BEYOND CONSERVATION: MULTISPECIES ANTHROPOLOGY AND MORE-THAN-HUMAN RELATIONS IN SABAH

Abstract

Multispecies anthropology has become an important approach for understanding how humans and other living beings coexist and shape shared social and ecological worlds. By moving beyond anthropocentric perspectives, the field emphasises relationality, agency, and the interconnectedness of human and nonhuman life. Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, provides a particularly valuable setting for examining these relationships because of its exceptional biological richness, cultural diversity, and rapidly changing socio-ecological landscapes. This literature review synthesises scholarship published between 2010 and 2024 to examine how multispecies anthropology has been applied in Sabah and to assess the region's contribution to wider anthropological debates. Five interconnected themes are explored: the theoretical foundations of multispecies anthropology; conservation and environmental governance; wildlife tourism and more-than-human encounters; relational livelihoods and biocultural practices; and multispecies political ecology in the context of environmental change. Particular attention is given to Indigenous ecological knowledge, especially the Tagal system, which illustrates how customary law, reciprocity, and environmental stewardship can foster more than-human forms of governance. The review finds that existing research has been largely framed by biodiversity conservation and human–wildlife conflict, while everyday multispecies coexistence, Indigenous ontologies, urban environments, and relationships involving less visible species remain comparatively overlooked. By bringing together these diverse strands of scholarship, this review argues that Sabah should be understood not only as a biodiversity hotspot but also as an important site for advancing multispecies anthropology. It highlights how Sabah's socio-ecological landscapes contribute to broader discussions of relational governance, biocultural diversity, environmental justice, and more-than-human coexistence, while identifying key directions for future research in Southeast Asia and beyond.