Earth Matters

Tak Kenal Maka Tak Cinta is our monthly tourism-themed series on Earth Matters, which aims to highlight lesser-known ecotourism spots right here in Malaysia. Done in collaboration with the Ecotourism & Conservation Society Malaysia (ECOMY), we want to take you back to the great outdoors, and experience the many off-the-beaten-track nature spots our country has to offer.  For this episode,...

In the 1950's, it was estimated that Malaysia had as many as 3000 tigers in the wild. In 2022, that number had dwindled to an estimated 150.  Is there still a chance to save our Malayan tiger? The answer is yes, and the Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers ( MYCAT ) are spearheading several grassroots efforts which involve individuals playing their part in the conservation of our amazin...

In 2018, China’s National Sword Policy came into effect, banning 24 (later 32) types of solid waste imports to the country, including plastic and paper waste. This, we know, caused a global disruption in the recyclable material market and redirected plastic waste to new destination countries, primarily in Southeast Asia. From January to July 2018, Malaysia became the world's top destination for pl...

Plastics only started to be made in large quantities after World War 2, but since then, the pollution from all the plastic we manufacture and use has become one of the most serious threats humanity faces. According to the IUCN, by 2015, 60% of all plastic ever produced had become plastic waste, and is practically everywhere - it’s in the air, in the soil, in freshwater, and in the sea. In 2019, on...

Humanity is facing a plastic pollution crisis. It's said that plastic production has risen exponentially in the last decades, and now amounts to some 400 million tons per year– a figure set to double by 2040. In 2022, UN Member States agreed to start negotiating a historic new global treaty to end plastic pollution. The framework is now being negotiated throughout a series of meetings across the g...

It's World Reef Awareness Day on the 1st of June, celebrated annually to reflect on our ocean's delicate coral reefs, and to bring together communities and leaders around the world to conserve these incredible marine ecosystems. Beyond their ecological services, coral reefs are valuable to communities for food security, storm protection, cultural value, and more. But with human activity and a warm...

May is coming to a close, which makes it time for another roundup of top environmental news with the co-founders of journalism portal, Macaranga . This month, Wong Siew Lyn and Law Yao Hua join us to discuss the heatwaves we are contending with in Malaysia, while tying it to water supply concerns that are increasing across the peninsula. Next we discuss how Malaysia and Indonesia are gearing up fo...

Tak Kenal Maka Tak Cinta is our monthly tourism-themed series on Earth Matters, which aims to highlight lesser-known ecotourism spots right here in Malaysia. Done in collaboration with the Ecotourism & Conservation Society Malaysia (ECOMY), we want to take you back to the great outdoors, and experience the many off-the-beaten-track nature spots our country has to offer. In our fourth episode,...

The battle to save Taman Rimba Kiara is finally over, with the Federal Court's ruling in favour of protecting the space, by quashing a development order by the DBKL to develop the area. Many have described the long fight to preserve this green lung as a David vs Goliath undertaking - how did the community rally together to coordinate and take on the authorities? We speak to three of the many invol...

It's International Day for Biological Diversity today, celebrated annually on the 22nd of May to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues. This year, the theme is “From Agreement to Action: Build Back Biodiversity” and is meant to promote action in support of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. On today's show, we want to celebrate Malaysia's incredible biodivers...

Earlier this May, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) officially accepted a complaint against Malaysian timber company Samling, which was filed by civil society groups last October. The FSC accepted the complaint after determining there was “sufficient evidence” regarding violations of FSC policies, and the council has said it will open a case into alleged illegal logging, violations of tradition...

Bukit Kiara is a much loved green lung in our rather green lung deprived city centre. A former rubber estate, the area is now a popular spot for thousands of Klang Valley residents in search of ways to commune with nature. The area is not fully gazetted though, and the NGO Friends of Bukit Kiara (FoBK) have long been championing the protection and preservation of this area, and are always working...

The Penang South Islands (PSI) project was initially a massive reclamation project to create three islands off the southern coast of Penang island. The RM10 billion reclamation project is a state government initiative to finance the RM46 billion Penang Transport Master Plan through the reclamation of the three islands covering 1,620ha off Permatang Damar Laut. The project has faced fierce and voci...

Environmental watchdog RimbaWatch have been hard at work, keeping an eye on forests by using open source data and analytics, and shining a spotlight on deforestation in Malaysia, while also highlighting environmental abuses. They recently revealed a one-stop-centre for data on deforestation on their website, which for the first time allows users to visualise past and future deforestation on the da...

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has now published the synthesis report of its sixth assessment report (AR6). This forms the final part of the sixth assessment cycle, which kicked off in 2015. For eight years, the experts analysed thousands of scientific publications, in order to make it easier for people like us and also policy makers to understand global warming, as well as s...

Tak Kenal Maka Tak Cinta is a tourism-themed series on Earth Matters, which aims to highlight lesser-known ecotourism spots right here in Malaysia. Done in collaboration with the Ecotourism & Conservation Society Malaysia (ECOMY), we want to take you back to the great outdoors, and experience the many off-the-beaten-track nature spots our country has to offer. In our third episode, we head ove...

We catch up with local, lovable environmental journalism portal Macaranga , for a roundup of top environmental news from April 2023. This month, we discuss court cases and petitions galore over the defence of traditional indigenous lands, namely involving the Semai tribe from Pos Lanai, and the Temiar tribe of Kampung Cunex, and also the Sarawak NGO Save Rivers, who are fighting a lawsuit by a tim...

The recent unwelcome visit by the haze in the region was another unpleasant reminder that the issue of transboundary haze is far from resolved. Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad reportedly said that the haze was caused by peat fires and open burning in several areas in the country, but that the haze was also happening in other ASEAN countries. The ASEAN...

Back in late January of this year, Malaysia witnessed a major win for environmental law in Malaysia, when the Federal Court - in a landmark decision - quashed a hillside development that was issued by the local authority in Penang. Many have noted that this ruling might have impacts on other public interest litigation cases in the country. On a two-part special, we discuss this apex judgement, and...

Peatlands are a type of wetland which occur in almost every country and are known to cover at least 3% of global land surface. Peatlands are an integral part of our ecosystem - they are the largest natural terrestrial carbon store, and can store more carbon than all other vegetation types in the world combined. Sadly, these are areas that have been undervalued for years, seen as no-man's land, or...

Back in late January of this year, Malaysia witnessed a major win for environmental law in the country, when the Federal Court - in a landmark decision -  quashed a hillside development that was issued by the local authority in Penang. Many have noted that this ruling might have impacts on other public interest litigation cases in the country, including the ongoing Taman Rimba Kiara case. On...

Tak Kenal Maka Tak Cinta is a new ecotourism-centred series on Earth Matters, which aims to highlight lesser-known  ecotourism spots right here in Malaysia. Done in collaboration with the Ecotourism & Conservation Society Malaysia (ECOMY) the series will take you back to nature, by visiting off-the-beaten-track spots in our country. In our second episode, we head over to Teluk Intan in Pe...

RimbaWatch recently brought attention to the Department of Environment’s (DOE) approval of an EIA for a palm oil project in Pahang, which amounts to 8,498ha. This project involves the deforestation of intact natural forests nearly twice the size of Putrajaya, and is the largest single palm oil project approved in Peninsular Malaysia in recent years. Why is this happening, considering the Malaysian...

The Royal Belum State Park , under the management of the Perak State Parks Corporation (PSPC), has been awarded the prestigious Conservation Assured |Tiger Standards (CA|TS) approval, in recognition of its exceptional conservation efforts and commitment to tiger conservation. This milestone places Malaysia on the map as the very first country in Southeast Asia to implement CA|TS. But what does thi...

A growing population also means a growing trash problem - just looking at Malaysia's stats, we reportedly generated over 38 thousand metric tonnes  of solid waste per day in 2021 (1.17 kg/capita/day). Of which, 82.5 percent is disposed of in landfills. Experts have warned that there will be no more land left in Malaysia by 2050 if nothing is done to reduce waste. Some have said the solution l...