Shorebirds Peninsular Malaysia Project
Shorebirds Peninsular Malaysia Project
Shorebirds Peninsular Malaysia Project (SPMP) was initiated by a group of researchers and volunteers in 2017. It was begun with a collection of shorebird photos by Mr. Mohd Nasir, together with his wife Dr Nur Munira Azman taken while conducting shorebird surveys in Teluk Air Tawar-Kuala Muda Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA). Through their sharing on social media, many people have expressed a desire to know more about shorebirds. Shorebirds are hardly visible to everyone.
Hence, awareness-raising of these species to the public, especially the local authorities, is needed as the species are facing population decline due to habitat conversion, illegal trapping and other threats. Collaboration among stakeholders is the key to help shorebird conservation in Malaysia. SPMP is actively collaborating with local and international bodies in order to gain more support for shorebirds and mangrove conservation in Teluk Air Tawar- Kuala Muda IBA. Throughout the year, we continuously conduct shorebirds surveys, lectures, seminars and community engagement activities related to shorebird conservation.
Get To Know The Team
Nur Munira Azman, PhD is an ornithologist. She is the coordinator of Shorebirds Peninsular Malaysia Project and working as a lecturer at Biology Department, Educational University of Sultan Idris, Malaysia. Dr Munira said, “I love birds- but shorebirds have a special place in my heart. My husband (Nasir Azizan) and I love bird watching. I’ve been taught by Nasir on how to identify shorebirds in the last 7 years, from there I started to gain more knowledge on the shorebirds through its incredible journey stories, challenges and threats faced by shorebirds. Malaysia is blessed with a vast diversity of birds in our forest as well as migratory shorebirds that visit our coastal areas every year. This is our national heritage where Malaysians need to take care of it. We do understand that with the existence of the birds it means that our ecosystem is very productive with plenty of food sources and a safe place to rest”. She also hopes that with the establishment of shorebird’s website for Malaysia it will encourage more people to learn about shorebirds and have an interest to protect the species and its habitat.
Mohd Nasir Azizan is the co-founder of Shorebirds Peninsular Malaysia Project. He started to observe shorebirds as a hobby in 2016 and get seriously involved in shorebird’s photography in 2017 until present. He believed through capturing the unique moment of shorebirds in the field will allow him to share with the public about the incredible journey of shorebirds. “Shorebirds are an international traveler, as they migrate from their breeding ground in north hemisphere to wintering ground in tropical countries. However, the shorebird’s population are declining at alarming rate, as its lost stop over areas due to habitat destruction and illegal hunting. Hence through this project, I hope it will advocate government agencies, NGOs and local communities to conserve shorebirds and its habitat”.
Nurul Salmi Abd Latip, PhD is SPMP’s advisor and team member. She was formerly a lecturer/researcher at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang. Opting for an early retirement, she now freelancers and involves herself with various voluntary projects. Her interests are human-ecosystem interactions, conservation, ecotechnology and nature education. She also does grant-writing, documentation, advocacy and outreach, programs, community engagement and other tasks for SPMP.She supports ecosystem-based conservation approaches that can help preserve ecological processes and services. This is one of the tools she hopes to engage authorities and stakeholders in SPMP’s conservation efforts of (migratory) shorebirds and their chains of connected wetlands sites in Malaysia and beyond.
Dave Bakewell comes from the UK but has made Malaysia his home since 1988 when he started work for the Asian Wetland Bureau (now part of Wetlands International). He has had a lifelong interest in birds, and in particular, bird migration and shorebirds. During the 20 years Dave and his family spent living in Penang, he spent many hours watching birds, and was fortunate to sight a then unknown shorebird species which was subsequently described as White-faced Plover Charadrius dealbatus. In 2020, Dave and his family migrated east to Sarawak, Malaysia, where he has continued to be fascinated by the avifauna of the region. He supports conservation through his voluntary work with the Malaysian Nature Society, the Wild Bird Club of Malaysia and the Shorebirds Peninsular Malaysia Project, among others.
Aini Hasanah Abd Mutalib, PhD is a research officer in Institute Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu. She is working towards advancing herself in terrestrial wildlife’s bioacoustic research, and overall is very enthused in working towards conservation management and capacity building. She was actively involved in cofoundingand steering Malaysian Primatological Society (MPS) but truly is supportive of conservation and research of terrestrial wildlife. She facilitated towards foundation of SPMP in the beginning in terms of outreach of this research and conservation group. She believed that conservation should encompass diversity and inclusivity of people with differing backgrounds and abilities. She was also captivated by the story of the fearless migration of the shorebirds, and most importantly, working together for protecting the key biodiversity areas.
