Current Research

1- Agriculture Sector Model: A System Dynamics Methodology

The study intends to develop a system dynamic model of the Malaysian agriculture sector in the hope of explaining its slow growth and identifying strategic policy to enhance its performance. System dynamics (SD) was chosen as it is the best methodology to observe and define complexity, non-linearity, circular relationship and delays in the system.

Policy design and evaluation (under different scenarios):

Before an integrated agriculture model is developed, system dynamic models of the sub-sectors need to be established. In view of the diversity of sub-sectors in the agriculture sector, the study has identified seven sub-sectors and four resource sectors that are considered strategic for the sector.   The commodities/resources to be included are:

Industrial crop (Palm oil, Cocoa, Pepper), and Food Commodity (Fishery,Paddy, Livestock, Foresty)

The resource sector includes Land, Water, Capital, Technology, Labour.

2- Multi-Dimensional Responsible Rural Tourism Capacity (RRTC) Framework for Sustainable Tourism - LRGS

Rural tourism development in Malaysia is basically nature based which usually do not have market values. Thus the evaluation of the economic benefits of nature based rural tourism have to be done using non-market valuation techniques that could either be based on revealed or stated preference approaches. Both international non-use values and domestic non-use values should be quantified and included in the use evaluation since such values vary depending on the characteristics of the site. The use of an improved mixed travel cost - contingent valuation method (CVM) is helped the researchers to quantify the existence and bequest value of non-market tourism resources and use values. Visitor survey was carried out to identify visitors’ opinion on the impacts of tourism development in the respective site, expenditure patterns, activity participation, and preferences. Decision-making on conflicts between their preservation and development, various economic valuation techniques have been adopted in the evaluation of preservation value. a total economic value approach that focuses on monetizing a set of human preferences on natural system employed from the environmental economic perspective.

3- Determining an Internalization Scheme For Payment of Environmental Services (PES) in the Sustainable Development of Marine Ecosystem in Semporna, Sabah – GUP, UPM

One of the main economic incomes for Semporna, Sabah is from the Marine Ecosystem (ME). Marine ecosystem in Semporna can be classified as provisioning services, cultural services, regulating services and supporting services. There are two main groups of stakeholder in the study area; the producers of ME and the users of ME. Seaweed cultivation and tourism are found to be notable contributors of local economy of Semporna. However, conservation of ME has been a major issue to achieve sustainable tourism practice. Payment Ecosystem Services (PES) is found to be a suitable tool to address this issue as financial resources can be generated to protect ME. Users of ME such as seaweed cultivators, tourists and fishers will be benefitted through PES. Apart from that, producers of ME such as Sabah Parks, Department of Fisheries and District Office of Semporna will be actively empowered to utilize and implement PES.

4- Assessing the Roles and Impacts of Artificial Reefs and Marine Parks for the Management of Marine Resources in Peninsular Malaysia.

The marine fisheries resources of in Malaysia have declined considerably over the past decades primarily due to overfishing. The excessive fishing capacity has also damaged marine habitats which has been a serious concern for the Malaysian government. The government has deployed and constructed artificial reefs (ARs) as well as established marine parks (MPs) in order to conserve, rebuild and enhance natural resources and to promote marine tourism in various locations. Research on the role of marine protected areas and artificial reefs in conserving and protecting fisheries from further deterioration in coastal waters in Malaysia are limited and needs to be improved.

There is evidence from work done outside Malaysia to suggest that MPs and ARs can play a very supportive role in building fish stocks. The scarcity of research in Malaysia on various management and institutional issues is a cause of concern because of the importance of the fisheries and coastal tourism sectors. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the roles and effectiveness of the management of artificial reefs (AR) and marine parks (MP) in enhancing the economic, social and environmental benefits of the seas of Peninsular Malaysia. The study will use a household survey approach to obtain data from various selected respondents in the east coast and west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The results of this study will be important and helpful for further extension on the use of the MP and AR habitats in both the fisheries and tourism sectors’ planning and management in Malaysia.

5- Impacts of the Conservation of Giant Panda in the Zoo Negara Malaysia: Willingness to Accept Compensation of Local Communities Living Adjacent to Zoo Negara

The Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is an endangered, endemic species in China and a world symbol for conservation and preservation. The arrival of  Giant Panda in Malaysia is seen as an opportunity to undertake research on the animals which could benefit conservation of wildlife in general. The giant pandas that are housed in the million ringgit complex in the Zoo Negera Malaysia have  attracted influx of visitors to the zoo which has created in mixed reactions among the communities living in the proximity of the Zoo.  The giant panda attraction  gives  an  extensive  variety  of  biological  community  services  to  human  prosperity, but at the same has created some unwanted consequences to the communities.  The main objective of this research is to determine its  value  and  benefits  towards  local  community  by  using  the  willingness  to  accept compensation  as  the  contingent valuation (CV) tool. 400 respondents (taken from of a population within a 5 KM radius of Zoo Negara radius) are used to obtain the data on socio demography, perception on the impacts of giant panda tourism and Willingness to Accept (WTA) compensation for the conservation of the giant panda. Data from the survey  of the local communities will be analysed using the  descriptive statistics and regression. The results of the analysis  will be useful  to make policies and suggestions the relevant authorities that take into consideration the value placed by the local communities  for this Giant Panda conservation program.

Keywords: international relations, congestion, business opportunities, family recreation, income 

Updated:: 12/04/2017 [aswani]