The Habitat Foundation

🌿 [Join Our Team!] 🌿 Do you love working with youth and children? Are you passionate about inspiring positive action for the environment? We’re looking for an enthusiastic new member to join our Education Team! In this role, you’ll help deliver engaging environmental education sessions across the diverse habitats of the Penang Hill Biosphere Reserve, sparking meaningful conversations about conserving our ecosystems. Check out the job details in the image and submit your application by 17 January 2025. We can’t wait to hear from you! #TheHabitatFoundation #ConserveEducateInspire #THF5thAnniversary  #JobOpportunity #EnvironmentalEducation #GreenJob #JoinOurTeam

OUR SHARED HABITAT, OUR SHARED DESTINY At The Habitat Foundation, our basic philosophy is that we are a part of nature. The earth is our home and our all lives are intertwined with the fate of the plants and creatures and the complex ecosystems of the land and the sea. We are the beneficiaries of nature and all its bounty, but we will know the consequences of failing to care for it. This is a sobering thought. But it is also a uniting one. Though we are small, from our base on Penang Island we are doing our part to reverse environmental degradation and habitat loss across Malaysia. We are proud to be counted among others that are also investing in conservation, education and sustainability initiatives. As we celebrate our 5th Anniversary, we are grateful to have added to our determined band a growing community of grantees, partners, collaborators, friends and supporters.  On this continuing journey, we do not know what the future holds, but we know that as long as nature persists, hope remains. #thehabitatfoundation #thehabitatpenanghill #conserveeducateinspire #sustainabletourismmalaysia #asartr #penanghillbiosphere #naturebasedsolutions #malaysianbiodiversity #oursharedhabitat

A New Chapter in Malaysia's Area-Based Conservation The Habitat Foundation is grateful to have had the opportunity to contribute to the development of Malaysia's own framework for Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) since its inception phase in 2019. This process has gained a new urgency under the leadership of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES) and we are greatly encouraged by the commitment towards a meaningful shift at the policy level to appreciate and embrace all the different ways in which conservation is expressed. By creating a more inclusive view of what conservation action can look like, it broadens our focus to include areas that are privately owned, sustainably managed by indigenous peoples or local communities, and even those that are protected primarily for different reasons, that confer significant conservation benefits. This transformation makes it possible to achieve effective in-situ biodiversity conservation outside protected areas as part of our national commitment under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).   On 11 - 12 November 2024, conservation practitioners, academics, state economic planning units, ministry officers, NGOs, and community representatives gathered in Subang Jaya for a technical workshop to finalise the national framework. The workshop was ably moderated by Prof. Amran Hamzah, Co-Chair of the Joint IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic, and Social Policy (CEESP) and World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA). THF’s Programme Director, Dr. Ahmad Zafir Bin Abdul Wahab attended. #TheHabitatFoundation #ConserveEducateInspire #THF5thAnniversary #WCPA  #Conservation #OECM #GlobalBiodiversityFramework

Pahang Nature Guides Deepen Their Knowledge of Native Birds and Fish Building on our inaugural session in early October, our team collaborated with the Pahang State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC Pahang) to organise another round of the Continuous Tourism-Related Education (CTRE) programme for Persatuan Pemandu Pelancong Alam Semulajadi Taman Negara Pahang Cawangan Merapoh. This session featured two esteemed experts: Mr. Yeap Chin Aik from the Malaysian Nature Society’s Hornbill Conservation Project and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Amirrudin Ahmad from Universiti Malaysia Terengganu’s Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development. They shared with participants insights into the diversity of hornbills and freshwater fish at Taman Negara Sungai Relau respectively, before a guided walk around the area. As Malaysia’s first and oldest protected area, Taman Negara has endless wonders to offer. By equipping nature guides with fresh insights and updated knowledge on local biodiversity, we hope to nurture a community that feels deeply connected to the natural world and committed to its protection. Stay tuned for more enriching sessions ahead! #TheHabitatFoundation #ConserveEducateInspire #THF5thAnniversary  #CTRE #NatureGuide #CommunityEmpowerment #Training #TamanNegara #SungaiRelau

The grim cycle of plastics means that they get created for a particular use, they get used one time (most are single use), and then they enter the environment, causing death and degradation in ways we are only beginning to comprehend fully. They’ll be doing so long after we die.

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The recent meeting of The Habitat Foundation trustees, partners, grantees and staff was an opportunity to honour our shared journey of the past 7 years, and to mark significant milestones both from our Foundation led-activities and the initiatives championed by THF Grant Recipients. We celebrated some of the wins across all our pillars of Conservation, Research, Education, Sustainability and Training. Rexy Prakash Chacko highlighted his quest to document orchid diversity within the Penang Hill Biosphere Reserve (PHBR) and to improve rare plant conservation and Dr. Jo Leen Yap of Langur Project Penang outlined plans to unveil a third arboreal crossing for wildlife living in fragmented habitats. Chee Hoy Yee shared the transformation of her inspiring regenerative agriculture project in Balik Pulau (Project MARS), and Tiana Mohamad of SEAMEO RECSAM shared how STEM teachers from ASEAN countries developed PhotoVoice approaches in the PHBR to teach students about human society and the natural environment.    Contemplating plans for 2025, we discussed the role for sustainable tourism in advancing Sustainable Development Goals in the northern states of Kedah and Perlis to build the case for protecting vital ecosystems and biodiversity sites. The presentation by Matt Benson of @mythinkcity of the amazing archaeogeotourism sites of Kedah and Perak gave us much inspiration for supporting new Community-based tourism initiatives in these landscapes! With further inputs from our new Trustees, Dr. Isabelle Louis and Prof. Dr. Amran Hamzah, both of whom have played roles in developing policy and criteria for ecotourism planning and development we are excited for the potential for positive impact in the coming year! #TheHabitatFoundation #ConserveEducateInspire #THF5thAnniversary #THFGrants #THFPartners #sustainabletourismMY #conscioustravelcommunity

[Grants Update] Did you know that plastic never fully decomposes? It can take anywhere from 20 to 500 years for plastic to break down into smaller pieces, but it will always remain in our ecosystem. That’s why environmental education on plastics is so important for our future. Dr. Fikriah and her Marine Plastic School team from IIUM are inspiring the next generation to take action, empowering young minds with knowledge that fosters a deeper connection to caring for our oceans. Through their efforts, they’re encouraging sustainable practices that will help protect these vital ecosystems for years to come. Read along to explore their impactful work. #TheHabitatFoundation #ConserveEducateInspire #THF5thAnniversary #THFGrants #THFGrants2024 #Education #EnvironmentalEducation #Plastic #Marine #Ocean

[Grants Update] Did you know that reforestation is more complex than it seems? Choosing the right trees is critical to effectively restore a forest or green space! This is why Bringing Back Our Rare Animals (BORA) is initiating research to study the best methods for growing Berembang (𝘚𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴) seedlings. In many restoration projects around the Kinabatangan Floodplains of Sabah, the common tree species used don’t benefit local wildlife much. The Berembang tree, however, has the potential to transform the landscape and support more biodiversity. Explore the benefits of Berembang and learn more about the project’s progress in the photos! #TheHabitatFoundation #ConserveEducateInspire #THF5thAnniversary  #THFGrants #THFGrants2024 #Conservation #Restoration  #Berembang #Mangrove #BORA #Kinabatangan

Happy International Gibbon Day 2024! One of the perks of our work is the opportunity to spend time in the forested areas of Malaysia. And if we are lucky, we will hear the musical calls of wild gibbons, our enchanting singing apes! These small apes are known for their beautiful duets. Mating pairs sing together every morning to bond as a family unit and to mark out their territory to neighbouring groups. Their mastery of the rainforest canopy is legendary and they are able to travel effortlessly through the treetops, rarely descending to the forest floor. On International Gibbon Day, we celebrate the irreplaceable biodiversity of the Malayan rainforest. If the songs of gibbons continue to be heard, we know that nature endures.  Here are some moments captured by our team at our project sites. What do you think these singing apes are thinking? Share your thoughts in the comments below! #TheHabitatFoundation #ConserveEducateInspire #THF5thAnniversary #Gibbon #SmallApe #InternationalGibbonDay