In his his talk, “40 years of conservation in Sabah”, Glyn will consider the changes that have taken place in this Bornean state of East Malaysia since the late 1970s. Early survey results will be compared with more recent research findings to illustrate the impacts of timber logging, palm oil production and hunting on orangutans, elephants, gibbons and a selection of other larger mammals.

Glyn Davies started his career with WWF Malaysia in Sabah in 1979, when he co-led the Faunal Survey of Sabah project (1979-1981), as well as conducting his PhD fieldwork in Sepilok. Since when he has been a leader in international conservation and development, and worked for government and international agencies, NGOs and universities, in: Asia, Africa, the European Commission, UK and USA. In 2018 he returned to Sabah, as Senior Adviser to WWF Malaysia, and established the Wildlife Atlas of Sabah project (2018-present), as well as developing the ‘living landscapes approach’ to conservation and sustainable development in WWF Malaysia’s Sabah Landscapes Programme.