Southeast Asia Research Program

Regional conservation research using acoustic monitoring to study biodiversity and human activity

This program aims to conduct regionally focused conservation research, involving both acoustic biodiversity monitoring and broader ecosystem studies, and to establish a networked acoustic monitoring system across various regions. The research is organized into two main streams:

Protected Area Monitoring: Collaborating with local managers to monitor biodiversity and human activity within protected areas.

Migratory Bird Studies: Conducting broad-scale studies on migratory bird phenology with localized research contributions.

Individual Projects:

• Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary: Located in Cambodia, this project collaborates with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Cambodia. It involves a variety of conservation objectives, such as tracking endangered bird populations, monitoring hunting, and using historical population data to enhance PAM results.
• Jahoo Ecotourism Site: A long-term monitoring project within the Kao Sema Wildlife Sanctuary, specifically targeting Southern Yellow-cheeked Crested Gibbons. Jahu provides an acoustic dataset useful for detector training and species monitoring.
• Kenyir State Park: We’ve partnered with the local NGO Nature Based Solutions to bring together a community of Malaysian conservationists and analysts on this site in peninsular Malaysia, to work on biodiversity monitoring of gibbons, hornbills, pheasants, and human disturbance tracking.