I'LL NEVER forget my years with the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS).
I still remember the first day I found my way to the old bungalow at the foot of Bukit Persekutuan. "What's this place?" I thought aghast as I narrowly dodged an angry cat that streaked past me while stepping into the dimly-lit hallway, where a life-sized model of a Malayan tapir stared blankly at me. I didn't know what I was getting myself into.
"You're here to make a difference!" I kept repeating that mantra to myself as I tentatively climbed the stairs leading to the bustling office where the conservation, environmental education and communication departments were ensconced.
Old computers past their prime perching on sturdy wooden desks should've been a big red flag for this ex-banker, who gave up her cushy job in a nice office for her heels to sink dismally into the wet earth outside a crumbling bungalow. Conservation is definitely not for the fainthearted.
From counting raptors to tracking hornbills in the wild; from organising events on miniscule budgets to raising funds; from peeling fat leeches off my feet to having irate elephants chasing after me, MNS taught me that while conservation is a tough field meant only for the bravest and the foolhardy, the indelible memories made in the process are often worth the sacrifice.
Forget the long hours, inconveniences, endless lobbying and tight budgets, our natural heritage must be protected at all cost. The work must go on.
As I turn the pages of MNS' latest coffee table book, 80 Years & Moving Forward, it's heartening to see scores of old friends coming forward to relate their moving stories about this veritable institution.
This weighty book traces the history of the society, projects and highlights the reflections and anecdotes of members from across the nation.
The book is written by MNS members for just about anyone with an interest in the society's unending struggle to save some of the world's most valuable flora and fauna, largely through voluntary work and without government aid.
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
More than eight decades ago, primary forests still covered most of this nation and teemed with such biodiversity that fascinated our colonial administrators, officers and entrepreneurs alike. Many of them faithfully recorded their field notes and observations, and felt that these should and would benefit Malayans in the future.
They conceived the idea of cataloguing and publishing their collection of field notes on Malayan flora and fauna, and eventually banded together to share their experiences and common interest in nature.
Not long after, Malayan Nature Society was founded at a meeting in British zoologist Gladys Le Mare's house in Taiping in 1940. The first issue of the Malayan Nature Journal was published in August 1940.
Established for the appreciation of nature and publication of field notes, MNS has grown and evolved to become the bastion of conservation in Malaysia.
Its first large-scale conservation effort was to protect the giant leatherback turtle in 1963. This resulted in the establishment of a hatchery programme which is now managed by the Fisheries Department.
Since that first successful campaign, MNS has never looked back. Publishing the seminal Blueprint for Conservation in Peninsular Malaysia in 1974, MNS has been active in conducting studies and campaigns targeting the preservation of various aspects of Malaysia's natural wealth.
Notably successful initiatives include the Endau-Rompin Scientific and Heritage Expeditions (which culminated in the gazetting of the forest as a state park by the Johor government), the Kuala Selangor Biodiversity Survey and numerous avifaunal surveys.
In 1994 and 1998, the MNS organised two scientific expeditions into two sites within a forest complex to document its rich biological diversity and propose for it to be gazetted as a protected area.
In fact, in 1995, MNS submitted a report to the Perak government entitled Management Guidelines for Proposed Belum Nature Park. Before that in 1993, Sultan of Perak Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah had declared the setting up of the Royal Belum State Park. However, fighting for official gazettement of the Royal Belum State Park under the Perak State Park Corporation in 2007 required much more effort and tireless campaigning.
The society hasn't looked back since its early days. MNS continues to remain active in conservation efforts. The society still publishes the Malaysian Nature Journal, which contains original papers on the natural history, biology and conservation of Malaysia.
MEMORIES IN THE MAKING
With 82 contributions by noted conservationists, supporters and members, including Dr Geoffrey Davidson, Datuk Henry Barlow, Ar John Koh and Tan Sri Dr Salleh Mohd Nor, the book takes us on a journey from MNS' inception to the present.
"The collection of human narratives profiles the role of volunteerism across all segments of the society's membership," writes Salleh in the introduction. "…towards the noble cause of conserving and caring for nature long before it became fashionable in this part of the world".
I personally enjoyed some of the stories told by members about their adventures with the society. From witnessing the sheer spectacle of raptors circling around Tanjung Tuan during their migration, to planting mangrove saplings at the Kuala Selangor Nature Park, these too form some of my own personal memories of MNS.
Past presidents, branch members, staff and volunteers paint a picture of a society that has been steadily influencing and raising generations of nature lovers and advocates who continue to lobby for our natural heritage.
If there's anything to nitpick about the book, I'd say that it could have been a little bit more streamlined because at almost 500 pages, it's significantly thicker and heavier than a coffee table book!
Still, the book has symbolic significance because it reminds us in a dramatic way of how the society has shaped our environmental landscape over the decades.
The conservation field may not be for the fainthearted, but MNS has taught me that we're all responsible for our environment, and by working together, we can achieve results. That too takes courage and fortitude.
Thank you MNS for the memories!
80 YEARS AND MOVING FORWARD
Published by: Malaysian Nature Society
446 pages
Price: RM180
Available at https://shopmns.easy.co/