This theme is designed on the core mission of protecting and conserving biodiversity. It includes where possible, enabling sustainable use of certain resources. It brings together leaders and practitioners on how biodiversity conservation works in Sarawak, Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia. It examines why there are certain conservation decisions done which enables sustainable use of resources.

In a perfect world, society lives within their means (net zero carbon footprint) and sustainability ceases to be an issue. The global drive toward greater sustainability and carbon net zero is supposed to be transformative and can be seen as a plus as it redefines economies and values. In part, the pursuit of sustainability requires data, measured outputs and net-positive outcomes. Within this toolbox are environment, social and governance (ESG) principles built around the growth of a viable green economy.

The core mission in implementing conservation revolves around creation and management of TPAs, field research and protection of wildlife and habitats, working with of communities and other with partners to expand wildlife habitats in sustainably managed forests. To effectively implement conservation, the focus is therefore multi-pronged as this means teaming up and soliciting support from indigenous communities, enforcement agencies, youth, academia, corporate bodies, and civil societies. Examples of such implementation and collaboration will be highlighted in this session.

This theme involves looking at the direct and interconnected impacts on our ecosystems, through the lenses of Climate Change. Several notable points worth considering:

• Are we protecting enough/do we have mitigation to actually conserve our Totally Protected Areas (TPAs) in perpetuity given the unprecedented stresses (e.g. rising temperatures, altered rainfall patterns, shifting habitat/deltas, flash flood, landslides, and increased fire risks). These stresses are eroding the TPAs and affecting native wildlife habitats and forcing a re-evaluation of conservation boundaries and strategies.
• Wildlife-linked issues – What happens to wildlife with shifting migratory patterns, disrupted food sources, increased disease susceptibility, and habitat fragmentation, thus reducing species’ ability to adapt.
• Enforcement and indigenous communities – Rangers face more remote and dangerous conditions, while marginalized communities under economic pressure may turn increasingly to natural resources for survival.
• Invasive alien species (IAS) and their spread/mitigation – Climate change acts as an accelerant for the spread of IAS. Warmer temperatures, sea level rises allow non-native species to establish in new regions (coral, catfishes etc.), where they outcompete native wildlife, alter ecosystems and further undermine conservation efforts.
• Among the discourses to consider are adaptive conservation, wildlife and habitat corridors and interventions to prevent extinctions. Speakers/panels will discuss innovative solutions, from technology like remote sensing to community-led governance, in upholding conservation in a changing world.

This theme explores the issue about how to finance conservation, given the finite financial resources within Malaysia.It examines the various funding mechanisms locally and globally and may include selected case examples available from Australia to Malaysia.Initiatives on sustainable financing from legal mechanisms, multi-lateral grants, philanthropy, voluntary contributions and markets-mechanisms (carbon and biodiversity) may be examined by the Keynote as well as the speakers and panelists.