Sabah's elephant champion

The Star

05-05-2025

Collective effort: Farina (centre) posing with members of her team. The conservationist says the Whitley Award is not just for her, but for everyone working to protect Sabah's elephants. — Pic from the Whitley Fund for Nature
KOTA KINABALU: Dr Farina Othman's life changed when she came up close and personal with the Bornean elephant.
It all began when she moved from Alor Setar to further her studies in conservation biology at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS).
On assignment, she realised her calling was to protect the Bornean elephant, which has defined the past 17 years of her life.
Her long journey was recognised on the global stage when she received the 2025 Whitley Award – one of the world's most prestigious conservation prizes – for her work to protect the endangered Bornean elephant.
'Winning the Whitley Award is incredibly meaningful. It's a personal affirmation that the struggles and sacrifices in this work matter,' she said after receiving the award from the UK's Princess Anne at the Royal Geographical Society in London on April 30.
Farina, now a senior lecturer at UMS, started her conservation career in 2008 at the Danau Girang Field Centre.
A decade later, she founded Seratu Aatai – which means 'solidarity' – a non-profit organisation rooted in community-based conservation in Kinabatangan.
Bornean elephants are the smallest subspecies of Asian elephants and genetically distinct, with fewer than 1,000 remaining in the wild.
Around 300 can be found in the Kinabatangan region, where forest fragmentation from logging and oil palm cultivation has brought wildlife into closer contact with people.
'My real dream is to see elephants truly become part of our landscape again – not something we fear or push away, but something we live with and respect,' she said.
The Whitley Award comes with £50,000 (RM287,000), which will be used to help her team create safe corridors across oil palm estates, carry out behavioural research and support the work of trained community honorary wildlife wardens.
Her approach is based on humility and empathy.
She works directly with plantation workers, independent smallholders and local schools – training communities to identify individual elephants, track herd movements and find ways to reduce conflict without harm.
'Conflict is something we can't completely avoid. Even between people, there are disagreements,' she added.
'I'm doing this because I see injustice in how we treat the environment, and how that creates conflict for both people and animals.
'This work feels more like a calling.'
She said the award isn't hers alone, but belongs to everyone in Kinabatangan and Sabah working towards peaceful coexistence.
'I'll feel proud when I meet my Creator and can say, 'I tried my best, with what I had, to protect your other creations.'