KEnyir STATE PARK
KENYIR STATE PARK IS A NEWLY CREATED PROTECTED AREA IN PENINSULAR MALAYSIA – COMPRISING HIGH QUALITY LOWLAND AND HILL DIPTEROCARP FORESTS RICH IN BIODIVERSITY BUT THREATENED BY POACHING and Land USe Change.
This project aims to improve park management through public-private partnerships to safeguard the forest and wildlife, empower local communities, and secure long-term financing for this protected area. In 2018, the Malaysian conservation NGO Rimba assisted the Terengganu state government in Peninsular Malaysia to establish the 30,000 ha Kenyir State Park as a protected area under the state’s jurisdiction and managed by a multi-stakeholder council (Terengganu State Parks Management Council, TSPMC) which includes Rimba as a council member.
However, without proper financial resources, Kenyir State Park risks turning into another paper park - lacking effective management to mitigate threats within and around it. As such, Rimba created a new entity called Nature-Based Solutions plc (NBS), a not-for-profit social enterprise to develop green financing schemes and to channel private sector investments into forest protection. Under the Kenyir For Life initiative, Rimba/NBS is working to secure sustainable financing to support TSPMC in managing the existing state park and expanding protection to the greater Kenyir watershed (~200,000 ha) in the future. FCF aims to support this project until they find sustainable financing from other sources.
Grantee Team
Nature-Based Solutions plc (NBS) is a non-profit social enterprise incubated by Rimba to develop sustainable financing for the protection of forests in Peninsular Malaysia. In 2022, NBS will take over operations in Terengganu from Rimba, and formalise partnerships in forest and wildlife protection with TSPMC. NBS will work closely with the following implementing partners to deliver key project outcomes:
TSPMC – state park management
Project Kenyir (incubated by Rimba) under Panthera Malaysia – capacity-building and sharing of resources and knowledge on forest patrols and big cat conservation
Projek Takop (incubated by Rimba) – empowerment of indigenous communities
Gaia – biodiversity monitoring of hornbills as key indicator species
Justice for Wildlife Malaysia (incubated by Rimba) – develop state park regulations, conduct judiciary and legislative workshops to improve prosecution rates for wildlife crime
Biodiversity
The passionate Rimba team has been camera-trapping and documenting Kenyir’s species for years. Threatened species living here include the Sunda Pangolin (Manis javanica), Malayan Tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni), Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), Asiatic Dhole (Cuon alpinus), Malayan Sun Bear (Helarctos malayanus), Asian Tapir (Tapirus indicus), White-handed Gibbon (Hylobates lar) and the Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus). The Kenyir ecosystem also provides the people of Terengganu with fresh water, flood mitigation, non-timber forest products, and tourism income.
Below are some camera trap and team photos taken by Nature Based Solutions and Rima Research in the Kenyir forests. For more, check out their website.
Threats
Key threats to Kenyir’s biodiversity include poaching, deforestation, and encroachment from oil palm and rubber plantations.
Project Activities
Rimba and Nature-Based Solutions will work with the Terengganu State Parks Management Council to:
Finalise management and monitoring plans
Conduct monthly SMART Patrols
Conduct annual inter-agency enforcement and regulation trainings
Conduct workshops, interviews and engagements with local communities to develop trust and understand community needs and aspirations
Conduct annual biodiversity surveys
Conduct carbon valuation, verification, certification and annual independent auditing in order to help the state government generate carbon credits
QUICK STATS
Area: 27,747 ha
Carbon saved annually through avoided deforestation: 97,487 T CO2
Threatened Wildlife: Critically Endangered Sunda pangolin and Malayan tiger
Grantee: Nature-Based Solutions, Malaysia
Funding status: 0% of annual budget currently funded
Commodities: Palm oil, timber and rubber