Malaysia on the map for tiger conservation

IPOH: The Royal Belum State Park has been awarded the prestigious Conservation Assured|Tiger Standards (CA|TS) approval in recognition of its exceptional conservation efforts and commitment to tiger conservation.

This milestone has been achieved through a fruitful partnership with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Malaysia, which provided guidance and support throughout the accreditation process.

WWF-Malaysia said this certifies the commitment of Royal Belum State Park, under the management of the Perak State Parks Corporation (PSPC), in supporting tiger conservation efforts and placed Malaysia on the map as the very first country in South-East Asia to implement CA|TS.

“CA|TS is a global accreditation scheme that encourages conservation areas to meet a set of standards and best practices that will lead to successful tiger conservation and, where possible, population recovery,” it said in a statement.

According to the statement, PSPC has implemented a series of initiatives to meet the standards of compliance such as strengthening its management, staffing, stakeholder relationship, community engagement, and protection of the tiger population.

“These initiatives include intensive patrolling through the WWF-Malaysia Project Stampede, where the Orang Asli were mobilised to regularly patrol the deep forests of the park, and the setting up of the all-indigenous Jahai Asli patrol team, Menraq for tiger protection.

“Apart from that, continuous monitoring of tigers and their prey population is also being conducted by WWF-Malaysia to assess the impact of these initiatives,” it said in a Bernama report.

PSPC director, Mohamed Shah Redza Hussein said they were honoured to receive the CA|TS approval.

“This recognition reflects our dedication to protecting the majestic and critically endangered Malayan tigers in Royal Belum, and hopefully the park can continue to be the stronghold of the tiger population in the country in years to come,” he added.

Meanwhile, WWF Malaysia executive director and chief executive officer Sophia Lim said this was a big step towards creating a long-term conservation impact for the Malayan tiger.

“With the approval, we are confident that ongoing conservation efforts in Belum-Temengor will be strengthened significantly.

“This also sends a strong message to the world that we are committed, and now join the likes of Nepal and Russia, to protect our tigers,” she said, adding that they hope to see the number of tigers increasing soon.