Rong – The Habitat Foundation

Unveiling the 2024 THF Grantees

Rong — Fri, 12 Jan 2024 09:42:07 +0000

The Habitat Foundation received 120 applications from various regions across Malaysia.

Following thorough considerations, we’ve selected 14 outstanding projects that strongly align with our core pillars: Conservation, Research, Education, Sustainability, and Training.

These grant recipients encompass a diverse range, including individuals and organisations such as academicians, independent researchers, and both governmental and non-governmental entities. This selection underscores our commitment to fostering comprehensive environmental engagement and addressing urgent environmental challenges.

The total grant value amounts to RM 439,000. These impactful initiatives are distributed across 10 states and the federal territory of Malaysia, namely Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor, Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan, Sabah, and Kuala Lumpur.

Congratulations to all the recipients! Let’s embark on a collective journey of positive impact together!

Conservation

Research

Education

Sustainability

Training

What It Takes to Uncover the Hidden World of Land Snails

Rong — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 09:43:00 +0000

Land snails are not cute or cuddly. They are also slimy. This might make them a hard sell for conservation. Fortunately, they do grow on you. The deeper you delve into the world of snails, slugs and semi-slugs, the more fascinating they become!

Join us as we follow Assoc. Prof. Dr. Liew Thor Seng, recipient of a 2022 THF Research Grant, in his exploration of the forest of Penang Hill to assess the diversity of land snails present. The aim: to contrast the latest assessment with one from scientists more than 153 years ago to learn something about how wildlife assemblages are changing in response to human activity and climate change!

The Habitat Hub – April 2023

Rong — Sat, 08 Apr 2023 08:57:00 +0000

And just like that, the first three months of 2023 have flown by!

It has certainly been a eventful and fulfilling start to the year and we didn’t want to miss the opportunity to share some of these highlights with you; hence, this bumper issue of The Habitat Hub! Read about some of the meaningful programme milestones for The Habitat Foundation over the past four months, and get the latest updates on the wonderful new offerings at The Habitat Penang Hill as we invite everyone to come back to nature for a rejuvenating Weekend of Wellness!

The Habitat Hub | 54 – April 2023

Our Water, Our Duty – World Water Day 2023 Short Clip

Rong — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 07:21:00 +0000

Meet a community that is doing its part to protect the forest and its ecosystem services on World Water Day.

Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) was awarded a Sustainable Tourism Grant for their initiative, which is assisting in the development of a new generation of local stewards in Kampung Janda Baik. Persatuan Sahabat alam tampik Janda Baik (SATJB) maintains the sustainable use of the 30-hectare area within Lentang Forest Reserve and provides exclusive informative tours. Visits to the energising waters of Ulu Tampik Waterfall are now opportunities to learn about and interact with nature.

We believe that more community guardians can be similarly enabled to enjoy nature while protecting it for future generations.

Click here to view the short video on Facebook or Instagram.

World Environment Day Event at HinBus Depot

Rong — Tue, 05 Jul 2022 08:50:00 +0000

On the 4th of June 2022, The Habitat Foundation was invited to be part of an event organised by Penang Green Council in conjunction with World Environment Day. With the theme ‘Fuyoh’: Once Upon A Time, this bazaar at HinBus Depot aimed to recreate the memories of the 50s lifestyle where plastic does not exist. Local entrepreneurs, artists, performers were brought together to showcase their ideas and examples of sustainable living to the community.

In September 2021, Penang Hill was designated as a UNESCO site under the Man and Biosphere Programme (MAB). As a way to promote the beauty of Penang Hill as a natural site rich in biodiversity, history and culture, and to ensure that it continues to be preserved sustainably, The Habitat Foundation took this opportunity to listen to the voices of the people and to share about the Penang Hill Biosphere Reserve.

We set up a simple booth for people to vote on how they have been helping the environment and what they wish Penang to be in the near future. Through this interaction, there was a heightened awareness about Penang Hill as a UNESCO site and its importance for the people and the environment.

Wishing tree which displays some of the wishes of the people for the future of Penang.

The Chief Minister of Penang visited our booth and participated in the activities.

One of our younger participants adding her contribution to a greener Penang.

Our staff shared about the importance of Penang Hill as a UNESCO site.

Children taking turns writing down their wishes for the future of Penang.

A lady writing down her wishes for Penang.

Within a short period of time, we had received overwhelming responses from the crowd at our booth, ranging from both young and old. Below are the results of the voting at the end of the day:

Action in helping the environment	Votes
1. Saving energy	83
2. Volunteer with environmental-based organisations	48
3. Carpooling/walk/cycling	87
4. Making own composts	55
5. Recycling	101
6. Reusing waste	54
7. Planting	53
8. Bringing own containers	100
9. Using reusable bags	117

Actions taken by local Penangites to reduce carbon footprint on Penang Island

It was a fruitful day getting to know the community of Penang and understanding that hope and concern of the people towards the environment. More of such events will continue to take place around Penang as we commit ourselves to work for a greener environment.

SMART-Effective Food Waste Composter Pilot Project for Penang Hill

Rong — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 09:15:00 +0000

Continuing the sustainability initiative by the Foundation which started last year, the Effective Food Waste Composter (EFWC) developed by Professor Dr. Che Zalina from Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) has now been installed at The Habitat Penang Hill, where the machine is monitored by the staff.

Currently, the brown waste such as leaves, twigs and coffee ground and the green waste such as egg shells, fruit and vegetable peels are collected from the Penang Hill park, the staff working at The Habitat and some nearby food vendors. Thus far, two batches of composts, rich in nutrients, were produced with the machine.

The process of composting has gone through a few rounds of trials. Our team has provided some feedback to Prof Dr Zalina on the functionality of the prototype and the quality of the composts produced. Meanwhile, the staff are working diligently on obtaining the ideal proportion of the brown and green waste to yield compost, with the ideal humidity and texture, regularly.

Green Waste collected for composting.

Once the process is streamlined, The Habitat aims to expand our waste collection to the residential community around Penang Hill as well as other stakeholders on the hill.

Diversity of Dragonflies and Damselflies on Penang Island

Rong — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 10:06:00 +0000

The Habitat Foundation is pleased to support a research on the diversity of dragonflies and damselflies through our 2021 Research Grant. Dragonflies and damselflies are categorized under the order of Odonata and they are one of the least known species of Penang Island. This study aims to document the diversity of Odonata within the Penang Hill Biosphere Reserve and to produce an Odonata species list for the Biosphere Reserve.

Dragonflies and damselflies are charismatic representatives of insect diversity. They may look similar from afar with their slender bodies, big compound eyes and membranous wings, but each group has its own unique features that can easily tell them apart. Their iridescent wings and body that come in all shades of colour is what attracted Dr Choong Chee Yen in the first place to learn more about them.

Dr Choong Chee Yen, who is the Associate Professor at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and also one of the leading experts on Odonata in Malaysia started studying dragonflies and damselflies since 2005. As a macrophotographer, he was drawn into the details of the Odonata and is mesmerized by their colours. His growing love for dragonflies and damselflies has driven his passion as a scientist to document the species diversity and he has since then dedicated himself to this field.

Dr Choong Chee Yen, whose love for dragonflies and damselflies, has driven him to be a researcher on Odonata.

For this study, Dr Choong has made a few visits to several freshwater habitats within the study area to collect his samples. In determining the field sites, he takes into consideration different water bodies environments such as clean flowing water, brackish water, stagnant water and elevation. Thus far, he has collected about 40 species of dragonflies and damselflies and 7 new Odonata species were identified after cross-referencing with previously published records on Penang Island. These 7 species include:

Scientific Name	Common Name	Location
i) Acrogomphus malayanus	Malayan Hooktail	The Habitat Penang Hill
ii) Leptogomphus risi	Ris’ Clubtail	Titi Kerawang
iii) Orthetrum luzonicum	Marsh Skimmer/ Slender Blue Skimmer	Tiger Hill
iv) Nepogomphus walli		Titi Kerawang
v) Zygonyx iris malayana		Titi Kerawang
vi) Coeliccia erici		Penang Botanic Garden
vii) Echo modesta	White-faced Clearwing	Titi Kerawang, Moniot, Penang Botanic Garden

New records of Odonata species on Penang Island found within the Penang Hil Biosphere Reserve.

Ris’ Clubtail (Leptogomphus risi)

Coeliccia erici

White-faced clearwing (Echo modesta)

Dragonflies and damselflies play an important part in our ecosystem. As some species depend on clean freshwater bodies for their life cycle, their presence has become synonymous with healthy ecosystems. Certain species only occur in clean flowing water while some can tolerate polluted water. Thus based on the species found, the water quality of that habitat can be determined. According to Dr Choong, the common green metalwing (Neurobasis chinensis) and common flashwing (Vestalis amethystina) are two examples of Odonata species for clean water bioindicators found on Penang Island.

Common flashwing (Vestalis amethystina)

By nature, dragonflies and damselflies are also good biocontrol for pests. Long existed since millions of years ago, the Odonata has evolved to be carnivorous. The flying adults eat mosquitoes and other insects while their larvae or nymphs also feed on mosquito larvae, tadpoles and even small fishes.

Through this study, we hope to gain more insights into the health of aquatic ecosystems on Penang Island and to further showcase dragonfly watching as a new area of specialty ecotourism in Malaysia.

HUGS Project in Safeguarding Our Caves in Merapoh

Rong — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 22:23:00 +0000

The Habitat Foundation Sustainable Tourism Grants are about supporting community-based tourism because it also strengthens conservation. HUGS Project received a grant in 2021 to organise specialised workshops for local cave guides from the remarkable limestone landscape of Merapoh, Pahang.

After months of movement restriction control throughout Malaysia, we have finally managed to make a trip to visit the caves in Merapoh in December to understand and support the work of our grantee, Laili Basir, who is working alongside with the local people to safeguard our limestone caves in Merapoh and its vicinity. The local people here have long served as the guardians of the caves. With the support of this grant, we hope to better equipped them with the best practices in cave conservation and paleontology to be cave guides and co-researchers to experts from the Paleontological Society of Malaysia.

This training was conducted by Laili Basir and our local zoo-archaeologist expert from University Malaya, Lim Tze Tshen. The guides were briefed with basic geological and palaeontology knowledge before conducting work at the field sites. They were brought to a few unexplored caves in Merapoh to study the quaternary mammal’s fossils and to practice extracting fossils. The 2-day expedition has yielded an impressive array of wildlife fossils from hedgehog, leopard cat, muntjac to serow, gaur, rhinoceros, elephant and many more. One of the most exciting finding was a fossilized tooth of Orang Utan, as it can only be found in Borneo today.

Tools given to the local guides for fossil extraction which includes a hammer, a chisel, a compass, a measuring unit and a brush.

Fossils from a diverse group of species were extracted throughout the 2-day expedition

Ah Tshen explaining to the local guides on fossil identification

Fossilized tooth of Orang Utan

These archeological findings within such a short span of time show how little knowledge we have on the remarkable caves in Malaysia which are not just a time capsule but also evidences of how humans and animals have adapted to the past environment and prehistoric ecological changes such as climatic changes and sea level changes. These geologic archieves could help in the prediction of future climatic change and help us to improve our ability to predict what lies ahead.

Cave paintings that show the evidence of human settlement in one of the caves in Merapoh

With so much more yet unknown to us, these caves must be preserved and continually protected from unsustainable development and human activities that could bring about any damage to the caves. Through supporting community-based ecotourism, these caves with its own unique ecosystem and wildlife can continue to be preserved while the ecosystem services provided by the caves will also safeguard the livelihoods of the local people.

The team of local guides and our THF staff who joined the 2-day cave expedition

Fuze Ecoteer: Leading Sustainable Tourism in Marine Environments

Rong — Fri, 16 Jul 2021 02:01:00 +0000

Fuze Ecoteer Outdoor Adventures is a Malaysian registered tour operator with experience in conservation and research. It is recognised as a social enterprise that focuses on marine conservation projects.

Fuze Ecoteer believes that people play an important role in nature conservation and that through education and providing opportunity to people of all ages to experience nature are the most appropriate ways to conserve nature.

Fuze Ecoteer is based in Perhentian Island, Terengganu, one of the famous Malaysian islands. As the recipient of The Habitat Foundation Sustainable Tourism Grant, they are funded to bring people closer to marine environment and to educate public on the importance of sustainable tourism. Their project focuses on community engagement especially in involving young people from the local community who are potentially pioneers of marine conservation rapid response team. To appeal to the younger generation, they share their project with the community through social media platforms.

The Marine Park and several local dive shops in Perhentian Island play an important role in this project as they provide training to the youths who are interested to be part of the team. The youngsters are equipped with basic diving skills and knowledge through a weekly training programme on topics such as introduction to corals, marine biodiversity, and identification of fish, which also sets their course to become marine conservationists.

Another major initiative is the development of a management system for the entire island. The funds will help to form, together with other stakeholders, a pioneering group of young people who will be involved in the joint management of the island and this project will also serve as a platform to build trust between all stakeholders involved in this initiative. In line with this effort, the team holds regular small group discussions with the villagers, hotel management, and dive shops on the island who are the important stakeholders to ensure the success of this project.

Throughout the project, the local youth team showed great interest in the activities carried out. Nevertheless, the restrictions in Malaysia due to the pandemic have led to delays in some of their projects and adjustments have to be made to the original plans. Dive shops are not allowed to open and all physical skills training had to be postponed. However, they still carry out their weekly online training regularly.

Apply for The Habitat Foundation Masters Scholarship for Research in Bioacoustics

Rong — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 06:14:00 +0000

Topic

Application of bioacoustics to document and monitor wildlife diversity on Penang Hill

Insights into the rhythm of life

Bioacoustics is an exciting new research field. The sounds of the Malaysian rainforest – frogs, geckos, birds, bats, squirrels, primates, and insects create a distinctive soundscape. With emerging technology and analytic software we are now able to capture the sounds of nature and gain valuable insights into the natural world. Documenting and monitoring this soundscape also has the potential to provide indicators of species diversity and ecosystem health.

The aim of this research is to document the diversity and abundance of wildlife of Penang Hill using bioacoustics. It will build a reference library of unique sonotypes for the species of the hill. This will provide a baseline and foundation for asking important ecological questions.

The scholarship

The Habitat Foundation is funding a Masters Scholarship for Research in Bioacoustics on Penang Hill which will be offered at the School of Biological Sciences (SBS), USM. The successful candidate will have their university registration and tuition fees covered, and receive a monthly stipend of RM1,000 for 24 months. Equipment and field costs will be provided by The Habitat Foundation.

Who can apply

The scholarship is offered to Malaysian citizens and will be for 2 years. Suitable candidates are encouraged to apply by 30 August 2021. The study is expected to commence in October 2021.

Candidates should

enjoy the outdoors and have a keen sense of curiosity and interest in conducting fieldwork in the tropical rain forest
possess a Bachelor’s degree in biology, geography or any other relevant field (CGPA >2.75/4.00)
have a good command of English and Bahasa Malaysia
be self-motivated and capable of carrying out independent research
be a good team player but also able to work under minor supervision

How to apply

Applicants should submit a short statement letter (1 page) explaining their interest in the research accompanied by their (1) Curriculum Vitae, (2) academic transcript, and (3) letter of reference.

Enquiries may be addressed to Dr Nadine Ruppert . Applications for the scholarship, should be received by email not later than 30 August 2021.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview.