Date: Wednesday, 7th March 2018

Time: 10.00 am for a 10.30 am start

Cost: RM 15 members / RM 25 non-members

If you are booking for guests for this event, could you please put the name of your guest into the "Comments" section below of this invitation.

Dr Sheema is the Co-founder and President of Rimba (a non-profit research group conducting conservation science), and Principal Investigator of the organisation’s Project Pteropus

Old World fruit bats provide us with many benefits by performing important ecosystem services through polllination and seed dispersal. Yet it is predicted that many, in Southeast Asia, will become globally extinct by the end of this century, with flying foxes being of particular concern due to intense hunting pressure. There is now a widespread consensus that flying fox conservation and monitoring must be prioritised within the region. The urgency of this situation is particularly exemplified by Peninsular Malaysia, where a combination of relentless hunting pressure and agricultural expansion has drastically reduced the numbers of its two flying fox species. It is clear that immediate conservation efforts are desperately required.  However, in order for conservation to happen, we need to first collect quantitative data on ecosystem services and other beneficial aspects of these bats, whilst investigating the issue of bat-human conflict such as fruit crop raiding, and offering realistic solutions for mitigation.