Dr. Malcom anak Demies

DR MALCOM ANAK DEMIES has more than 25 years of research and field experience in Sarawak’s unique rainforests. His career is marked by a dedication to rigorous science, hands-on ecological fieldwork, and impactful environmental policy. He has devoted his professional life to advancing scientific understanding of tropical biodiversity and advocating for sustainable environmental stewardship.

His academics show both depth and breadth in the environmental sciences. Dr Malcom began with a Diploma in Forestry from Universiti Putra Malaysia, prior to receiving a BSc in Conservation Biology and Ecology of Tropical Forests and MSc in Botany from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). He then received his PhD in Terrestrial Ecology at UNIMAS. This cross-disciplinary training gave him a

systems-level sensibility that bridged forestry, botany, and ecology — an approach well suited to the complex problems of tropical conservation.

Dr Malcom’s research focuses on tropical forest ecology. ecosystem dynamics and the critical need to conserve tropical biodiversity. His work has not only advanced scientific knowledge of the intricate ecological relationships of rainforest ecosystems, but also produced information used by conservationist and practical policy makers alike.

In Sarawak, Dr Malcom is known as a pioneer of conducting High Conservation Value Forest (HCVF) assessments – a prerequisite for forest certification in Forest Management Units (FMUs). To date, he has helped certify more than ten FMUs with his specialist and stringent assessment reports. But just as important, his work in forest resource inventories and forest carbon activities has been critical to conserving Sarawak’s biodiversity and ecological resilience.

As the pioneer of forest carbon management in Sarawak, Dr Malcom was a driving force behind the development of Sarawak’s first-ever Forest Carbon Rules— The Forests (Forest Carbon Activity) Rules, 2022, positioning Sarawak with global climate goals. His work has been instrumental in advancing sustainable forestry and environmental conservation. He goes on to work on policy refinement and on implementing innovative forest carbon strategies, employing technology such as Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) to quantify forest carbon stocks, monitor forest health and inform land use planning.