TUNZA ICCE 2006 PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION REPORT
je_da_men@hotmail.com
It takes a village to grow a child. It takes the world to grow a tree. It is not of man’s
need rather it is man’s greed that trees are being cut down, that animals have no
homes, that crystal clear water turns murky and blue skies turn grey.
We as MAN must do something to stop our selves from turning our beautiful world into
a grey and desolate place. Trees contribute a lot to life. We must remember to save a
tree is to save humanity.
Hi! I am Jes Ebrahim Izaidin and I am one of the 11 International Junior Board members
for the 2006 TUNZA International Children’s Conference on the Environment.
Since my election to the Junior Board at the 2005 Children’s World Summit on the
Environment at Aichi, Japan, I have visited several of Malaysia’s rainforests and
natural wonders such as The Belum-Temenggor forest, The Lanjut forest near Endau-
Rompin, Kinabatangan River, Sabah Turtle Islands, The Bunus River and Penchala
river projects, Labuk Bay Proboscic Monkey and The Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuaries,
and finally, to my alma mater Bukit Damansara Primary School recycling and wildlife
conservation program with the aim of producing this report in regards to rainforest and
wildlife habitat conservation.
By the way, Malaysia has the world’s oldest rainforest with one of the largest range of
bio-diversity.
I have observed both the beauty of the forest with it’s wonderful animals, flora and
fauna that must remain as a world heritage for all, and also the ugly side of man’s
actions which to me is worst than the beast that resides deep in the jungle.
If we continue over logging and clear the forest for human settlements and plantations,
than we would have traded the real treasures that nature has given us with a few coins.
My visit to The Belum-Temenggor forest with the Malaysian Nature Society(MNS),
which is the country's leading forest conservation NGO, saw why it’s remaining
140,000 hectares plays an important role as a green corridor to Malaysia’s central
forest reserve.
The threat of legal and illegal logging must be stopped in order to protect the rich bio-
diversity that is not available anywhere else in the world. This includes one of the 8 out
of 13 species of Rafflesia which is the world’s largest and worst smelling flower.
The Belum-Temenggor is a huge forest in the Perak State of Malaysia. It is around 130
million years old!! It is home to 11 endangered species of mammals such as the
Malayan Tiger,Sumatran Rhino,Tapir, Asian Elephant and many more! This is also the
only place in the world where a flock of all 11 species of Hornbills come together during
the fruiting season and for what? Even scientists don’t have the answer for that.
There are many types of herbs and plants that can cure many major diseases like aids
and cancer. It is truly a medicine treasure chest. This forest is rich with so many
wonderful things that can be shared with the world to discover!! But, the sad thing is,
this forest is being logged for economic reasons. Even though, half of this forest is
officially gazetted as a state park, both legal and illegal logging is still taking place.
However, the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) Belum-Temenggor forest conservation
campaign has started to distribute the petition post-cards. I have helped them to
distribute it in schools and my neighborhood.
Meanwhile, at The Lanjut Forest in the South of Malaysia adjacent to the Endau
Rompin forest which incidentally is famous world wide with the supposedly sightings of
Big Foot and its footprints, I participated with the YAWA Youth in the Lanjut
conservation research program. This project was organized by the YAWA Junior Board
with the support of Uncle Adly, Aunty Shima, and Aunty Azura among others. This
project included identifying trees and their uses. We also saw footprints of Baby
Tigers. Sadly, no footprint of Big Foot was found.
We measured the chemical content and the PH level of the Lanjut freshwater lake
which we can proudly say has been well conserved by the community surrounding it
where the fish, insect, and frog population remains healthy. In our tour of the
mangrove swamp at the Lanjut River mouth, we witness a thriving non-synchronous
firefly colony. You should have been there to see the wonderful dance of lights,
reminding me of a huge, glittering, Christmas tree. This is an example of a successful
mangrove swamp conservation effort.
At the Kinabatangan River, I had the pleasure to join the NOVISTA Production team
headed by the lovely Aunty Lara Ariffin and Uncle Harun. We were there to film its
natural beauty to promote eco-tourism to the world. We saw both local and migratory
birds such as Hornbills, Egrets, Owls, King Fishers, Bold Chested Eagles and many
more. It is one of the largest flocks of feathers flying together that I have ever seen.
The naughty families of Proboscis monkeys with its humongous nose which can only
be found in Borneo made a noisy din as they swung from tree to tree at the river
banks. You could see they were having a swinging good time.
My most treasured moment happened one night when we were cruising the river. Our
camera lights fell onto what we thought was a couple of Pigmy Elephants eating grass
and having a mud bath, until we shone the light to our right and we saw rows of 20
more Pigmy Elephants. Imagine our fright at being confronted with this magnificent
herd that can only be found in Borneo. I’m sure you can guess why they are called
“Pigmy” Elephants? Yes. They are the smallest species of Elephants in the world. We
were speechless, awed but grateful to be in their presence until we quietly left them to
their family frolicking session. It was a sight to behold and I wished you were all there to
see it.
Unfortunately the conservation efforts must do more as I also witnessed the
diminishing forest as river banks were lined with big plantations and the once clear
waters turned muddy brown due to the silting from logging and land clearing.
Now, if you have seen “Finding Nemo”, the Disney animated movie, then you might
remember Crash, the 150 years old sea turtle, then you will really like my next
destination, the Sabah Turtle Islands.
The hatchery on the Islands is a testimony to the conservation work of the state to
protect and increase the sea turtle population for future generations. The sight of
mother turtles crawling on their fins valiantly onto the beach which they themselves
were hatched many years ago, returning to dig a huge hole to nest hundreds of their
ping-pong like eggs is heartening.
After the mother turtles laid their eggs, covered their nest and when back to the sea
without the possibility of knowing whether their baby turtles will survive let alone hatch,
we in turn dug up the eggs and transferred it to the hatchery.
Did you know that we can determine the gender of the turtles by using the
temperature? If we want little girl turtles, then we bury the eggs just below the surface
in order to allow the sun to heat it up. And if we wanted little boy turtles, then we would
bury them deeper into the sand where it is cooler. If this good work continues, then, I
have no doubt that we would not have to make a movie called “Finding Crash” for
there would be millions of turtles to find and enjoy in the sea.
On the other note about marine conservation, I took part in YAWA’S Fajar Samudera
Sea Expedition. In the three days of sailing from Lumut to Langkawi and back, we
surveyed the Paya Island Coral Marine Park. We went snorkeling and what we found
shocked us.
On the sea bed, among the few colorful fishes that was swimming around, we saw
huge areas covered by dead coral reefs. The sea pollution of the Straits of Malacca
which happens to be the world’s busiest shipping lane caused this. Not enough
conservation is done to protect the beautiful corals which is an important part of the
ocean's eco-system.
When looking at wildlife conservation, my visit to two rehabilitation centres which are
the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey and Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuaries gives us some
hope that these two unique to Borneo only primate species, will continue to survive.
But, in order for them to thrive in numbers, we must continue to work towards forest
conservation and extend forest habitats by implementing more tree planting programs.
It is really sad to know that for every baby Proboscis monkey and Orangutan baby
found and sent to these sanctuaries had to be orphaned by loggers and poachers.
This happens because in order to capture the babies, the mother would have to be
killed. This is plain murder in my eyes. We must voice out our concern to have this
practice stopped.
In regards to River conservation, I worked with GEC (Global Environment Council) in
their river monitoring and cleaning projects at the Bunus and Penchala Rivers.
The amount of rubbish we found along the Penchala Urban River, reminded us to what
my fellow Junior Board member, Hana Shazwin, said,” It looks like a big and smelly
drain”.
The Penchala River monitoring project involving several schools adopting the various
segments along the river, aims to create public awareness for the need to have clean
rivers. The Bunus River cleaning project allowed us to contribute in whatever little way
to the practicalities of cleaning a river at its jungle source which flows to Kuala Lumpur
it self. All this effort would be a good example for the entire community to follow.
Finally, to understand how my interest and love for the environment and its
conservation began, it is necessary to see where it all started, at my Primary School.
Since the year 2000, Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Damansara( Bukit Damansara
Primary School) under the guidance of Aunty Dato’ Seri Noraini Jane Ariffin, the school
embarked on a combined old newspaper recycling program by selling them to raise
funds for a selected wildlife conservation program each year.
The list below will describes our contribution:
• Year 2000 Save the Sea Turtles
• Year 2001 Save the Asian Elephants
• Year 2002 Save the Sumatran Rhino
• Year 2003 Save the Malaysian Wildcats
• Year 2004 Save the Primates
• Year 2005 Save the Sharks
• Year 2006 Save the Fireflies
Every year, we would put up a short play corresponding to the selected endangered
wildlife species as part of the ceremony to hand over the money collected from the
sale of old newspapers for recycling to the relevant conservation organization. Here, I
wish to say thank you to Aunty Dato’ Sri Noraini Jane Ariffin for opening my eyes and
heart to the Environment.
In conclusion, let the pictures that I have taken speak of the thousand of words that
would not be enough to describe the real tears of the forests and its inhabitants that
are crying out for man to be more responsible stewards of Mother Earth.
Dear adults and world leaders, please save our trees, forests, animals, and our green
lungs for the future generations. Remember once again, to save a tree is to save
humanity. Have a wonderful and meaningful conference! Bye!
Back to Home Page
Back To Reports Index
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION REPORT
je_da_men@hotmail.com
It takes a village to grow a child. It takes the world to grow a tree. It is not of man’s
need rather it is man’s greed that trees are being cut down, that animals have no
homes, that crystal clear water turns murky and blue skies turn grey.
We as MAN must do something to stop our selves from turning our beautiful world into
a grey and desolate place. Trees contribute a lot to life. We must remember to save a
tree is to save humanity.
Hi! I am Jes Ebrahim Izaidin and I am one of the 11 International Junior Board members
for the 2006 TUNZA International Children’s Conference on the Environment.
Since my election to the Junior Board at the 2005 Children’s World Summit on the
Environment at Aichi, Japan, I have visited several of Malaysia’s rainforests and
natural wonders such as The Belum-Temenggor forest, The Lanjut forest near Endau-
Rompin, Kinabatangan River, Sabah Turtle Islands, The Bunus River and Penchala
river projects, Labuk Bay Proboscic Monkey and The Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuaries,
and finally, to my alma mater Bukit Damansara Primary School recycling and wildlife
conservation program with the aim of producing this report in regards to rainforest and
wildlife habitat conservation.
By the way, Malaysia has the world’s oldest rainforest with one of the largest range of
bio-diversity.
I have observed both the beauty of the forest with it’s wonderful animals, flora and
fauna that must remain as a world heritage for all, and also the ugly side of man’s
actions which to me is worst than the beast that resides deep in the jungle.
If we continue over logging and clear the forest for human settlements and plantations,
than we would have traded the real treasures that nature has given us with a few coins.
My visit to The Belum-Temenggor forest with the Malaysian Nature Society(MNS),
which is the country's leading forest conservation NGO, saw why it’s remaining
140,000 hectares plays an important role as a green corridor to Malaysia’s central
forest reserve.
The threat of legal and illegal logging must be stopped in order to protect the rich bio-
diversity that is not available anywhere else in the world. This includes one of the 8 out
of 13 species of Rafflesia which is the world’s largest and worst smelling flower.
The Belum-Temenggor is a huge forest in the Perak State of Malaysia. It is around 130
million years old!! It is home to 11 endangered species of mammals such as the
Malayan Tiger,Sumatran Rhino,Tapir, Asian Elephant and many more! This is also the
only place in the world where a flock of all 11 species of Hornbills come together during
the fruiting season and for what? Even scientists don’t have the answer for that.
There are many types of herbs and plants that can cure many major diseases like aids
and cancer. It is truly a medicine treasure chest. This forest is rich with so many
wonderful things that can be shared with the world to discover!! But, the sad thing is,
this forest is being logged for economic reasons. Even though, half of this forest is
officially gazetted as a state park, both legal and illegal logging is still taking place.
However, the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) Belum-Temenggor forest conservation
campaign has started to distribute the petition post-cards. I have helped them to
distribute it in schools and my neighborhood.
Meanwhile, at The Lanjut Forest in the South of Malaysia adjacent to the Endau
Rompin forest which incidentally is famous world wide with the supposedly sightings of
Big Foot and its footprints, I participated with the YAWA Youth in the Lanjut
conservation research program. This project was organized by the YAWA Junior Board
with the support of Uncle Adly, Aunty Shima, and Aunty Azura among others. This
project included identifying trees and their uses. We also saw footprints of Baby
Tigers. Sadly, no footprint of Big Foot was found.
We measured the chemical content and the PH level of the Lanjut freshwater lake
which we can proudly say has been well conserved by the community surrounding it
where the fish, insect, and frog population remains healthy. In our tour of the
mangrove swamp at the Lanjut River mouth, we witness a thriving non-synchronous
firefly colony. You should have been there to see the wonderful dance of lights,
reminding me of a huge, glittering, Christmas tree. This is an example of a successful
mangrove swamp conservation effort.
At the Kinabatangan River, I had the pleasure to join the NOVISTA Production team
headed by the lovely Aunty Lara Ariffin and Uncle Harun. We were there to film its
natural beauty to promote eco-tourism to the world. We saw both local and migratory
birds such as Hornbills, Egrets, Owls, King Fishers, Bold Chested Eagles and many
more. It is one of the largest flocks of feathers flying together that I have ever seen.
The naughty families of Proboscis monkeys with its humongous nose which can only
be found in Borneo made a noisy din as they swung from tree to tree at the river
banks. You could see they were having a swinging good time.
My most treasured moment happened one night when we were cruising the river. Our
camera lights fell onto what we thought was a couple of Pigmy Elephants eating grass
and having a mud bath, until we shone the light to our right and we saw rows of 20
more Pigmy Elephants. Imagine our fright at being confronted with this magnificent
herd that can only be found in Borneo. I’m sure you can guess why they are called
“Pigmy” Elephants? Yes. They are the smallest species of Elephants in the world. We
were speechless, awed but grateful to be in their presence until we quietly left them to
their family frolicking session. It was a sight to behold and I wished you were all there to
see it.
Unfortunately the conservation efforts must do more as I also witnessed the
diminishing forest as river banks were lined with big plantations and the once clear
waters turned muddy brown due to the silting from logging and land clearing.
Now, if you have seen “Finding Nemo”, the Disney animated movie, then you might
remember Crash, the 150 years old sea turtle, then you will really like my next
destination, the Sabah Turtle Islands.
The hatchery on the Islands is a testimony to the conservation work of the state to
protect and increase the sea turtle population for future generations. The sight of
mother turtles crawling on their fins valiantly onto the beach which they themselves
were hatched many years ago, returning to dig a huge hole to nest hundreds of their
ping-pong like eggs is heartening.
After the mother turtles laid their eggs, covered their nest and when back to the sea
without the possibility of knowing whether their baby turtles will survive let alone hatch,
we in turn dug up the eggs and transferred it to the hatchery.
Did you know that we can determine the gender of the turtles by using the
temperature? If we want little girl turtles, then we bury the eggs just below the surface
in order to allow the sun to heat it up. And if we wanted little boy turtles, then we would
bury them deeper into the sand where it is cooler. If this good work continues, then, I
have no doubt that we would not have to make a movie called “Finding Crash” for
there would be millions of turtles to find and enjoy in the sea.
On the other note about marine conservation, I took part in YAWA’S Fajar Samudera
Sea Expedition. In the three days of sailing from Lumut to Langkawi and back, we
surveyed the Paya Island Coral Marine Park. We went snorkeling and what we found
shocked us.
On the sea bed, among the few colorful fishes that was swimming around, we saw
huge areas covered by dead coral reefs. The sea pollution of the Straits of Malacca
which happens to be the world’s busiest shipping lane caused this. Not enough
conservation is done to protect the beautiful corals which is an important part of the
ocean's eco-system.
When looking at wildlife conservation, my visit to two rehabilitation centres which are
the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey and Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuaries gives us some
hope that these two unique to Borneo only primate species, will continue to survive.
But, in order for them to thrive in numbers, we must continue to work towards forest
conservation and extend forest habitats by implementing more tree planting programs.
It is really sad to know that for every baby Proboscis monkey and Orangutan baby
found and sent to these sanctuaries had to be orphaned by loggers and poachers.
This happens because in order to capture the babies, the mother would have to be
killed. This is plain murder in my eyes. We must voice out our concern to have this
practice stopped.
In regards to River conservation, I worked with GEC (Global Environment Council) in
their river monitoring and cleaning projects at the Bunus and Penchala Rivers.
The amount of rubbish we found along the Penchala Urban River, reminded us to what
my fellow Junior Board member, Hana Shazwin, said,” It looks like a big and smelly
drain”.
The Penchala River monitoring project involving several schools adopting the various
segments along the river, aims to create public awareness for the need to have clean
rivers. The Bunus River cleaning project allowed us to contribute in whatever little way
to the practicalities of cleaning a river at its jungle source which flows to Kuala Lumpur
it self. All this effort would be a good example for the entire community to follow.
Finally, to understand how my interest and love for the environment and its
conservation began, it is necessary to see where it all started, at my Primary School.
Since the year 2000, Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Damansara( Bukit Damansara
Primary School) under the guidance of Aunty Dato’ Seri Noraini Jane Ariffin, the school
embarked on a combined old newspaper recycling program by selling them to raise
funds for a selected wildlife conservation program each year.
The list below will describes our contribution:
• Year 2000 Save the Sea Turtles
• Year 2001 Save the Asian Elephants
• Year 2002 Save the Sumatran Rhino
• Year 2003 Save the Malaysian Wildcats
• Year 2004 Save the Primates
• Year 2005 Save the Sharks
• Year 2006 Save the Fireflies
Every year, we would put up a short play corresponding to the selected endangered
wildlife species as part of the ceremony to hand over the money collected from the
sale of old newspapers for recycling to the relevant conservation organization. Here, I
wish to say thank you to Aunty Dato’ Sri Noraini Jane Ariffin for opening my eyes and
heart to the Environment.
In conclusion, let the pictures that I have taken speak of the thousand of words that
would not be enough to describe the real tears of the forests and its inhabitants that
are crying out for man to be more responsible stewards of Mother Earth.
Dear adults and world leaders, please save our trees, forests, animals, and our green
lungs for the future generations. Remember once again, to save a tree is to save
humanity. Have a wonderful and meaningful conference! Bye!
Back to Home Page
Back To Reports Index
BY JES EBRAHIM IZAIDIN
Co-Founder Tree Theatre Group
President Junior Board (2007-2009), YAWA
2007 Malaysian Representative, ABU Voyage to the Future Monggolia
2006 TUNZA INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR BOARD MEMBER
2006 Malaysian Delegate, UNEP Tunza ICCE, Putrajaya, Malaysia
2005 Malaysian Delegate, World Children's Environment Summit, Japan
2004 Malaysian Delegate, UNEP Tunza ICCE, New London, USA
Co-Founder Tree Theatre Group
President Junior Board (2007-2009), YAWA
2007 Malaysian Representative, ABU Voyage to the Future Monggolia
2006 TUNZA INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR BOARD MEMBER
2006 Malaysian Delegate, UNEP Tunza ICCE, Putrajaya, Malaysia
2005 Malaysian Delegate, World Children's Environment Summit, Japan
2004 Malaysian Delegate, UNEP Tunza ICCE, New London, USA