Policy and Related Issues Pertaining Community Participation in the Management of Protected Area (PA): A Case of Pahang National Park, Malaysia

With the goal of significantly reducing biodiversity loss, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2011-2020 as the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity. As a signatory to the Convention on Biodiversity, Malaysia is obligated to safeguard the biodiversity through the protection and management of many protected areas (PAs). Achieving sustainability related targets by involving the local communities is an agenda of the day. Inclusivity is the key issue in which various stakeholders are brought to the fore, i.e., the Orang Asli and local villagers; yet, there are others being sidelined. This means, the effective management of these protected areas remained a debatable issue. Hence, this is a systematic inquiry on the governance of protected areas that reiterates the importance of the local communities' participation. Interviews are conducted with local communities that are living in Pahang National Park, specifically in Kuala Tahan vicinity. The data analyzes three features to a community engagement process: (i) the importance of building capacity for indigenous knowledge; (ii) the role of Department of Wildlife and National Parks (PERHILITAN) in facilitating sustainable and resilient communities, and (iii) empowering and harnessing the commitment of all stakeholders to conserve biodiversity. The results suggest that understanding the different needs and concerns of stakeholders are important to achieve sustainability related goals.