In this episode, I speak with Associate Professor Dr. Fiffy Saikim, Director of the Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation at Universiti Malaysia Sabah. Fiffy shares her journey from aquatic resource management into ecotourism and conservation, and why she believes that protecting biodiversity in Borneo can only succeed when local communities are at the center.

She discusses her work living alongside hunter and fishing communities, highlighting indigenous traditions like tavol and tagal that show how conservation is deeply rooted in generations of knowledge and culture. Fiffy also unpacks the challenges of balancing development and conservation, the urgent need to fund fundamental research in universities, such as taxonomy and biodiversity monitoring, and the lessons she’s learned from the resilience and wisdom of local people.

Her message is clear: achieving true sustainability requires harmony between people, planet, and economy. Or, as she puts it, “Don’t be ego — be eco.”

Recorded at Borneo’s Danum Valley field station, this episode features Dr Caroline Dingle, an evolutionary ecologist and programme coordinator at Capilano University in Vancouver, Canada. Caroline shares her research into how environments shape species, from the duetting birds of the Amazon to songbirds traded in Asia and the critically endangered helmeted hornbill. Her work combines field observation, passive acoustic monitoring, and genetic analysis to understand biodiversity and tackle the illegal wildlife trade.

Reflecting on her path into tropical research, Caroline discusses the influence of early female mentors, the challenges of fieldwork in remote rainforests, and the balancing fieldwork with family life. She highlights the role of collaboration with local communities, governments, and NGOs, and the need to make biodiversity data more accessible and impactful.

Looking ahead, she emphasises the promise of education, innovation, and new technologies - from drones to bioinformatics - in training the next generation and strengthening global conservation efforts one species at a time.

Recorded at Borneo’s Danum Valley field station, this episode features Dr. Anna Goldman, a Naturalist and Biodiversity Scientist currently working as the lead natural history museum curator at California Polytechnic University in Humboldt, USA.

Anna shares her unconventional teaching methods, from using roadkill river otters in necropsies to explaining the vital role of flesh-eating beetles in preparing museum specimens. For her, these museum collections are not dusty relics but living archives of biodiversity, essential for tracking environmental change, identifying new species, and inspiring future generations. Reflecting on her own journey, from childhood curiosity with insects and animal remains to a PhD on pangolins in Hong Kong, Anna discusses the challenges of being a woman in science, the importance of collaboration over competition, and the value of clear, engaging science communication.

Looking ahead, she emphasises the need to combine field-based learning with modern research techniques, and to ensure natural history collections, biodiversity data and expertise are passed on.