volunteers will be responsible for the collection of pioneering data on the areas biodiversity. Based on the island of Pulau Perhentian Besar, for which virtually no ecological data exists, volunteers can expect to witness a myriad of wildlife including tree shrews, squirrels, flying lemurs, and vast quantities of bats, snakes, birds and primates, in the lush tropical forest surroundings.
Project scientist Roger O’Malley will be responsible for the co-ordination of the research, having previously been the science officer at the Danjugan Island site (Philippines). The MTFCP is working in close collaboration with the Department of Wildlife and is also supported by other national organisations such as the Malaysian Nature Society. In addition, the project is also implementing CCC’s scholarship scheme for host country nationals, ensuring the development of necessary capacity for long-term effective conservation.
The MTFCP understands that heavily forested islands such as P. Besar often play a unique ecological role existing as a haven for endemic and migratory species, and ultimately hope to replicate these findings to further ensure the region’s protection.
