KINABATANGAN: Project Seratu Aatai is calling on companies and individuals to join hands in protecting Bornean pygmy elephants in Sabah.
Its founder and elephant expert Dr Nurzhafarina Othman said the organisation needed more people, who are keen to actively give awareness to the community on the importance of elephant conservation.
“Anyone can join regardless of their backgrounds. Once registered, they would carry out activities under the project. All ideas and approaches in providing understanding on elephant conservation will be up to them.
“We in Seratu Aatai, which means united in the Orang Sungai lingo, only act as information provider with regards to elephants for them (participants) to deliver (the information) to targeted group so their activities or programmes reach the objective,” she said when contacted, today.
Dr Nurzhafarina said one of Saratu Aatai’s goals is also to give the community a power to help in resolving human-elephant conflicts in their own way.
Launched this year, Project Seratu Aatai has carried out two programmes with involvement of various parties in Sukau and Telupid. The programmes are Borneo Elephant Rescue Exploration and UmbrElephant Campaign.
“The exploration programme is aimed at providing awareness that elephant is Sabah people’s priceless treasure and that this wildlife animal needs bigger space to live.
“The UmbrElephant Campaign provides understanding to the people that if we save the elephant habitat, we can rescue other iconic wildlife species of Borneo such as banteng (wild cattle), clouded tiger, deer, and pangolins,” stressed Dr Nurzhafarina.
Those interested in joining Project Seratu Aatai could contact Dr Nurzhafarina at 016-830 5470.