Gelam tree or Melaleuca cajuputi (M. cajuputi) is an important species for the local economy as well as coastal ecosystem protection in Terengganu, Malaysia. This study aimed at producing a current habitat suitability map and predicting future potential habitat distribution for M. cajuputi in Terengganu based on Species distribution modeling (SDM) using the Maximum Entropy principle. Our modeling results show that for the current potential distribution of M. cajuputi species, only 10.82% (1346.5 km²) of Terengganu area is suitable habitat, which 0.96% of the areas are under high, 2.44% moderate and 7.42% poor habitat suitability. The model prediction for future projection shows that the habitat suitability for M. cajuputi would decrease significantly in the year 2050 under RCP 4.5 where the largest contraction from suitable to unsuitable habitat area is about 442.1 km² and under RCP 2.6 is the highest expansion from unsuitable to suitable habitat area (267.5 km²). From the future habitat suitability projection, we found that the habitat suitability in Marang would degrade significantly under all climate scenarios, while in Setiu the habitat suitability for M. cajuputi remains stable throughout the climate change scenarios. The modeling prediction shows a significant influence on the soil properties, temperature, and precipitation during monsoon months. These results could benefit conservationist and policymakers for decision making. The present model could also give a perception into potential habitat suitability of M. cajuputi in the future and to improve our understanding of the species’ response under the changing climate.

Indigenous peoples are groups with different cultural and social characteristics that share inherited ties to their homeland and natural resources. They have their own understanding and cultural experience that amounts to traditional ecological knowledge. The aim of this study is to identify the impacts of traditional ecological knowledge on indigenous people. Two main databases, namely Web of Science and Scopus, were used to conduct a systematic literature review. From the findings and analysis, two themes and eleven sub-themes were identified. The first theme is economic activities, including six sub-themes: sources of income, employment opportunities, offering products to vendors or buyers, providing market value, providing low treatment cost, and providing opportunities to develop micro-enterprises. The second theme is health, with five sub-themes: supporting food security, harvesting country food, food or plant benefits, perceived health or medicinal purposes, and livelihoods of the indigenous people. In conclusion, traditional knowledge can play an important role in contributing to the livelihoods of indigenous people. In general, traditional knowledge can help indigenous people to improve their quality of life, especially those who rely on natural resources to survive, by offering secure and supplemented food, for instance, as well as a source of earnings, crucial for food security during hard times. Additionally, traditional knowledge of wild edible and medicinal plants can play a significant role in a community’s capacity to remain resilient and be preserved for future generations.

The Setiu Wetlands, a unique area with nine interconnected habitats, comprises a considerable fraction of the total Peninsular Malaysia’s wetland flora. Although botanical collecting in the area has been active in the past 10 years, only a few studies dealing with the wetland flora have been published. Thus, a detailed checklist of this area is urgently needed to ensure the continuity of its inter-relating flora and fauna, as well as the livelihood of the local people. In this work we conducted a survey of the vascular plant flora of Setiu Wetlands and investigated the most important plants used by the local communities. Our checklist accounts for 406 taxa from 277 genera and 106 families, including 24 (6%) species of ferns and lycophytes, three gymnosperms, 257 (64%) dicotyledons and 122 (30%) monocotyledons. This comprehensive plant checklist will be a primary reference for the management of the newly gazetted Setiu Wetlands State Park covering more than 400 hectares of lands and water bodies.

Indigenous tribes and rural communities around the world are known to rely on various plant parts for their livelihood and nutrition, most notably for food. This research aimed to examine and document the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of wild tuber food plants used by the Orang Asli Bateq tribe of Peninsular Malaysia. The findings of this study are critical to scientifically identify and document food sources from the forest that contribute to the tribe's livelihood and, possibly, future food security. In the Bateq villages, information was gathered via semi-structured surveys, field trips, group discussions, and key informant interviews. The results show that TEK influenced the use of wild tubers inherited from their ancestors. The Bateq ate at least 11 different types of wild tubers, including Dioscorea orbiculata, Dioscorea prainiana, and Dioscorea hispida. Most of these wild tubers are from the Dioscoreaceae plant family and must be properly processed before being consumed. The elements related to the traditional knowledge of the wild tubers are the harvesting skills and the practice in the utilization of the plant. The survey also suggests that the selection to use plant tubers is prompted by its delicious taste and nutritional value while being natural and unpolluted food. In terms of plant sustainability, the majority of the Bateq will follow certain conservation techniques to maintain the plants' availability. Understanding what underlies TEK and the tribe's practices in using wild plant resources will preserve the natural legacy of forest resources and biodiversity, and possibly contribute to future food security.

Coastal landscapes are not only supporting the most productive and ecologically valuable ecosystem but are also fast changing, caused by both anthropogenic and natural processes. Changes in the form of diminishing vegetation cover, water body and increasing urbanization in Terengganu, East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, for the years of 2000 and 2017 were assessed using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer satellite (MODIS) product. Images were processed based on Erdas Imagine software and then projected to World Geodetic System (WGS 84) coordinates based on ArcGIS 10.0. Significant reduction is detected in vegetation cover, from 46.5% in the year 2000 to 26.6% in 2017, coinciding with an increase in urban areas (from 3.3 to 33.6%). Changes due to urbanization raise concern over the loss of coastal landscape and may impact its resilience, so it may no longer be able to provide key ecosystem services. This understudied ecosystem deserves to be conserved for its ecosystem services. The paper argues that looking at the data presented, the resilience or the capacity of the Terengganu coastal landscape in maintaining its ecosystem services in the near future might have been compromised. Recommendations on how these valuable landscapes could be best conserved for social and ecological sustainability are put forward.