Arts and Sciences | NewsNovember 26, 2024

Kannan Promotes Coexistence with Wildlife in Malaysia

Written By: Judith Hansen

UAFS biology professor Dr. Ragupathy Kannan has returned from a three-month program to Malaysia with new professional contacts, friends, and allies in the fight to protect biodiversity.

Kannan’s trip was funded by his fourth Fulbright Scholar award and was designed to teach students and citizen naturalists how to observe, monitor, and revere biodiversity.

Faculty hosts from Sunway University in Kuala Lumpur, including Dr. Ravinder Kuar in Biological Sciences, aided his efforts.

“In three months, thanks in part to Dr. Kaur’s long reach, I traveled the length and breadth of the nation,” he said.

Moving around the country, Kannan taught professionals and amateurs to use iNaturalist, the leading citizen science online portal for recording and learning about biodiversity.

He believes this tool encourages citizens to engage more with their environment.

Kannan worked extensively with the staff of Malaysia Environmental Consultants, a local organization seeking sustainable solutions to environmental challenges caused by humans.

“I gave a presentation on iNaturalist to their group, which really got them fired up about citizen science. They now have started their own iNaturalist compilations and have started networking with iNaturalist experts around the world,” Kannan said.

Those who would like to see Kannan’s observations can do so at Dr. R. Kannan’s Fulbright Malaysia Biodiversity Blitz. The site offers more than 800 photos and audio recordings of more than 500 species. Kannan noted over 150 volunteers identified his posts and more than half his observations were confirmed by experts and marked as “Research Grade,” meaning they have been vetted and are accepted for research purposes.

Kannan appreciated the chance to spend time in Malaysia because its natural, abundant biodiversity is in peril.

“Malaysia, like many countries in the region, has yielded to economic pressures to replace their precious rainforests with sprawling oil palm plantations,” he said. “Biodiversity hangs precariously in these areas. Even endangered orangutans persist defiantly, making their nests in oil palms and eating their fruits.”

While Kannan was in Malaysia, oil palm giant Wilmar reached out to him for advice on coexisting with “remnant wildlife.” Kannan said he stayed in their guest house and toured their plantations in Sabah on the island of Borneo.

“I hiked their steep forested ridges, where oil palms cannot grow, and which are refuges for remnant wildlife,” Kannan said. “The company has declared these ‘Conservation Areas’ and is sincerely trying to promote biodiversity conservation.”

Kannan has begun planning research projects aimed at enhancing coexistence among humans and wildlife there.

He intends to build on the contacts and friendships he has made with Malaysian colleagues. He is about to start a project to digitize the bird-banding records of David Wells, a renowned British ornithologist who lived in Malaysia.

“My Fulbright has ended, but the work will continue,” Kannan said.

Kannan’s previous Fulbright projects sent him to India in 2007 and 2019, and to Sri Lanka in 2020. The Fulbright program, named for the late Arkansas Sen. William J. Fulbright, is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. It offers scholars in more than 160 countries the opportunity to study, teach, conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to mutual understanding.

 

 

 

• Tags:
• News
• College of Arts and Sciences