PETALING JAYA: The involvement of the police force can beef up protection of Malaysia’s natural treasures, say environmental groups.
Thus, the groups said expanding the Wildlife Crime Bureau’s (WCB) scope and power to cover the country’s natural resources and heritage is a timely move but must be coupled with adequate resources, manpower and technology as well as community support.
Ecotourism and Conservation Society Malaysia president Andrew Sebastian said law enforcement has an important role to play in not only stopping wildlife crime but also protecting the country’s biodiversity and sensitive ecological sites.
“It’s a good time to start and we hope the police’s WCB gets boots on the ground immediately as time is already critical,” he said when contacted yesterday.
He was responding to news that plans are underway to expand the scope of the WCB to cover national treasures and heritage, including curbing illegal mining and logging, and protecting marine biology and archeological sites from criminals.
Andrew said that it is important for the WCB to also have a wider scope and power to protect marine life, ecological sites and mangrove forests.
“There seemed to be a lot of grey areas, loopholes and weaknesses in our monitoring as well as enforcement, but with the new bureau and scope, we hope things move faster on the ground and we see results immediately,” he said.
Andrew added that the police would need buy-in and cooperation from local communities, especially those living in and around forest reserves, protected areas, buffer zones and islands or ecologically sensitive zones.
“Getting the support of local communities is very important as they can be whistleblowers.”
Ecological Association of Malaysia president Dr Ahmad Ismail said wildlife protection can be more efficient with the involvement of the police together with other agencies such as the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) and the Forestry Department.
“It’s very important because the police have more manpower and they are almost everywhere.
“In fact, all agencies that are involved in tackling smuggling and illegal activities must participate in this proactive move,” he said, adding that collaborative efforts between government agencies can help to protect wildlife from poaching and smuggling.
He also said that to maximise the functionality of the WCB, the police must ensure that rules and regulations as well as bureaucracy have effective actions.
The police will also need effective collaboration as well as resources for systematic and modern technology that is better than that used by wildlife smugglers and traders, he said.
Ahmad added that Malaysia, which is among the world’s megadiverse countries, has also committed to an international agreement for wildlife protection and conservation and must do so seriously as many animals are at a critical status.
“We don’t want to follow what has happened to our Sumatran rhinoceros,” he said.
Sahabat Alam Malaysia president Meenakshi Raman expressed hope that the natural treasures will be better protected with WCB’s expansion.
However, the police force must not succumb to corruption as such crimes rake in millions, if not billions, of ringgit, she said.
“There will be too much at stake for the criminals and they will do anything to persist. Our forces need to be steadfast and stay true to the cause,” she added.
Meenakshi said that it would also be important for the WCB to have all the up-to-date equipment necessary to apprehend criminals and bring them to book.
She also said that there needs to be more rigorous and effective monitoring and enforcement, including night patrols.
