FINAL UPDATE: Rimba is closing down

And that’s a wrap!

Rimba is now taking steps to close down. It’s been a wild, crazy, wonderful and fulfilling roller coaster ride over the past decade (and more!) of our existence – but, as we’re a small local nonprofit with very limited resources and capacity, the frequent situations of financial insecurity, insufficient funds, plus the lack of long-term and sustainable financial support to pay ourselves a living wage make it impossible for us to continue operating under this model. So starting January 2022 we will no longer function as a fully operating entity.

We’re taking this opportunity to express our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to all our supporters and partners who have made our work and successes possible. We really couldn’t have made all that progress and impact without you, especially in these very difficult times we’ve all been going through!

The Harimau Selamanya rangers in the field with project partners and volunteers

So THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts, and please take hope from the knowledge that you have helped us to make conservation action a reality, creating some really lasting positive changes in the Malaysian conservation scene.

Members of Team Cerberus and PERHILITAN after completion of training

However, this doesn’t mean that all our work ends with us. Some of our projects are spinning off to continue pursuing what they started, and some have already done so. If you’re interested in following the continued progress of the work started by Rimba, here’s how you can stay updated:

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Publication updates 23 & 24: New Malaysian land snail genus and species named after the late Dr. Tony Whitten

In honour of the late Dr. Tony Whitten, the Raffles Bulletin of Zoology has just published a special Memorial Issue showcasing articles celebrating Tony’s career and new species or genera named after him. Project Limestone researchers named one new genus and one new species after him.

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Tony was an avid supporter of Rimba’s Project Limestone. Up to his last day, Tony was still trying his best to bring scientists like us and the cement industry closer together to explore how limestone biodiversity can be better protected (see Tony in action in this video: min 27:37 onwards). Continue reading

Special update: Good news from the Kenyir Wildlife Corridor

Hello all,

This playful dusky leaf langur (Trachypithecus obscurus), which was caught on a camera trap in the Kenyir Wildlife Corridor last week, was all smiles probably because it knew of some good news coming our way. WHAT IS IT??

The first piece of good news is that the Terengganu state government has decided to freeze development along the Kuala Berang highway bisecting the proposed Kenyir Wildlife Corridor, pending recommendations from environmental consultants working for the federal government. These recommendations are to be submitted by the end of the year.

This decision was reached after we shared our research findings in Kenyir with Dato’ Toh Chin Yaw, Terengganu Chairman of Industry, Trade and Environment Committee, Terengganu State Government. Many thanks to Dato’ Toh for sharing the pictures and videos of Kenyir’s biodiversity with other government officials. Yesterday, this piece of great news was covered by a local news portal, fz.com.

The second piece of good news is that we finally got a  camera-trap picture of the elusive seladang or gaur (Bos gaurus) after 2 years of fieldwork in the Kenyir Wildlife Corridor! We only recorded a single individual, which was detected by two separate cameras.

Although we still have a lot to do to secure protection for the Kenyir Wildlife Corridor, we are working closely with the state government to implement our recommendations. For now, we would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the wonderful people who have supported the Kenyir Wildlife Corridor project. Special thanks also go to Anuar McAfee for helping and working with us on this (Anuar also helped us get the flying foxes protected). Stay tuned for more updates!

* Update 8 November 2012: More extensive coverage, from the very excellent Mongabay: click here!