The People Protecting Belum Temenggor

The Belum Temenggor forest reserve forms the last and largest contiguous block of natural forest in Peninsular Malaysia. Covering an area of over 300,000 hectares, the tropical rainforest is believed to be over 130 million years old, making it older than both the Amazon and the Congo. Home to a dazzling array of flora and fauna, including the endangered Malayan Tiger, the Royal Belum State Park is also home to the Jahai Orang Asli community that has been residing there for generations. Now, the Jahai community, together with the Perak State Park Corporation and NGO Rimau, have formed the Menraq Patrol Unit, to systematically patrol the forest to protect wildlife from poaching and trafficking activities. We find out more about how this initiative will help protect this vital ecosystem, and also provide an alternative livelihood to the members of Menraq - which means “the people'' in the language of the Jahai Orang Asli - and their village as a whole, from Mohamed Shah Redza Hussein, the Director of the Perak State Park Corporation.

 

Image source: Rimau