Canon Malaysia is continuing its commitment to a greener and more sustainable environment through its One Canon One Tree initiative.
The initiative has entered its fifth year, but for the first time ever, Canon has collaborated with the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) to help conserve the Malayan Tapir by planting trees in their natural habitat.
Do you know that Tapirs are listed as one of the endangered species in Asia? Why is it important to conserve the forest...
Posted by Canon Malaysia on Wednesday, November 4, 2020
Over three generations, the Malayan Tapir population has declined by more than 50%, largely due to the conversion of its habitat to palm oil plantations and other human developments. With approximately 1,300 remaining, the only tapir species in Asia is now an endangered species.
Most of its population exists in isolation within protected areas and small areas of forests. The Malayan Tapir, scientifically known as the Tapirus Indicus, are mainly solitary creatures. Shy and elusive, these animals can live for about 30 years and do their best to avoid large cats as they are their main predators.
Photo via im Zoo Leipzig
Closely related to horses and rhinoceroses, these animals are also herbivorous mammals that only eat leaves and fruits, hence trees are an essential part of their life.
The habitats rely on the Tapir as much as the Tapir relies on it. They defecate the seeds of seasonal fruits they consume from the trees, resowing and dispersing the seeds back to the fauna and help make the environment naturally sustainable. This makes them gardeners of the forest, without the Tapirs, habitats will collapse and face eradication.
This year, One Canon One Tree took the conversation online. From 2 November to 22 November 2020, the campaign told the story of the Malayan Tapir together with MNS and netizens showed their support for environmental conversation via their comments by finishing the sentence “To protect the habitat of Tapirs, We can…” on Facebook and Instagram. Canon will be planting one tree for each unique comment made by the public on its social media pages, with the ten best comments winning a Tapir tote bag! (We lowkey want one of those…)
Throughout the campaign, Canon received some great comments from netizens that have shown creativity and care for the Tapirs:
“To protect the habitat of Tapirs, we can plant more and more trees, which will provide food, shelter, shade, cleaner air, beautiful foliage, keep the soil intact and become the home of so many wildlife for generations to come!” - Shivani Desai
“To protect the habitat of Tapirs, we can participate in (T)ree Planting campaigns like this, (A)dvocate against the hunting of Tapirs all over the world, (P)ractice minimal wastage in our daily lives, say no to (I)llegal deforestation and burning of forest, (R)aise awareness of the endangered status of Tapirs.” - Joycelyn Ong Shee Hui
This is to raise awareness about the Malayan Tapir, and their current status within our ecosystem. Doing its part in preserving our flora and fauna, Canon is determined to keep this up through education and active participation via its sustainability exercises.
Founded in 1940, the MNS is the largest and oldest non-government environmental organization. MNS’s overarching focus in its activities is to conserve Malaysia’s diverse habitats and to protect Malaysia’s national heritage, especially in ecologically sensitive landscapes. MNS kicked off the Tapir conservation program back in 2012 where it uses World Tapir Day, which is celebrated on 27 April every year, as a platform to educate the masses on these majestic creatures.
Photo via canon.my
Since 2016, the One Canon One Tree initiative has contributed thousands of trees as part of its responsibility to environmental conservation and building a sustainable environment for future generations. Previously, Canon came together and offered its support to the Shah Alam City Council in an effort to help the city achieve low carbon status.
To date, Canon has planted over 8000 trees during the course of the yearly campaigns.
By: Aishah Akashah Ahadiat
