Significant findings of Forest Biodiversity Scientific Expeditions
Malaysia has been recognized as one of the 12 known ‘mega-diversity’ countries in the world. In line with this, the Malaysian government had agreed and committed to enhance effective management, conservation and sustainable development of forest biodiversity. In this context, continuous emphasis would be given in the aspects of conservation, rehabilitation, sustainable consumption as well as equal and fair benefit sharing of the said resources.
In an effort to collect all the information of biological diversity from the natural habitats of the country, Forestry Department Peninsular Malaysia (FDPM) had organised series of Forest Biodiversity Scientific Expedition in forested areas especially the Permanent Reserved Forests (PRFs). These expeditions involved various disciplines that were cross sectorial such as physical aspects of forest ecosystems, biological diversity of flora and fauna, eco-tourism, ecology, recreation, geology, archaeology and socio-economic. These scientific expeditions were participated by scientists and researchers from various Departments and Government Agencies, Research Institutes, Institutes of Higher Learning, Non-Government Organizations and also individuals who have particular interest in the field of forest management and forest biodiversity.
Besides the involvement of officers and staffs of FDPM, institutions that were always actively involved in every expeditions were Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UNISZA), Jabatan landskap dan Taman, Perbadanan Putrajaya, Agensi Remote Sensing Malaysia (ARSM), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Institut Penyelidikan Perubatan (IMR), Folia Malaysiana, Malaysian Nature Society (MNS), Institut Penyelidikan Perhutanan Malaysia (FRIM), Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM), and Jabatan Perlindungan Hidupan Liar dan Taman Negara (PERHILITAN).