Malaysian conservationist Dr Melvin Gumal, who has made a career out of helping to save the country’s orang utan population, has become the first Malaysian to win the Whitley Award, popularly known among conservationist circles as the Green Oscar.
Dr Gumal was honoured with the Whitley Award for the Conservation in Ape Habitats at a ceremony at the Royal Geographical Society in the UK on Thursday night.
The Whitley Awards are an international ceremony honouring the world’s most exemplary conservation efforts, and the people behind them.
Before the ceremony, Dr Gumal told The Star Online, “I’m overwhelmed, and excited for my fellow nominees.”
When accepting his award, he expresed his gratitutde to his family, the Sarawak Forest Department, Forestry Corp, Borneo Adventure and various donors such as the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and others for their support.
Along with the award trophy, Dr Gumal was also presented with a GBP35,000 (RM192,168) cash prize. He said he would use the funds for field work.
A field biologist and long-term conservationist, Dr Gumal beat out 169 other experts from across the globe for the honour. He has also been a director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Malaysian chapter since 2003. His work understanding and protecting orang utan began in 1988.
Renowned nature documentarian Sir David Attenborough, a Whitley Fund for Nature trustee, was quoted as saying, “Whitley Award winners are successful because they don’t just watch and measure – they act! They are the conservation experts – not us – they know what to do and, more importantly, how to get it done.”
