The first to receive the award for Outstanding Malaysian Nature Conservationist was Nur Munira Azman, founder of the Shorebirds Peninsular Malaysia Project (SPMP).
This project is an independent volunteer-led group dedicated to the conservation of migratory shorebirds in Malaysia. The group operates along the Teluk Air Tawar–Kuala Muda (TAT-KM) coast in Seberang Perai, Penang.
The second recipient to receive the Outstanding Malaysian Nature Conservationist award was Nurzhafarina Othman, founder of Seratu Aatai, a registered society in Sabah dedicated to the protection of Bornean elephants in the Lower Kinabatangan area.
Nurzhafarina’s work includes promoting the elephants’ harmonious coexistence with humans in the area.
Both award recipients received a disbursement of RM35,000 each at a ceremony held at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club here on Oct 23.
“The role of these awards is to help channel donations to people and projects who will make the most effective impact with the funds, and at the same time, celebrate the conservationists who benefit us all,” said Biji Alam Awards co-founder Natalie Yong during the ceremony.
A special project grant of RM10,000 was also awarded to the Friends of Bukit Kiara society for their work of protecting the Bukit Kiara Federal Park in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.
The grant will partly fund a bio-diversity survey supporting an application to the planning authorities to create a green buffer zone expanding wildlife protection beyond the periphery of the park.
Munira said the Biji Alam Award would help fund her team’s continued shorebird monitoring and data collection, as well as promote outreach events and provide workshops on eco-tourism for the local fishing community.
These would be in support of an application for the official recognition of the Seberang Perai, Penang TAT-KM site as a flyway site by the EAAF Partnership (EAAFP) for conservation.
“Every single step counts. We must all work together to save this last piece of wetlands in Penang which is still intact,” Munira said.
“Together, we can all learn from the spirit of the migratory shorebirds, who make the journey from Alaska and Siberia to Malaysia and New Zealand every year without fear,” she added.
Nurzhafarina, on the other hand, said the award would expand her team’s training programmes for plantation workers and their families on elephant behaviour and safety during their encounters. This would form crucial groundwork for better cooperation from palm oil companies.
She and her team of 15 Sabahans at Seratu Aatai work directly with communities, farmers, and plantation workers to promote understanding of elephant behaviour through education, dialogue, and practical, science-based solutions.
“I’m here on behalf of the Bornean elephants. They do speak, though not many of us can understand them,” Nurzhafarina said during the ceremony.
“I always tell myself whenever I apply for grants, that this is not for me, it is for the elephants. And I am truly glad to have this opportunity to share information about them with fellow Malaysians,” she added.
Established in 2024, the Biji Alam Awards were spearheaded by a group of concerned Malaysians and environmental experts to create a platform to support and boost recognition of the exemplary work of Malaysia’s mid-career conservationists.
The Awards and related support programmes are funded by individual donors, family foundations, corporate sponsor Malaysian Debt Ventures and other partners.
The judging panel of the 2025 competition consisted of three external expert judges: Dionysius Sharma (former head of WWF Malaysia), Rahimatsah Amat (head of Sabah Environment Trust), Robert Basiuk (Co-founder of Batang Ai conservancy, Sarawak), and Biji Alam co-founders Natalie Yong and Teckwyn Lim.
For more information on the Biji Alam Awards, visit their website.