Rapid urbanisation is increasing conflict between humans and urban primates in Penang.

Infrastructure development and expanding urban landscapes have fragmented natural habitats, forcing endangered primates such as dusky langurs and long-tailed macaques to move through residential areas, roads, and other human-dominated spaces in search of food and safe passage. This has contributed to rising cases of wildlife roadkill and electrocution as primates attempt to cross disconnected forest canopies.

In tourist and recreational areas, access to human food and poor waste management have further altered macaque behaviour, increasing dependence on human-populated spaces and intensifying conflict with local communities and visitors. At the same time, limited public understanding of urban wildlife and coexistence practices continues to fuel misinformation and harmful responses towards these endangered species.

Langur Project Penang combines research, education, and community action to build long-term coexistence between humans and urban wildlife.

LPP promotes coexistence through citizen science-based field research, environmental education, and community-driven conservation initiatives that address habitat connectivity, public awareness, and sustainable human-wildlife interactions.

To improve habitat connectivity, the organisation installed artificial road canopy bridges in Penang, marking the first arboreal wildlife crossings in an urban setting in Malaysia. More than 6,000 wildlife crossing camera trap recordings have documented arboreal wildlife safely using these crossings to move between habitat fragments previously divided by road infrastructure. The crossings are also designed to reduce wildlife roadkill incidents.

Beyond infrastructure solutions, LPP works closely with local communities to develop recommendations for humane and sustainable approaches to mitigating negative human-dusky langur interactions. The organisation also conducts environmental education programmes covering topics such as urban monkey behaviour, macaque facial expressions, and hands-on citizen science activities. Through environmental edcation outreach, LPP uses education as a conservation tool to foster greater understanding and coexistence between people and wildlife.

AirAsia Foundation’s grant supports Langur Project Penang in scaling its conservation impact while strengthening long-term operational sustainability.

• Expanding outreach efforts and educational materials for the Rainforest Programme
• Enhancing programme content development, marketing assets, and website presence
• Building the team’s capacity to strengthen and scale the programme
• Supporting continued public awareness on primates and human-wildlife coexistence

By strengthening its environmental education programme, the grant enables LPP to diversify and sustain its conservation efforts while working towards achieving financial self-sufficiency by 2027.