Local community plays a major role in conserving the biodiversity. Although Setiu Wetlands has finally been declared as the first State Park in Terengganu since April 2018, its gazettment efforts remain meaningless on a piece of paper without overall involvement and participation from the local communities. Community participation and awareness on Setiu Wetlands gazettment are still minimal due to 1) less effort has been made to dessiminate, socialise and educate public & local community on gazettment effort 2) reluctant among the local community who doesn?t see the benefit of conservation towards local community development 3) top to down conservation approach- minimal effort has been done to increase local community involvement & participation in conservation efforts.

To make it worst, high poverty level among the local community, economic depression past Covid-19 and low environmental awareness resulted in development interest continuously takes precedence over wetlands

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conservation. Perhaps, Setiu Wetlands also facing unsustainable mass tourism development attraction without any specific effort done to promote alternative ecotourism choice which are more sustainable and benefiting the local community.

Wetland School of Setiu is an innovative, social entrepreneurship-conservation initiative project aims to address issue above. Applying the concept of forest school or green school, wetland school is a community based outdoor environmental education and learnings center focusing on hands on teaching in real natural area. Develop and run by the local community themselves, Wetland School of Setiu provides sense of ownership and increase the local community participation in conservation efforts. It is an attempt to demonstrate how conservation efforts can benefit the local community, providing alternative sustainable income while empowering the local community towards wetland conservation. At the same time being a showcase of community-based Edu tourism potential as an alternative sustainable choice of tourism business in Setiu Wetland State Park.

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