01
THE FILM
Nestled within the clouds, a 200-million-year-old forest struggles for survival amidst the reckless assaults by the very people it protects.
Amidst larger issues like climate change, the Cloud Forest of Mount Brinchang is facing attacks from within its environment by the very people living under its shelter. Excessive use of pesticides by farmers pollute its microclimate and water reserves, while expansion into the forest for commercial purposes damages its ecological structure. If the destruction continues, the 200-million-year-old Cloud Forest will soon see its end -- and with it, its protection of Cameron Highlands as a whole.
02
THE FACTS
Cloud forests are among one of the most vulnerable environments, yet they are not as protected, due to issues such as urbanisation and inaccessibility.
A Cloud Forest is a high-altitude rainforest found only at elevations above 1000m, where lower clouds come in and out of the mountain. This results in a unique microclimate within the cloud forest, hence it is extremely susceptible to changes in the external environment. This also applies to the endemic species in the cloud forest because they have adapted to this unique environment; taking them out of the environment is like “pulling a deep-water fish out of the water” - as mentioned by Satya Murthy, a nature guide at Cameron Highlands - “they will die”.
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03
THE MISSION
We are a team of four students from the
Wee Kim Wee School of
Communication and Information in
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
For our thesis project, we decided to produce a short nature documentary because we believe that nature is something that touches all of us, regardless of where we are in the world. We all have a part to play in conserving the environment, and by making this film, we hope to get the word out on a vulnerable environment that is facing extinction in 100 - 200 years, or less.
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We journeyed into the Cloud Forest of Mount Brinchang in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia, to discover one of the most vulnerable yet unprotected environments. The Mount Brinchang Cloud Forest remains one of the last pristine areas of montane forests in the region. It showcases the only instance of successful reforestation efforts in Malaysia itself. We aim to showcase the interdependence of humans and the environment, whereby one cannot survive without the other.