PETALING JAYA: In-depth studies on wildlife smuggling and trafficking and increasing public awareness are needed to help curb the crime, says the Ecological Association of Malaysia.
Its president Prof Dr Ahmad Ismail said the studies should involve more experts and agencies to make mitigation efforts much more effective.
He also urged the authorities to step up awareness campaigns against such illegal activities, adding that educating the public could help address the root cause of the problem.
“We have a policy on this but the actions are not well organised. Maybe the Cepa (communication, education and public awareness) activities are not well planned and not effective enough,” he said in reference to the National Policy on Biological Diversity (2016-2025).
The policy under Action 10.2 states, among others, that the government will embark on long-term public awareness campaigns on the negative impact of poaching wild animals.
Asked about the worrying trend of animal trafficking and smuggling, Prof Ahmad said it all hinged on the issue of supply and demand.
“During the movement control order period, there would have been more opportunities to breed animals.
“Now when people are going about freely, smugglers are also moving, leading to the process of fulfilling the demand,” he said.
He said that the Cepa activities, plans and actions including its quarterly assessments must be revised to meet its targets.
“Education is a continuous action and varies at different levels and targeted groups. All levels of our communities must get the knowledge of wildlife protection and conservation.
“Cepa is not like advertising products. It is hands-on activity. The Cepa activist must go to the ground,” he said.
“If wildlife protection and smuggling issues are still not effective, Cepa is important and needs to be continued,” added Prof Ahmad, who is also the former Malaysian Nature Society president.
He cited tiger conservation as an indicator of a wildlife protection programme to measure success.
“If we successfully do tiger conservation in the wild, we could succeed with other animals too,” he said, adding that more incentives should be given to promote young ecologists.
