Malaysian Conservation Conference 2026
Malaysian Conservation Conference (MCC) 2.0 2026
13-15 July 2026, Imperial Hotel Kuching
"Powering Conservation with a Green Economy"
13-15 July 2026, Imperial Hotel Kuching
"Powering Conservation with a Green Economy"
|
About the Pre-Conference Workshop
The Pre-Conference Workshop of the Malaysian Conservation Conference 2.0 2026 serves as a capacity-building platform designed to equip participants with practical knowledge and provide hands-on skills in key areas of current conservation. Held ahead of the main conference, this workshop brings together experts and practitioners to share insights on emerging tools, technologies, and approaches that are shaping the future of conservation in Malaysia and beyond. The sessions are tailored to support the participants of this year's MCC 2.0 in strengthening their technical competencies and enhancing their impact in the conservation field. Participants will have the opportunity to engage in focused learning across four thematic areas:
By bridging theory and practice, the Pre-Conference Workshop aims to nurture the next generation of conservationists and reinforce the overall theme of MCC 2.0 2026 — “Powering Conservation with a Green Economy”. |
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
Malaysian Conservation Conference (MCC) is a meeting platform for field conservationists and their international collaborators working in Malaysia. MCC was conceived by the four Malaysian government partners, i.e. Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC), Department of Wildlife and National Parks (PERHILITAN), Sabah Parks and Sabah Wildlife. The conference is a forum to discuss conservation challenges as well as to present applied conservation research.
MCC will be held once in three years, and the host will be rotated between the above-mentioned regional partners of Sarawak, Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia. As MCC 2022 was hosted by Sarawak, the following Sarawak-linked development principles of biodiversity conservation, eco-tourism, rural transformation, revenue generation and digital economy was highlighted by Sarawakian presenters.
The 2022 conference also supported networking amongst the community of applied conservation practitioners. MCC 2022 was the inaugural conference for Malaysia. It was held in Kuching, Sarawak, from the 29 Mar – 31 Mar 2022. SFC became the first agency to host this conference.
This year, Sarawak Forestry Corporation is once again honoured to host MCC. For 2026, it has central theme of “Powering Conservation with a Green Economy,” and this is supported by five sub-themes:-
1. Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Utilisation
- 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.
2. Circular Economy (Green Economy, Net Zero, ESG, Sustainability)
- 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.
3. Implementing Conservation
- 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.
4. Climate Change and Nature
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.
5. Conservation Finance
- 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.