In the Malayan rainforest, the tiger is the apex predator and symbol of an ancient ecosystem in balance. Here each creature has its place and is part of a greater whole. Over the last century, tiger numbers have fallen to worrying levels. The tiger is now Critically Endangered; there are fewer than 150 individuals now scattered throughout increasingly fragmented habitat. The future of the Malayan tiger now hangs in the balance. There is still hope, but we must act fast and decisively before it is too late.
Conservation in action
The national campaign to save the Malayan Tiger involves government agencies, conservation experts, NGOs, and a large enforcement effort to patrol tiger landscapes to intercept poachers and dismantle wildlife crime networks. However, for the tiger population to truly recover there is a need for a large inviolate area far from human presence. To this end, in July 2023, we celebrated something extraordinary – the establishment of the new Al-Sultan Abdullah Royal Tiger Reserve by the Pahang government. This will add an area of 92,602 hectares contiguous with Taman Negara National Park and tiger landscapes in adjacent states under active protection.
The Habitat Foundation is proud to have been closely involved in the initiative to protect this area since 2021, and we will continue to devote efforts to providing technical support to ensure it fulfills its species conservation objectives as well as benefits to local communities in adjacent areas in close collaboration with the Pahang State Park Corporation and Enggang Holdings.
A reason for hope - the Al-Sultan Abdullah Royal Tiger Reserve
In August 2023, the Pahang Government gazetted the Al-Sultan Abdullah Royal Tiger Reserve which will add a further 1,341 sq km or protected forest to Taman Negara National Park and other areas being actively managed as a rainforest refuge for wildlife. Protection teams are strategically patrolling the new Reserve and assisting the authorities in taking action against poachers. Work is also underway to restore habitats and boost prey populations such as sambar deer and wild boar.
Conservation biologists believe that this visionary action within the Greater Taman Negara Forest Complex offers significant potential to bring about the recovery of the Malayan tiger in the wild.
The establishment of the Tiger Reserve will also protect this pristine biodiversity hotspot, safeguard the upper catchment of the Tembeling River. Protected Area managers are also taking steps to create jobs and enhance local livelihoods through community-based tourism. In addition, the state is exploring how nature-based solutions in the wider landscape may also be operationalised to contribute to the state’s economy through various green financing and ESG mechanisms.
Taman Negara NP (4,343 sq km)
The oldest and largest National Park in Malaysia; established in 1938/1939. It straddles three Malaysian states.
Al-Sultan Abdullah Royal Tiger Reserve (1,341 sq km)
Established in 2023. It adds a contiguous area of pristine forest that is almost a quarter the size of Taman Negara NP.
The Habitat Foundation, working with Enggang Management Services, is providing both technical and financial support to tiger conservation in Pahang and is playing a key role in establishing the new Tiger Reserve.
All contributions to its Pahang Conservation Fund will go toward building the capacity of the Pahang State Park Corporation and other strategic actions to be undertaken in close collaboration with key national and state government agencies and conservation partners.
