Earth Matters

Tourism isn’t just about where we travel, it also shapes our economy, our communities, and our natural heritage. Three years ago, The Habitat Foundation and Tengah Island Conservation came together with a bold idea: to create a coalition that could raise the profile of sustainable tourism and strengthen the people working in the field. We speak to its co-founders, Justine Vaz and Cher Chua-Lassalv...

For September's episode, we speak to Dr. Balamurugan, the founder of ERE Consulting Group and CEO of Elistra Advisory, who recently retired after a long and influential career in environmental consultancy. He is also an avid traveller with a lifelong passion for nature, and together with co-host, Surin Suksuwan, co-founder of Sunda Shelves, he discusses the books that shaped his journey, both prof...

Terrapin conservation isn’t just about saving a species, it’s also about involving communities, empowering women, and reconnecting Malaysians with our rivers. That’s the approach taken by the Turtle Conservation Society of Malaysia , the country’s first and only NGO dedicated to freshwater turtle conservation. We catch up with its Co-Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Chen Pelf Nyok, for our annu...

From diving while seven months pregnant, to pioneering sustainable aquaculture projects that support coastal communities, Prof. Dato' Dr. Aileen Tan has dedicated her life to the ocean. That dedication has now earned her global recognition, as she’s the first Malaysian to win the Anton Bruun Medal, one of marine science’s highest honours. Dr Aileen, a Professor in the School of Biological Sciences...

Forests, rivers, and communities are all deeply connected. In Sarawak, Indigenous communities have been working tirelessly to protect their homelands, and organisations like Save Rivers have been walking alongside them. Their campaigns have led to big wins, like holding timber companies accountable, and they’re also nurturing alternatives, like reforestation, ecotourism, and mapping ancestral land...

This Merdeka and Malaysia Day season, we’re reminded that our country’s story isn’t just about people and places, it’s also about our connection to nature. We speak to a family who embodies that spirit - wildlife photographer Anuar McAfee (Director, International Centre, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin and Research Fellow, East Coast Environmental Research Institute), and his sons Muhammad Corneli...

Have you ever been to the beach, only to find more rubbish than seashells? Unfortunately, that’s a reality for many of our coastlines. But every September, thousands of Malaysians gather to clean our beaches and record what’s being collected during the International Coastal Cleanup , coordinated by Reef Check Malaysia . Those numbers reveal not just what’s ending up in the ocean, but also what nee...

We’ve all been there - stuck in traffic, breathing in exhaust, or wondering why our city feels harder to live in than it should. But what if the solution wasn’t just more roads or bigger buildings, but smarter ways to design and run our cities? We speak to Dr. Non Arkaraprasertkul, a Senior Expert at Thailand’s Digital Economy Promotion Agency, who's been behind more than 120 smart city projects a...

They are striking, noisy, and unmistakable - but hornbills are far more than beautiful rainforest residents. As key seed dispersers, they’re essential to the health of our forests. Few people know them as well as Dr. Yeap Chin Aik, co-founder & Primary Investigator for the MNS Hornbill Conservation Project with the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS), who has spent over twenty years tracking their...

On this month’s Macaranga Wrap-Up, we turn to the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. In Selangor, Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (JOAS) marked the occasion with a two-day celebration themed “Defend the Earth, Restore the Land, Regreen the Future – Through Indigenous Wisdom.” We speak to Macaranga co-founder Wong Siew Lyn to unpack what that means for Indigenous rights and the env...

In our latest episode of Nature Reads, we travel back to 1899, when Cambridge anthropologist Walter William Skeat led a major scientific expedition to Malaya. The expedition didn’t just collect plants and animals; it also produced classic books on zoology, botany, and culture that continue to influence how we understand our natural history today. To guide us through this chapter, we’re joined by K...

Malaysia’s ecotourism scene has been quietly growing, with communities, conservation groups, and travellers all playing a part in making tourism more sustainable. Over the past year, Sustainable Tourism Malaysia has gone from 8 projects to 25, covering everything from waste-free islands to geoparks and urban green spaces. We catch up with Mariam Ghani, the Senior Programme Manager for The Habitat...

The world is drowning in plastic, and governments have been working for more than three years on a global treaty to tackle the crisis. Countries have been locked in negotiations to create this treaty that could change the way plastics are produced, used, and managed worldwide. But the latest round of talks in Geneva has ended without a deal, as countries remain divided on some of the toughest issu...

Asian elephants are iconic, intelligent, and a vital part of our natural heritage, but here in Malaysia, they face an uncertain future. Habitat loss, human–elephant conflict, infrastructure cutting through their ranges, and other growing threats have put immense pressure on their populations. Yet, hope remains, through groundbreaking research, innovative conflict mitigation strategies, and renewed...

They’re small, elusive, and unlike any other elephants in the world, but many of us don’t even realise that Bornean elephants are found only here, in the forests of northeastern Borneo. These gentle, intelligent creatures are not just rare, they’re also in trouble. Habitat loss, human–elephant conflict, roads cutting through their range, and, more recently, signs of ivory poaching have all taken a...

Whether it’s land development, conservation, or cultural survival, Indigenous peoples are often the last to be consulted, if at all. Yet they’re also the ones with the most at stake. Free, Prior and Informed Consent, or FPIC, is meant to ensure that Indigenous communities have the right to say yes or no to decisions that affect their lands, resources, and ways of life. But how often is that right...

Malaysia is among the top importers of plastic waste in the developing world, and plastic pollution is choking not just our landfills, but our rivers, seas, and communities. From ghost nets floating in our oceans to microplastics in our drinking water, plastic pollution is no longer just an environmental issue, it’s a human health crisis and an economic threat. As governments meet to finalise a le...

What does it take to turn a tin mine into a rainforest, and then get the world to recognise it as a treasure worth protecting? That’s exactly what Malaysia has achieved with the Forest Research Institute Malaysia , or FRIM, which was just named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Joining us today to tell us more about this incredible journey is Encik Mahmudin Saleh, FRIM’s Deputy Director General of Ope...

Every month, we catch up with Law Yao Hua and Wong Siew Lyn, the co-founders of environmental journalism portal Macaranga , to chat about the biggest environmental news making waves in Malaysia. July gave us everything from new rules on plastic waste, to a major wildlife crime bust, to the return of that all-too-familiar haze. Yao Hua and Siew Lyn join us to share the 411. Image Credit: Shuttersto...

Nature Reads on Earth Matters is a show where we explore the stories behind books that bring us closer to nature and the world around us. Every month, we team up with the good folks at Sunda Shelves , an independent bookstore and café with a passion for wild places and thoughtful reads. This month, together with co-host Dylan Jefri Ong (co-founder, Sunda Shelves), we speak to Azamuddeen Nasir, a p...

The Malaysian Food Sovereignty Forum has raised the alarm over proposed changes to two key agricultural laws: the Protection of New Plant Varieties Act and the Plant Seed Quality Bill. These two important laws affecting agriculture are set for debate in Parliament, but are the right people being heard? The Malaysian Food Sovereignty Forum says no, pointing to a lack of engagement with farmers and...

The world is trying to craft a legally binding treaty on plastic pollution, but not everyone agrees on what that should look like. As INC-5.2 negotiations resume in Geneva this August to hammer out The Global Plastics Treaty, deep divides remain over issues like plastic production, financing, and equity. Who’s pulling the strings, what’s stalling progress, and why does it matter for all of us? We...

Melaka’s coastline is facing a transformation of unprecedented scale. A massive land reclamation project spanning over 1,100 hectares is being proposed under the Straits of Melaka Waterfront Economic Zone (SM-WEZ), touted to bring billions in investment and thousands of jobs. But the push for development is being met with growing resistance. Environmentalists, fisherfolk, and local communities war...

A quiet but crucial battle is playing out over something we often overlook - seeds. Proposed changes to Malaysia’s Protection of New Plant Varieties Act could shift seed rights away from small farmers and into the hands of multinational companies. To help us understand what this means for farmers, food prices, and even our national seed sovereignty, we’re joined by Chee Yoke Ling, the Executive Di...

What do a mudflat at dawn, an endangered seahorse, and climate action have in common? More than you’d expect. We speak to Vincent Tan, who recently wrote about his journey to the Merambong seagrass meadow, and Wong Jieyi, a Project Manager from Save Our Seahorses, about how this tiny fish is anchoring big conversations around conservation, public participation, and sustainable development. Image C...