OPENING REMARKS
BY HON. DATO SRI DOUGLAS UGGAH EMBAS,
MINISTER OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT, MALAYSIA
MINISTER OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT, MALAYSIA
IN CONJUNCTION WITH
THE ORANG UTAN VETERINARY ADVISORY WORKSHOP 2012
9 -10 JULY 2012
YBhg. Prof. Datin Paduka Dr. Aini Ideris
Deputy Vice Chancellor,
Universiti Putra Malaysia
Y.Bhg. Datuk Dr. Abdul Rahim bin Nik
Deputy Secretary General
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment
Dr Raffaella Commitante
Orang utan Conservancy USA,
Dr Steve Unwin
Chester Zoo United Kingdom,
Dr Wendy Bailey
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom,
Prof Dato’ Dr Abdul Rani Bahaman
Centre of Excellence for Wildlife Research & Conservation,
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia
Distinguished Delegates,
Members of the media,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
A very Good Morning, Selamat Sejahtera and Salam 1Malaysia
First and foremost, I would like to extend a warm Selamat Datang to our distinguished foreign delegates, International Agencies, Federal and State Government agencies, Institutes of Higher Learning and all of you to the Orang utan Veterinary Advisory Group Workshop 2012 in Kuala Lumpur or in short called the OVAG Workshop.
2. I would also like to record my appreciation to the organizers for inviting me to give a few words and officially open this workshop. I understand that this workshop is part of the on-going efforts by the global orang utan conservation community to share research and information between experienced veterinary staff. I was informed that the OVAG workshops strive to bring various experts in and outside of orang utan range countries such as the USA, United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, Australia, Taiwan, and also in the orang utan range countries which are Indonesia and Malaysia together to increase and share their knowledge.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
3. Malaysia as you all know is blessed with rich biodiversity and houses some of the most majestic species such as the Malayan Tiger, Malayan Tapir, Seladang and Orang Utan. Some of these amazing animals such as the orang utan is only found in Indonesia and Malaysia and our tiger is also identified as a distinct subspecies. In this regard, Malaysia is indeed very honoured to be given the opportunity to host this important workshop which will further enhance our collective global efforts to conserve wildlife with a focus on orang utan. This is very much in line with the global Aichi Targets on Biodiversity from 2011 to 2020 which aims at reducing biodiversity loss and to enhance the conservation of endangered species.
4. Wildlife has long been a subject of human interest especially the scientific community. Since some regions house more species diversity such as our region, research on wildlife has attracted people from all over the world. Today’s workshop is an example of many countries coming together for a common goal for orang utan veterinary care and conservation. I was informed that a total of 50 international and local experts will meet at this year’s conference to share their knowledge and formulate effective protocols for disease treatment and control, rehabilitation, release and monitoring of orang utans. The gathering of experts, veterinarians, practitioners as well as orang utan conservationist at this conference which is dedicated to this amazing mammals, I am sure will generate outcomes that will enhance our current knowledge base.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
5. What is important is at the end of the day, all this must ensure that the conservation of orang utan is strengthened with solid scientific base. I too call upon the governments and managers of the habitats where this majestic animal dwells, to strengthen enforcement and ensure that their gazetted habitat is not disturbed, if we are really serious in seeing this species survive for generations to come.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
6. For Malaysians, the orang utan is very close to our heart. Therefore there is greater impetus for Malaysia to conserve this national treasure not only for the benefit of the current generation but more importantly for the generations to come. This makes a lot of sense in biodiversity conservation because the orang utan plays an important part to our ecosystem, and thus its conservation will translate into a healthier biodiversity.
7. Furthermore, orang utan have a unique role to play culturally in our society and ecologically in our natural ecosystem. Realizing this, I am proud to reiterate that Malaysia is committed in conserving this majestic and beautiful species. While we have this very strong commitment, we too are faced with many challenges as a young and fast growing nation. Our size of Protected Aras for Orang Utans are somewhat reaching a constant figure and all our conservation work in some areas have increased orang utan numbers significantly. In some orang utan sanctuaries I was informed they are operating beyond the carrying capacity. I was in Semenggoh Orang Utan Sanctuary in Sarawak during the weekend and was informed by the rangers there that the 653 hectare sanctuary houses some 28 orang utans currently, and they feel this is way above the carrying capacity and has caused wildlife human conflict. This issue is creating a lot of challenges and would need a new paradigm in managing this growing population and as we do not have new areas to house the wildlife.
8. I hope experts at this conference will also look at this issue seriously because in Malaysia our population is growing and we have a clear ambition to be a fully developed nation by 2020 but at the same time we need to ensure our wildlife and in this case orang utan human conflict is kept to the minimum. We need a clear science-policy interface given this scenario where wildlife and human can strive and live conflict free yet our nation realizing her development agenda and ensuring the conservation of our biodiversity. I hope to get some clear recommendation and guidance on this issue from the experts at this conference.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
9. While faced with the challenge mention above, the Government knows that it needs the support of various stakeholders such as academic experts in wildlife to assist in orang utan conservation. In Malaysia, we are fortunate to have the Centre of Excellence for Wildlife Research and Conservation, UPM which focuses in research and conservation of Malaysian wildlife. This Centre has worked closely with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and Department of Wildlife and National Parks Malaysia (PERHILITAN) on many issues relating to wildlife medicine, welfare, legislation, and conservation. To further strengthen this cooperation and working relationship, a Memorandum of Understanding with PERHILITAN was recently signed. The centre was established to be a reference point for wildlife research in the country, and to provide data on our local wildlife heritage which can be used by the government for formulating management plans and policies which will translate into better science-policy interface.
10. I was informed by UPM that they are studying the need to upscale this Centre into an Institute for Tropical Wildlife Research and Conservation to further expand its role in assisting various government agencies and to generate the much needed data on our local wildlife. This data is crucial and may be used for the conservation management of our wildlife and to identify key resources that could be harnessed for the creation of national wealth through ecotourism, wildlife entrepreneurs, alternative food resources, and for the sustainable management of our local biodiversity heritage as outlined in our National Biological Diversity Policy. I feel it is timely for UPM to be the pioneer university on wildlife research, since UPM houses the oldest veterinary faculty in this country. This move to establish this Institute I hope will attract more local researchers to study our wildlife as the numbers of our local researchers in this field is still very low.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
11. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has always advocated the importance on wildlife conservation. With the implementation of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010, we would ensure wildlife conservation efforts would be further augmented with clear provisions to cater for the well-being of wildlife and to enhance enforcement. In addition to that, the Act through its regulations outlines strict requirements for the health and safety of large mammals such as the orang utan in zoos. This shows our commitment in ensuring wildlife species are well-protected and taken care of.
12. Moreover, in Sabah, we are implementing the actions outlined in the Orang Utan Action Plan (2012-2016). This 5 year plan aims to secure the continued existence of viable orang utan populations in Sabah and to maintain the major wild populations in accordance with other management practices that exist for each specific forest. This is an ambitious yet strong commitment from the Government to protect and conserve the orang utan population and habitat. In Sarawak, I officiated the setting up of a Centre of Excellence for Orang Utang in 2010 located in the Batang Ai National Park. With the establishment of this centre, it will complement and enhance the current initiatives of the State Government. Sarawak too is poised to maintain her current numbers of wild orang utan population though I mentioned earlier some ofthese sanctuaries are already exceeding their carrying capacity.
13. Hence, I would like to reiterate that I am pleased that we are having a dedicated veterinary conference on orang utan, which I am sure will garner and enhance knowledge of this amazing mammals. The outcome of this conference, I hope will be captured in a form of proceeding and also be translated to actual actions on the ground. My expectation are that the actions emanating from this workshop, where we have some of the best known experts on orang utan, will enable better management of our orang utans which will have direct positive impact on their conservation.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
14. Before I end my speech, I wish all participants of the workshop a fruitful discussion. To our guests, do take your time from your busy schedule to sample not only our rich natural diversity but also our vibrant and colourful culture, representing Malaysia as truly Asia. You too are located in what is called as Kuala Lumpur’s Golden Triangle, which is a heaven for shopping. May your stay here, right in the heart of Kuala Lumpur be an enjoyable and memorable one.
15. I too would also like to place my appreciation to the organizing committee consisting of officials from University Putra Malaysia for the time and effort in making this workshop a reality. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to our international partners, Orang utan Conservancy USA, Chester Zoo and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine UK in keeping the conservation of orang utan high on the global agenda.
16. On this note, I declare the Orang utan Veterinary Advisory Group Workshop 2012 officially open. Thank you.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
11. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has always advocated the importance on wildlife conservation. With the implementation of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010, we would ensure wildlife conservation efforts would be further augmented with clear provisions to cater for the well-being of wildlife and to enhance enforcement. In addition to that, the Act through its regulations outlines strict requirements for the health and safety of large mammals such as the orang utan in zoos. This shows our commitment in ensuring wildlife species are well-protected and taken care of.
12. Moreover, in Sabah, we are implementing the actions outlined in the Orang Utan Action Plan (2012-2016). This 5 year plan aims to secure the continued existence of viable orang utan populations in Sabah and to maintain the major wild populations in accordance with other management practices that exist for each specific forest. This is an ambitious yet strong commitment from the Government to protect and conserve the orang utan population and habitat. In Sarawak, I officiated the setting up of a Centre of Excellence for Orang Utang in 2010 located in the Batang Ai National Park. With the establishment of this centre, it will complement and enhance the current initiatives of the State Government. Sarawak too is poised to maintain her current numbers of wild orang utan population though I mentioned earlier some ofthese sanctuaries are already exceeding their carrying capacity.
13. Hence, I would like to reiterate that I am pleased that we are having a dedicated veterinary conference on orang utan, which I am sure will garner and enhance knowledge of this amazing mammals. The outcome of this conference, I hope will be captured in a form of proceeding and also be translated to actual actions on the ground. My expectation are that the actions emanating from this workshop, where we have some of the best known experts on orang utan, will enable better management of our orang utans which will have direct positive impact on their conservation.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
14. Before I end my speech, I wish all participants of the workshop a fruitful discussion. To our guests, do take your time from your busy schedule to sample not only our rich natural diversity but also our vibrant and colourful culture, representing Malaysia as truly Asia. You too are located in what is called as Kuala Lumpur’s Golden Triangle, which is a heaven for shopping. May your stay here, right in the heart of Kuala Lumpur be an enjoyable and memorable one.
15. I too would also like to place my appreciation to the organizing committee consisting of officials from University Putra Malaysia for the time and effort in making this workshop a reality. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to our international partners, Orang utan Conservancy USA, Chester Zoo and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine UK in keeping the conservation of orang utan high on the global agenda.
16. On this note, I declare the Orang utan Veterinary Advisory Group Workshop 2012 officially open. Thank you.
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