Cakes in Bloom

If it is true you are what you eat, then consider us a bundle of love and perfection because that’s exactly what Bunny Bake’s creations are made of. Dubbing their signature flower design as “sophisticated vintage”, from first sight onwards their flowers mesmerize with realistic yet dreamy details, and a luxurious colour scheme. Crowned champions in the flower cake category of the 2018 ACADA Australia International Cake Show Competition and accredited by the Korea Cake Art Association (KCAA), it’s hard to believe that Yee Ling and Yee Wen only began their professional cake making journeys in 2016. After attending intensive courses over the years, the sisters now share their knowledge and skills as pioneers of Flower Cake artistry in East Malaysia through their workshop classes which attract bakers of all backgrounds, from hobbyists to 6-star hotel pastry chefs. A class and Certificate of Completion for every type of expertise, from absolute beginners to those looking to get certified by KCAA (Bunny Bake is also an official KCAA branch school), classes range from half-day to one full day. If you wished you could attend one of their classes (join the club!), don’t lose hope just yet! Bunny also Bakes in different cities and neighbouring countries such as Brunei and even Singapore (currently on hold).

Because sometimes you just have to stop and pipe the roses—especially when they’re as breathtaking as this. •• Tel: 6017-2056116 / 6016-8776100 (WhatsApp) FB: @bunnybakeco IG: @bunny.bake W: bunnybakeco.com E: bunnybakeco@gmail.com

WORLD CONSCIOUS O’KIARA

Beauty may fade but an awareness and consciousness of nature’s surroundings will last forever, O’Kiara believes—and we totally agree. If you’re not already familiar with O’Kiara, the earthy aesthetics of their intricately designed polymer clay jewellery basically speak for itself. Inspired by the laidback lifestyle of islanders, Andrea and Oliver work this natural vibe into the designs and textures of their jewellery while prioritizing ethically handmade products with a minimal production and packaging process.

Drawn to beauty but driven by the state of the current climate, O’Kiara doesn’t lose sight of the bigger picture. Rightfully priding themselves on being the “Youth of the Future”, they extend these values to their customers with eco-conscious initiatives such as ensuring that one tree is planted with every product purchased. A “Shop Other Artisans” section on their website is also where the duo collaborates and promotes other artisans in a bid to provide another platform for the creative industry during the MCO.

Their Workshop Academy Classes is where the duo coaxes the creativity out of students in the form of a hands-on clay jewellery making experience because “everyone is creative in their own way and the arts should be expressed freely.” The realities of our ever-changing world rarely come in the form of pretty jewellery, but when it does, we’ll take it! •• IG: @okiaraborneo W:www.okiara.com

feature

JOIN THE GREEN SIDE

Rozman Mashor Andrew Walmsley

We don’t have a Planet B. It really is that simple if you need to have the issue broken down into a basic concept. There is however, so much more to it than that. We share this world with an abundance of life so rich in its diversity that humanity, as the dominant sentient species, has a moral responsibility to play caretaker. To manage the natural resources at our disposal in order to prevent the needless loss of valuable ecosystems and habitats. To safeguard the incredible array of wildlife that crawls, walks, climbs, swims, and flies this Earth alongside us. To educate every generation so that we may all contribute, even if in a small way, toward ensuring life goes on sustainably. No one ever said it was easy. It is one of the greatest challenges we have faced. So join us over the next 10 pages as we have brief chats with different groupings whose members are making BiG strides towards protecting life on our Island.

Brunei’s BiodiversityTreasure Trove

1

BiG: Since its establishment has there been an increase in people studying biodiversity?

KBFSC: In recent years, there has been an increasing awareness and trend towards Biodiversity related fields. With the current speciality and Biodiversity expertise we have in UBD, there is an increase in the training of students at both undergraduate and graduate level, which looks into the different aspects related to Biodiversity in Brunei. Brunei is home to some of the most diverse and species-rich forests on Earth. There is so much to be learnt, to see, to be discovered out there. Simultaneously, there is also so much to fear from man-made and natural threats to these ecosystems. The Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre (KBFSC) was set up in the early 90s under the auspice of UniversitI Brunei Darussalam following a joint expedition with the Royal Geographical Society of London, which resulted in the discovery of new species. The educational institution’s flagship field study centre is located in the pristine, lowland tropical rainforest of the Ulu Temburong National Park, and it is here where the next generation of local scientists collaborate with their internationally acclaimed peers in research, teaching and training, in defence of our shared natural heritage.

Hanyroll H. Ahmadsah

Michal Sochor

Ulmar Graffe

Institute for Biodiversity & Environmental Research

2

BiG: How many people actively use the centre?

KBFSC: For the past few years, we have received on average over 350 people per year at the field studies centre. We have students from local schools for the KBFSC Environmental Education Programme. We have also hosted students from both local and international institutions for our field programmes. In addition to this it is also the site for many research activities conducted in collaboration with UBD researchers. The field courses conducted also involve citizen scientists who carry out Biodiversity related institutes and organisations from ASEAN member states, and also from other countries in Asia consisting of China, South Korea, Japan, India, as well as European and countries such as the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Austria, in addition to

projects. The centre is also involved in several training programmes.

BiG: How many international partnerships does the centre have across the world?

KBFSC: We have partnered with some of the most prestigious institutes and organisations worldwide. This partnership is partly due to the strategically diverse region that Brunei is located in which is known to have habitats comprising unique features. Our regional collaborators consists of

1. The Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre. 2. Visiting students from Singapore’s River Valley High School. 3. A face-off between the photographer and a Spectacled Flowerpecker. 4. A small Thismia, also known as a Fairy Lantern. 5. A brown Belalong Tree Frog on a large flat leaf.

4

3

Australia and New Zealand, and the USA and Canada.

BiG: What interesting areas of research are being conducted, and what wildlife is out there that is completely unique to Brunei?

KBFSC: Ongoing research include the KBFSC Biodiversity Conservation Project where the project aims to conduct a preliminary conservation assessment of targeted surveys of trees, herbaceous plants, mammals, freshwater fish and birds. This serves as a baseline for further studies on biodiversity conservation of the area. Most of our studies have concentrated on tree and herbaceous plant diversity within existing 1-hectare plots, in addition to studies on invertebrates and frogs. Other important groups such as fish, mammals and birds within our research area remain largely understudied. Interestingly, the mammal group has recorded the first photographic evidence of the rare Borneo bay cat, as well as the elusive Sunda clouded leopard and marbled cat. The discovery of these wildcat species highlights the immense value of conservation in this area.

Researchers are constantly discovering new species of plants and animals such as the unique fairy lanterns – a parasitic plant that gets all or part of its food from fungi rather than photosynthesis. New species of Begonia have also been discovered. Just last year a new species of snail was discovered too. Snail species are likely to suffer from climate change because they are more sensitive to drought, temperature extremes and forest degradation. Other examples include the Belalong tree frog, which is endemic to Temburong and currently found to only inhabit small tributaries of both the Belalong and Temburong Rivers.

Bio-inspiration research is a relatively new area of study that the institution is also moving towards whereby novel materials, devices, and structures are developed which are inspired by technological and engineering solutions found in biological systems. The KBFSC is actively facilitating and partnering with researchers from several different faculties at the university.

5

BiG: Have Covid-19 regulations caused any problems with operations?

KBFSC: As with many other organisations affected by Covid19, we are no exception. We have recently been engaging with our counterparts and are currently planning several activities under both the education and research programmes. We will be running our Tropical research experience field programme in June 2021. We continue to engage with our international partners and will resume physical programmes once we are able to do so and in accordance with standard operating procedures.

BiG: The centre is approaching its 3rd decade of service. What plans are there for the future?

KBFSC: Facility upgrade is currently being planned. Not only will this increase our capacity but also upgrade our research infrastructure. The data collected from our forest dynamic plots since the centre’s establishment provide invaluable information in climate change research. We anticipate more projects relating to climate change in collaboration with international partners as it is a global issue, and will raise the profile of the KBFSC as a centre for excellence in tropical biodiversity research.

For more information check out: FB: Kuala Belalong Fsc Iber IG: ubd.iber.kbfsc Twitter: UBD_IBER Website: iber.ubd.edu.bn

The Voice

of the Voiceless

Operating in both Brunei and Sabah, the 1StopBorneo Wildlife conservation group has steadily grown in numbers since its creation in 2012. The founder, president and 14 committee members hailing from across Brunei, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, and The Netherlands, despite their varying professional backgrounds are united in their love of nature and the creatures that call it home. Engaging in wildlife rescue services because “releasing a native animal that can once again live wild and free is satisfying”, as well as “being the voice of these voiceless animals” and “capturing every frame of Borneo’s wildlife to show the world their beauty through my lens”, are just a few of the beliefs of a grouping that some refer to as the unsung heroes.

1StopBorneo Wildlife

BiG: Your organisation has a diverse array of personalities. How did you all meet?

1Stop: All due to a various turn of events. For example I met Bud Chapman when I organised a trip for the Brunei Nature Society. I met Chun when I gave a lecture at the Universiti Malaysia Sabah. Ledumin is an ex poacherturned-guide who I met when buying durians in his village. The list goes on. We all had one thing in common. Love for animals and to be the voice of the voiceless. It has been a difficult process due to finances. I have lost several great people, because in the early days we had no money for full time salaries, and even now it’s a big struggle. Most of these lost talents are currently in Brunei.

1

BiG: Your projects focusing on dolphins and elephants caught our eye. What can you tell us about them?

1Stop: If you want to see elephants, traditionally you go to the Kinabatangan River or Danum Valley. Most if not all elephant deaths take place in palm oil plantations as many live in or pass through them, which also causes financial damage. Chun and I then came

1. 1StopBorneo Wildlife founder, Shavez Cheema, rides in the back of a pick-up with 2 other volunteer-members of the team. 2. The grouping’s president, Chun Xing Wong squats aside a turtle passing by. 3. Two team members pose for a photo with a Bornean Pygmy Elephant in the backdrop. 4. Volunteer member Yulinda Wahyuni joins the team in reforestation efforts.

2

up with the Elephant Tourism in Palm Oil plantations idea. That’s mental, some people said. Westerners would never go to a palm oil plantation for that. Two years later it’s one of our most successful projects. Plantations earn money through tourists who pay for vehicles, meals, guides, trees, etc. Now plantation staff view elephants as an asset, not a liability. It’s only been done in one plantation but we believe it will be successful in others. It’s the first of its kind project in the world. Tourists plant native trees in the corridor in the morning and in the afternoon act as rangers when looking for elephants. The dolphin project is similar but takes place on a boat. We hire fishermen and turn them into guides. We do dolphin surveys with paying visitors and we make local schools surrounding the estuaries go plastic bag free. Focus is on the Irrawaddy and Humpback dolphins.

BiG: You host various animal spotting expeditions. Do your members have specialty backgrounds on these species?

1Stop: First of all we all are not biologists. Secondly, you don’t need to be one to be an expert in the field! My interests have always been mammals and snakes. Chun’s has been arthropods. Martin likes butterflies. I learnt a lot about frogs from University Brunei Professor Dr. Ulmar Graffe, and mudskippers from Gianluca Polgar. Every weekend in Brunei I was in the Teraja jungle. In Sabah, it’s almost 24/7. I am in a National Park right now as I respond to you. As you stay in the forest daily you experience something new and get to know it more. We sometimes get clients who are experts on a particular species so our job is to organise an expedition, and in the end we learn from them and have fun at the same time! Passion drives us. Experience has molded us.

BiG: The poacher-turn-tour guide programme seems very useful. Are they difficult to convert to a good cause?

1Stop: First of all, most poachers are good people. We are privileged. We drive cars, we have phones, we went to decent schools, and we can choose what to eat on the weekends. These guys want the same thing for themselves and their kids. Due to their lot in life and various reasons they have resorted to hunting so they can earn money for the exact same things. So when we offer them a job or a course to change the way they ‘shoot’, from a gun to a camera, most are straight away on it. The answer is, it is easy, especially if you have the money to run these programmes as 99% are good people. For more information check out: IG: @ wildlifeclub FB: 1StopBorneo Wildlife Website: 1stopborneo.org

4

BiG: It isn’t all about the wildlife though. You also engage in planting activities as part of reforestation recovery efforts too, yes?

1Stop: Yes, and not just any reforestation, but ficus restoration. You see wildlife’s favourite food is ficus also known as figs. We try to collect fruiting figs whenever they are available and whenever we see wildlife eating them. Why plant just any tree for the sake of planting when you can plant something worthwhile of quality. We currently have a reforestation project to reconnect fragmented forest reserves.

BiG: Has Covid-19 been an obstacle to operations?

1Stop: Yes in many ways. Due to lockdowns, most projects were inaccessible for a long period of time. For example, the Marudi Project has been totally halted as entering Sarawak has been almost impossible and there isn’t much domestic tourism. The Dolphin Project has been affected a bit as going out to sea was difficult. The Elephant Project site was affected too due to closures and education programmes disturbed. Money to run operations is being exhausted. Rescues have been happening regularly and so have many other cool projects but it’s a one-way flow of revenue now. It’s going to be disastrous if this continues to go on but I see a light at the end of the tunnel.

BiG: You guys and gals are almost a decade old now. What do you hope to accomplish over the next two decades?

1Stop: I can’t believe that we are almost a decade old. It was only yesterday we launched our organisation in Maktab Duli and now we have gone global and making impacts bigger than ever. The future will see a fusion of our projects as they mature covering the creation of a new national park, and the opening of a Loris rehabilitation centre, and a field centre. Implementing the plant4borneoelephants project on more plantations, and expanding the Dolphin Project to all Bornean states. Planting 200,000 trees to reconnect 10 fragmented reserves. Introducing Pangolin tourism, while training a generation of wildlife tracking lawyers, as well as producing several more publications as we promote conservation tourism.

We are Proud

to Help

In a wonderful show of support for our tropical island haven: A United Kingdom-based charity – Project Borneo –continuously strives to create innovative projects and sustainable solutions to the myriad problems threatening our precious ecosystems and their inhabitants. Providing major support to Malaysian conservation efforts, this organisation was the natural by-product of Founder & CEO, Leo Biddle’s original initiative – Project Orangutan. This naturalist and his team belong to the pioneering generation that established ethical wildlife tourism. An evolution of their original mission focusing on the real ‘Men of the Jungle’, their frequent encounters with the diverse array of wildlife here led them to the realisation “We could be doing so much more.”

Project Borneo

1

BiG: Why did you set your eyes on Borneo as a place for this undertaking?

LEO: Largely by chance, I was offered the opportunity to consult on a struggling rehabilitation project by another small organisation initially only for orangutans. As I’d never been to Borneo I leapt at the opportunity. After arriving it became apparent the project needed a lot of practical help and funding if it was to succeed. At the same time the longer I stayed and tried to help the more rescue animals were coming in that required urgent 24/7 attention. Eventually I took over the project, increased its scope and formed Project Orangutan (now Project Borneo).

BiG: It is heartwarming to see that you have broadened your scope. Was this always part of the plan?

LEO: Absolutely, problems rarely exist in isolation and I suspect that workable solutions share that in common. I’m English, but if I came across a sinking boat filled with children from all around the world I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d limit any assistance I could provide to only the ones from the UK. At the other end of the question if we stop hunters illegally poaching that can be seen as a good thing; but regardless of how I might perceive the value of an orangutan life saved I may have at the same time deprived a subsistence hunter gatherer of the means to feed his family who he may perceive to hold a higher value than the protein they were hunting for. At the same time you have all manner of socioeconomic, geopolitical, cultural, scientific and legal factors that are involved in protecting both species and the large resource rich habitats that they need to survive. There’s at times a simplified and popular depiction of what wildlife protection involves, something along the lines of save monkey > love monkey > release monkey back to the wild. Alas if only it were that simple, if only the untouched untamed wild places of the world still existed as it can be tempting to imagine they do.

2

BiG: Could you describe for us a typical day of running the Matang Wildlife Centre?

LEO: To be clear that particular centre is managed by the relevant wildlife authorities of Sarawak, who we’ve been working with very closely for the last 16 years. We provide daily support in a wide range of things from animal husbandry, enrichment, veterinary care, building new enclosures, monitoring released animals, maintaining and scaling our micro farming projects to reduce the cost of feeding so many animals. Everyday is typically a busy mix of all of those elements.

4

BiG: Can you define for us the concept of ethical wildlife tourism?

LEO: That’s a very broad question that would require a very lengthy answer. In distillate – Wildlife tourism that places at its heart inherent value on wild animals in wild spaces minimally impacted upon by the presence of the tourist is generally accepted as ethical. Tourism practices and projects that serve up animal interactions or viewings with the satisfaction of paying participants at its heart are at the opposite end of that spectrum – picture riding elephants or playing with baby lion cubs.

BiG: Are you satisfied with the progress made since the inception of the centre?

LEO: Yes and no. I think many animal rescue centres all around the world face an almost impossible situation if the rate of animals arriving is high whether they be puppies, bears or great apes. I’m immensely proud of the collaboration at the centre leading to so many animals being released or simply rescued and cared for from frequently miserable or torturous conditions. We’ve been a part of some great innovations, medical near miracles and scientific discoveries. However as the standard of care, survivorship and life expectancy has increased so do the costs and at a rate far disproportionate to the funding. For example in any given year the centre could rescue or receive say 5 sun bears that were kept as pets when small and not really viable candidates for release. Lifetime care costs per bear could easily be $50,000USD, to build an enclosure to keep them in and staff to care for them would cost maybe the same again. So your funding need could increase by half a million USD for just one species! After a year like 2020 where nearly all our charity’s funding comes from international volunteers or local non-profit businesses that are currently unable to operate. It’s frankly nightmarish for our efforts to date and much of the progress of the last decade and a half has been undone.

BiG: Has Covid-19 been an obstacle to operations?

LEO: Not at all, aside from all of the world’s media talking endlessly about it, I would not have noticed Covid-19 any more than any previous respiratory virus. The global restrictions on travel however and the increasingly permanent curtailment of civil liberties across the multifarious communities and nations that make up our species. They have been absolutely devastating to my charity and businesses’ operations, not least because they caused 97% of my staff to lose their jobs over the last year.

BiG: This year marks your 15th anniversary. Where do you think you will be 15 more years down the path?

That’s very hard to predict in such unprecedented times. However if I am still alive; I would be confident that I will be using them as best as I can to alleviate suffering in humans and animals to the best of my abilities wherever I am.

1. Project Borneo Founder, Leo Biddle. 2. A veterinarian performing surgery on a Sun Bear. 3. A Sunda Pangolin. 4. An Orangutan. 5. Leo Biddle and team members carrying a lengthy python at the Matang Wildlife Centre.

For more information check out: FB: Project Borneo IG: projectborneo_org Website: projectborneo.org

Winning &Hearts Minds

Pursuing an environmental grassroots approach in order to enact locally led conservative solutions, the awesome humans who make up Planet Indonesia, led by American national Adam Miller have created a model for which its principles revolve around a core fact. That conservation is at its most effective when local resource-users in the area define the rules of engagement and stewardship. This group simply creates ideal conditions and helps facilitate the process. By enabling communities to lead the way, social, economic, and governance-related barriers are removed. Through these Conservation Cooperatives: hearts are won and friends are made, resulting in tangible impacts achieved through the education and raising of awareness regarding the environment, which we cannot afford to lose.

Planet Indonesia

BiG: Of all the places on the planet to focus your conservation efforts, why Borneo?

Adam: Surprisingly it was an accident. I first moved to Indonesia via the Fulbright programme and was meant to be placed in Maluku. I was quite interested in the Indonesian parrot trade and had planned to turn a small project there into a PhD. Due to social conflict at my site I was notified that I would be moved to Kalimantan. I of course had heard of Borneo, one is hard pressed to find an environmentalist that hasn’t, but to be honest I was a bit bummed. My project in Maluku had been a few years in the making and it all went down the drain in a few weeks. But, that was almost 8 years ago and I haven’t left Borneo since. It was immediate love at first sight. The world’s 3rd largest island hosts some of the planet’s rarest species, and the forests here are quite literally the lungs of Southeast Asia.

1. A volunteer member in the field holding up a sapling. 2. An Orangutan. 3 & 4. Planet Indonesia founder, Adam Miller, sharing a laugh with local villagers & in a group photo with students and government officials. 5. A Five-Banded Gliding Lizard grips onto a tree trunk..

BiG: What kind of programmes do you enact, and how effective has this people oriented approach been overall?

Adam: From the beginning, we believed in delivering an evidencebased model that is driven by listening, responding, and adapting to the opportunities and challenges faced by communities. Inevitably, conservation is embedded in this. When more than 80% of the population is engaged in a livelihood that is underpinned by the health of the sea, land, or forest, conservation and human wellbeing cannot be separated. From there, our on-site interventions are co-designed areas we are working. From 17 households, a few years back to well over 3,000, the adoption of the Conservation Cooperative approach has quite literally gone viral in West Kalimantan. But it hasn’t been easy, two steps forward, one step back. Many communities have been apprehensive. There is a history of distrust between local communities and government, NGOs, and social-environmental programming. And to be honest, this distrust is warranted. Too many programmes from both the private and public sector are short-term, designed in a top-down process, and don’t truly value the rights, needs, and aspirations of

through community partnerships and built upon the values, needs, and aspirations of communities that partner with us to address issues at the social-ecological nexus. Our organisation believes it is imperative to shift conservation from a symptomatic reactive model towards an inclusive proactive approach that positions communities behind the wheel in determining their socialecological trajectory.

BiG: How many different communities have you engaged with via these Conservation Cooperatives?

Adam: We have quite literally seen “conservation go viral” in the

local communities. I always tell our staff our model has a lot of services and intricacies yes. But ultimately it is one pathway: relationships – trust – impact. Our dedication to listening, co-design, and addressing needs opens the door for healthy horizontal relationships.

BiG: Exactly what sort of work is done in the field?

Adam: We engage communities in land and sea management in a number of ways. For example, each Conservation Cooperative manages a communityled Spatial, Monitoring, and Reporting Tool (SMART) patrol team. This puts communities back behind the wheel of managing and protecting their own land and seascapes. This ranges from migrant fishers or poachers, to industrial agriculture and development. A variety of Conservation Cooperatives also manage restoration and agroforestry units. Since January of this year alone more than 25,000 seedlings have been planted in degraded coastal areas, and almost the same amount on community lands. In areas where communities have secured tenure over their resources, we help develop management plans and support quarterly evaluations. This year we are excited that we are just a few weeks away from creating the island’s first locally managed marine area. This will cover a vast stretch of mangroves and fisheries, and represents years of work bringing multiple communities to collaboratively manage and set aside no-take zones to produce long-term conservation outcomes.

2 FOR MORE INFORMATION CHECK OUT: FB: Planet Indonesia IG: planetindonesia Website: planetindonesia.org

3 4

BiG: You are making a positive impact on human lives. On the flipside of that coin, how damaging and threatening are negative human pursuits, such as poaching?

Adam: I remember when we first started working on Gunung Niut, one of our project sites, it was more common to hear a chainsaw or a gunshot than a hornbill. We have come a long way, in fact from some 3,000km patrolled there over the past few years we have seen rates and detections of poaching reduced by 96%. But when your baseline is so high, we still have ways to go. Overfishing, poaching, logging, forest conversion is rampant across the island. It is why this area has seen some of the highest rates of deforestation and biodiversity loss on the planet.

BiG: Has Covid-19 been an obstacle to operations?

Adam: Last year was one of the most challenging years we have faced. But I am so proud of my team and our community partnerships, I believe we have come out even stronger than before. We were able to remain agile, pivot, and provide covid relief of over USD 200,000 since the start of the pandemic till March 2021. We grew our community health programme from just 2 villages in 5 2019 to every single village we work with in 2020. Despite the pandemic, we were still able to open a new project site in the Arabella-schwanner landscape, an area that hosts Borneo’s largest remaining orangutan population.

BiG: This year marks the group’s 7th anniversary. Based on the progress made thus far, where do you all see yourself in 20 years time?

Adam: We believe grassroots bottom-up approaches are the answer to the many social and environmental justice issues our planet faces. Our hope now is scale-out, to create new partnerships with like-minded high-performing organisations, and support emerging leaders in that process. Our dream is to build a global movement born from grassroots collaboration. People often think that bottom-up approaches are small in scale, provide answers to only “local” issues, and that for systemic change top-down policy driven mechanisms are the answer to delivering solutions at scale. However, we have seen our model go viral in West Kalimantan, and it’s starting to spill over. This year we are also supporting partners in 6 parts of eastern Indonesia to adopt various aspects of our approach. Therefore, in just the next 3 years there will already be a national network of activities deploying community-led conservation models.

Born of Academia

In 1990 British Zoology students, Simon Husson and Dr. Helen Morrogh-Bernard, during a research expedition to the Sebangau Forest discovered a bleak scenario being experienced by the largest orangutan population in lowland Borneo due to a host of issues. After a quarter century of hard work, their OuTrop grouping evolved into The Borneo Nature Foundation (BNF), operating in the Rungan River Forest and Barito Ulu Highlands as well as Sebangau. Now, teams of scientists engage in multi-species projects across several Bornean habitats. Born out of a passion for scientific research, they strive to conserve these critical habitats by empowering the local community.

Abi Gwynn

Jorian Hendricks

Duncan Murrell

Jack Lammas

2

1. A Man of the Jungle surveys the forest floor from a tree above. 2. A Damselfly perches on a finger. 3. The Borneo Nature Foundation team in a group shot with local community members. 4. A tree frog grips the side of a tree trunk as it plans its next move. 5. An owl gazes intently on the humans passing on by. BiG: From an outsider’s glance, BNF engages in various activities to further its aspirations. How do you perceive yourself?

BNF: We are proud of our integrated, multifaceted and science-based approach to conservation. We understand that effective conservation relies on scientific research, community-led initiatives, flexibility in land designations, economic benefits, and education of the next generation. BNF has a particularly strong scientific basis and years of expertise through our founders and directors, which delivers high success rates for our projects. We do not see ourselves as the core change-makers. We help facilitate change through the needs and desires of local communities by improving sustainable livelihood opportunities.

BiG: How much of a difference does the empowerment of local communities make? Are there tangible effects and results from this human capacity building?

BNF: Community-led conservation is the key to successful projects and is at the centre of all our work. BNF has seen fantastic results so far. One of our biggest initiatives is the community nursery scheme, established to reforest the burned peatlands of the Sebangau Forest and to provide income through a sustainable livelihood. Since 2018, we have established 6 community nurseries in the villages of Kereng Bangkirai and Sabaru involving 42 families and have planted over 50,000 trees. The community seedling nurseries scheme will be expanded to new villages in 2021.

Patrol and firefighting teams are established to monitor the forest for fires and illegal activity. In the Rungan landscape, we work with communities to expand the national social forestry programme allowing communities to manage their forests. We train community members in cultivation of kelulut honey, aquaculture as a sustainable alternative to improving the local economy, and gardening of food crops for permaculture. We have seen a tangible benefit within communities with an average of an 80% positive increase in perception of forests, orangutan conservation, and wildlife, and understanding and knowledge of peat ecosystem services, threats, and conservation solutions.

BiG: We found the idea of a children’s book endearing. How fun of a project was it to pursue? Did Sir David Attenborough’s involvement lend it any ‘star’ power?

BNF: This project was incredible fun and was born from the passion for spreading the word of conservation to the youth and the need to highlight the horrors of the 2015 fires. It was developed in line with the IUCN Year of the Gibbon in 2015. It was our gibbon and orangutan research scientists who devised the idea, collaborating alongside our education and communication teams, allowing ‘The Little Gibbon Who Lost His Song’ to come to life. It has been a great success in Indonesian schools and is regularly used in our education outreach sessions. BNF was lucky enough to gain David Attenborough’s support of this book, which has given the book popularity among the international audience too. We are in the process of developing an audiobook app to go along with

our children’s book, so keep an eye out for this exciting release!

4

BiG: You have won some impressive awards and accolades in recent history. This provides your group with credence, but does it translate into something workable on the ground?

BNF: We have been the recipient of multiple awards including: Fondation Ensemble Special Prize for Endangered Species, Keeling Curve Prize 2020, UpLink Trillion Trees Challenge and People’s Choice Award at the World Economic 5 Forum Sustainable Development Impact Summit 2020, and Zoological Society of London Marsh Award for Conservation Biology. These awards recognise our hard work and commitment to the conservation of Borneo’s forests and help us to build a network of collaborators and partners who can assist us with implementing actions and expanding the reach of our work. They show that we are a highly reputable organisation carrying out globally important work, encouraging others to support and donate to our efforts.

BiG: Has Covid-19 been an obstacle to operations?

BNF: The COVID-19 pandemic has created challenges for BNF. Our highest priority is the safety and wellbeing of our staff, their families and the communities we work with, and the wildlife we work so hard to protect. Our field monitoring research in Sebangau and Rungan has been able to continue but for over a year, we have had to suspend direct follows of orangutans, gibbons and red langurs that form the core of our long-term primate behavioural ecology research to avoid unnecessary risk to the primates. Our education, training and outreach activities that involve physical groupings have been heavily affected, though our innovative team members have been able to devise ways for most of these to still continue to some extent. Luckily, BNF has been able to continue biodiversity monitoring research in the Sebangau forest.

BiG: What additional goals does the organisation have for the future? What do you hope to have achieved, and where do you see yourselves 20 years from now?

BNF: We are committed to longterm, sustainable, and landscapewide conservation. On the specific matter of peatland protection, restoration and fire prevention, we hope to be able to scale up our activities, and crucially, build capacity and networks so that our grassroots fire prevention approach is adopted throughout the region. Beyond this, we want to take a regional approach, ensuring resilience to climate change in the forest conservation sector; promoting sustainable development by all industry and regions of Central Kalimantan; identifying priority sites where biodiversity is threatened; and encouraging communities and local NGO’s to take a stronger management role.

For more information check out: IG: @borneo.nature FB: Borneo Nature Foundation Twitter: @BorneoNature W: borneonaturefoundation.org

snapshot

The secretive Sunda clouded leopard remains still as it surveys an area during the night within the Deramakot Forest Reserve, in the Malaysian state of Sabah, on Borneo Island. With a total population estimated to be at less than 10,000 adults, this medium-sized species of wildcat, which is the largest predator on the Island can weigh up to 26kg. Threatened by deforestation, they were placed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List in 2015, and are usually found in lowland forest and logging areas in Borneo, as well as hilly montane areas in Indonesian Sumatra.

The Tree of Life

Visuals as a medium for storytelling can often make a heck of an impact, especially when the lens of a camera rests in the hands of a professional. The effectiveness of extending the reach of any story however – despite the presence of platforms that enable a person to be a one-person show in this day and age – often depends on cooperation with a partner. Be it government, private, community-based or all of the above, things run more smoothly when a grouping enters the picture. Fortunately for biologist-turned-photographer, Chien C Lee, the creative collective of personas that make up the GMBB Mall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, were ready to lend a helping hand.

buzz

Based in Bukit Bintang, Level 3 of the creative community mall is currently hosting the Tree of Life exhibition, a wondrous look into the complex ancient ecosystem of the Borneo rainforest. With stunning imagery representing the denizens of the deep green kingdom of fauna and flora, the exhibition spans 15 years of Chien C Lee’s dedication to showcasing the wild untamed beauty of the island’s raw jungle. The photographs on display were selected specifically to highlight the extreme diversity of natural life here, in addition to their interconnectedness and fragility. Taking into account that this passionate naturalist’s works have made it to the pages of the National Geographic, the halls of The Smithsonian, and the recordings of the BBC; this presentation shines a spotlight on various species that have developed clever adaptations for survival. A picture is worth a thousand words and the stories behind each of these images is but one chapter in the story that is the Tree of Life. The exhibition, which commenced on the first day of this New Year, is scheduled to run for six months until June, and will be accompanied by a backdrop of sounds provided by Chien C Lee, and smells provided by OLFAC3, for an immersive experience.

FOR MORE INFORMATION DIRECT YOUR ENQUIRIES TO:

FB: GMBB IG: @gmbb.kl

GMBB MALL LOCATION:

Jalan Robertson, Bukit Bintang, 50150, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Let’s Build a Youth Centre!

It’s been an awfully busy few months for the Brunei-based creative media marketing and events management company, the Blue Raincoat Collective, or as they are more casually known – The Collective. Actually, allow me a moment to retract that redundant statement. Delete, delete, delete, because for anyone remotely familiar with their endeavours over the years since their inception, this is a grouping that is seldom unoccupied.

With the aim of boosting the Kampong Ayer community’s overall long-term development via a multitude of upskilling programmes, The Collective, collaborated with Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah to bring about the opening of a new youth centre in the vicinity of the Water Village’s Kampong Bolkiah ‘B’. The Ristaan Abadi Initiative, as this community-enhancing project has come to be known celebrated its latest success in mid-March with the launching of the area’s new youth centre.

With the much appreciated assistance of sponsors inclusive of The Institution of Surveyors, Engineers and Architects (PUJA), Fabular Co, Kenview, Dimension, Tree Lane Farm, Brunei Timber Company (B) Sdn Bhd, LATUK, and AIFA; this project which was kick-started in November 2020 was well-received by those its existence will serve. The residential unit was completely transformed, renovated into a large modern open concept space outfitted with elegant furnishings and amenities, as a locale built for the hosting of workshops and events. The promotion and boosting of literacy and development skills among the area’s youths is a positive step forward, and one that has now been realised courtesy of the generosity of those involved.

The day of the opening itself saw a welcoming speech and presentation from PUJA, prior to the handing out of certificates of appreciation. The ceremony culminated in a video presentation of the residential unit’s transformation process. Well done everyone, seriously, job well done!