CLICK! for conservation

WWF-Malaysia introduces Panda CLICK! - an innovative and interactive conservation approach for rural communities in the Malaysian State of Sarawak.

In June and July, WWF-Malaysia held Panda CLICK! Photography Workshops for villagers from different communities in the Malaysian State of Sarawak. The CLICK! (Communication Learning towards Innovative Change and Knowledge) method uses visual communication to document events related to communities and their surrounding environment.

The workshops were organised in cooperation with WWF-Indonesia. CLICK! has been widely used in Indonesia before to advocate for positive changes among rural communities. In the workshops, the villagers – of different ages - learn basic photography and how to write stories based on photos taken.

Over a six-month period, WWF-Malaysia lends digital cameras to the participants in for them to capture how they view their surrounding areas. Images and stories from this project will be published in a book, followed by a photo exhibition, to display their daily life in Sarawak.

Through this programme, villagers are able to document the attractions they have in their respective villages as well as the difficulties they face in relation to the environment, landscape, biodiversity and their traditions and socio-economic situation. That way, participants can promote their perception of their environment and can become nature’s stewards.

Kapit Resident, Joseph Belayong who officiated the workshops said, “This programme is a good platform for people living in Kapit to document their traditions […] in this ever changing era. It can also help communities to document changes that might happen to their socio-economy and environment in Song and Baleh, especially when roads to these areas are completed.”

The programme is part of the transboundary conservation project Green Economy in the Heart of Borneo and is supported by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Environment Ministry (BMU).