Highway to hope: Nik Nazmi says his ministry has continuously strengthened habitat protection and ecological corridors to reduce roadkill cases.
SUBANG JAYA: A total of 112 Malayan Tapirs were killed by road traffic between 2020 and March 2024, says the Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister.
Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the animal is increasingly threatened due to the loss and fragmentation of wildlife habitats caused by the construction of highways and roads through forested areas.
To reduce roadkill cases, the ministry has been continuously strengthening habitat protection and ecological corridors, he said at the launch of The Forgotten Stripes: Tapir Launch and Exhibition here yesterday.
He said efforts included the construction of viaducts in the Sungai Deka Ecological Corridor in Terengganu, Sungai Yu and Gerik Ecological Corridor in Perak, along with the installation of wildlife crossing signs, transverse bars and solar amber lights.
“Equally important are awareness campaigns like today’s event, which reminds road users to always drive carefully in wildlife crossing areas,” he added.
He also reminded the public that the Malayan Tapir, an endangered species, is protected under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010.
“If we do not act now, we may wake up one day to find that this extraordinary species has disappeared forever,” the minister added.
Nik Nazmi said the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) has set up the country’s first tapir conservation centre at the Wildlife Conservation Centre in Sungai Dusun, Selangor.
Another one is set to be opened in Negri Sembilan’s Kenaboi State Park by 2027, he added.
“Binding this effort is the formulation of the Malayan Tapir Conservation Action Plan, an important plan to conserve and manage the Malayan Tapir population in Malaysia in line with the National Biodiversity Policy 2022–2030,” he said.
He said the action plan, developed by the government and relevant stakeholders, has four main strategies, 16 outcomes and 49 activities to achieve the vision and objective of strengthening the conservation of the Malayan Tapir over the next 10 years.
The exhibition, held at Inti International College here, was initiated by Snouts and Stripes, a student group recognised by WWF-Malaysia’s ECO Champions Awards 2024.
Also present were Perhilitan director-general Datuk Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim, Selangor Perhilitan director Wan Mohd Adib, Inti International University and Colleges chief executive officer Dr Chong Kok Wai and WWF-Malaysia communications and marketing director Rozanna Ahmad Basri.
