Prof. Dato' Dr. Aileen Tan Shau Hwai, FASc
Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies (CEMACS)
Email: aileen@usm.my
Phone No:
(+6)04-653 3500
(+6)04-885 2750
(+6)04-885 2750
Research Interest
Marine Sciences.
Coastal Communities On Oyster Farming
What were your proudest moments during these community projects?
I have been working with the coastal communities since 1995, starting with the womenfolk of Johor Islands on giant clam conservation. Then in 2001, I started working with the coastal communities on oyster farming.
My proudest moment was to see the smiles in the faces of the communities that I worked with, from the low-income communities in the remote coastal areas and islands. In addition to that, being accepted and a part of the community as a "family member" is of ultimate self-achievement. It feels good to have many families welcome us into their homes and care for us. It is not only us providing the impact in their livelihood but the community teaching us about how to be human in the world outside the ivory towers.
In the coastal areas, most of the womenfolk were housewives and depended solely on their husbands as the sole breadwinner and responsible for their children's education. Creating an opportunity for them to generate income through oyster farming and take the lead in some small businesses supporting their husbands and children does make a difference in their livelihood. The smiles on their faces when the scientists were able ta make a difference to their livelihood is the reward. All the tiredness, tribulations and many failures are no longer felt when we know that our science has been successfully translated to these communities and put to good use.
Seeing champions arising from the communities is like seeing our own family members "graduating" and able to have a better future for themselves, their children and their community. These champions will then be our "ambassadors" to continue translating the science to others, converting research solutions to actions.
Aileen is actively encouraging the rural coastal communities in Malaysia to culture oysters to promote "green aquaculture" as well as to create an impactful sustainable income as well as protecting the environment.
The smiling faces of the community who had been impacted by science through community engagement.
What is the biggest challenge you faced to ensure the success of the project?
The biggest challenge that 1 had to face is to gain acceptance from the community. Being of different race, religion and culture had indeed posted the biggest hurdle to get up-close to the coastal communities who are mainly Malays.
As a scientist, I cannot just enter a village and told the local community what is best to do or what the scientist feels is best for the community. Working with the community is not as direct or easy as following any manual/modules/procedures/instructions/S OPs as in the laboratory. We must first gain the trust of the community through listening, observing and understanding. Trustworthiness is important to secure a long-term relationship between the scientist and community before the empowerment / engagement can be conducted. The scientist needs to secure the trust and acceptance from the communities to ensure the translational research knowledge can be done impactfully.
As a scientist, I cannot just enter a village and told the local community what is best the community. Working with the community s not as direct or easy as following any OPs as in the laboratory. We must first gain the trust of the community through listening, observing and understanding Trustworthiness is important to secure a long-term relationship between the scientist and community before the empowerment engagement can be conducted. The scientist needs to secure the trust and acceptance from the communities to ensure the translational research knowledge can be done impactfully.
Being a Chinese female marine scientist can be very challenging, especially when I need to work closely with mainly Malay-male- dominated coastal communities. I have to show respect first instead of expecting to be respected. It is important to understand the community's culture, religion and beliefs. It is important to be accepted as part of the community or even better, their family members, before we can truly work with the community. We have to have an open mind to learn from the community; there are a lot of local knowledge that are amazing and should be documented. Working with the community is all about co-learning and co-production of knowledge and findings.
Working with the local community needs a lot of perseverance and patience. We have to be able to juggle and create a balance between listening to their opinion and sharing We have to stay positive at all times ours. to be able to maintain our stamina both physically and mentally.
Aileen works closely with the coastal communities, making a difference in their lives. Her main principle is to provide "hope" to the bottom billion.
What is the future direction of the project(s)?
I believe that the development of community engagement will be vital in charting the country's future on many scales. Local experiences of one community may be translated to other communities needing the same opportunities elsewhere but probably need some adjustments to be accepted and implemented. In translating the findings of the research, it is probably important to bear this in mind so that it is more applicable and accepted to the intended communities.
At the same time, the borderless nature of the ocean (since I am a marine scientist) meant that collaboration is vital. Providing opportunities and encouraging participation to 50% of the world's population, the womenfolk, is a necessity if we are going to survive the next century.
The local coastal communities now have started to enjoy the benefits from the oyster farming activities, where oysters can be sold continuously after the first 8-10 months of culture. With the income they have generated, the culturists now are able to purchase their own oyster seeds to sustain the farming. Oyster farming is a sustainable activity because it is clean aquaculture and involves minimal investment after the setup of the floating cages. The local communities can extend their farming activities in the future by building more floating cages to increase the holding capacity for the oysters.
The community will be able to expand its culture system once more income has been generated from the sales of the oysters. The local communities will be able to sell their oysters to the industries for further processing of products such as frozen oysters, dry oysters, oysters in saline water and industries dealing with food technology or pharmaceutical companies.
There is an opportunity for the local communities to be social entrepreneurs when they are taught to manage their own eco-tourism business through oyster farming. Oyster farming can be an approach to eco-tourism as well as public awareness for environmental protection (following the Model Quintuple Helix). With the involvement and commitment of local communities, the oyster industry can take off in Malaysia.