Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ment global standards. Proforest (
www.proforest.net
) has also been working with Wild
Asia (
www.wildasia.org
)
on the Stepwise Support Programme, designed to promote sus-
tainability within the palm-oil industry.
IMPROVING WILDLIFE CONSERVATION
At the end of 2010 Malaysia started to enforce its new Wildlife Conservation Act, which includes fines of up to
RM100,000 and long prison sentences for poaching, smuggling of animals and other wildlife-related crimes. This
first revision of such laws in more than 30 years has been welcomed by local pressure groups including Traffic
Southeast Asia (
www.traffic.org/southeast-asia
)
and the Malaysian Nature Society.
Smuggling of live animals and animal parts is a particular problem in the region. Pangolins, also known as
scaly anteaters, are the most traded species even though they are protected under Malaysian law; their scales, be-
lieved to have medicinal properties, can fetch up to RM800 per kg. In July 2010 police looking for stolen cars
also uncovered an illegal 'mini zoo' in a KL warehouse containing 20 species of protected wildlife including a
pair of rare birds of paradise worth RM1 million.
A month later, the notorious animal smuggler Alvin Wong was nabbed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport
after his bag burst open revealing 95 boa constrictors, two rhinoceros vipers and a mata mata turtle. In November,
Wong - described as 'the Pablo Escobar of wildlife trafficking' in
The Lizard King
by Bryan Christy (
ht-
tp://thelizardkingbook.com
)
, a fascinating account of international animal and reptile smuggling - was sentenced
to five years in jail.
National Parks & Other Protected Areas
Malaysia's jungles contain some of the world's oldest undisturbed areas of rainforest. It's
estimated they've existed for about 100 million years, as they were largely unaffected by
the far-reaching climatic changes brought on elsewhere by the Ice Age.
Fortunately, quite large areas of some of the best and most spectacular of these rain-
forests have been made into national parks, in which all commercial activity is banned.
The British established the first national park in Malaysia in 1938 and it is now included
in Taman Negara, the crowning glory of Malaysia's network of national parks, which
crosses the borders of Terengganu, Kelantan and Pahang; tour companies in KL run trips
here.
In addition to this and the 27 other national and state parks across the country (23 of
them located in Malaysian Borneo), there are various government-protected reserves and
sanctuaries for forests, birds, mammals and marine life. Right in the heart of the KL you
can visit the KL Forest Eco Park.
