Earth Matters

Earlier in March, RimbaWatch - formerly known as the Rimba Disclosure Project - released a study which revealed that Malaysia is set to lose 2.3 million hectares of forest, reducing forest cover in the country to 47.35%. The " State of the Malaysian Rainforest 2023 " report further put that into perspective by explaining that the area earmarked for deforestation would roughly be 100 times the size...

Another month almost over, another roundup of top environmental news with the co-founders of journalism portal Macaranga . This month, Law Yao Hua and Wong Siew Lyn join us to discuss the Sarawak Premier's announcement that the state will establish a Sarawak Climate Change Centre, before tackling the news from the Dewan Rakyat by Natural Resources, Environment, and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazm...

The 'Rainbow Warrior' is one of three ships in the Greenpeace fleet, patrolling the world's oceans and fighting for climate and environmental justice. The ship was named after a North American Cree Indian prophecy which goes: “When the world is sick and dying, people will rise up like Warriors of the Rainbow.” We catch up with Captain Pep Barbal Badia, the Captain of the Rainbow Warrior, to find o...

In a recently published two-part series, local journalism portal Macaranga , in collaboration with the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investigations Network, identified gaps in forest data for the years 2002—2021, with a focus on Peninsular Malaysia. Their investigations revealed that the data is pretty messy - supposed forest reserves not gazetted, oil palm plantations inside reserves, outdated map...

Earlier in March, Sarawak assemblyman Dennis Ngau claimed that logging in Ulu Baram, Miri, was welcomed by indigenous communities, and did not harm their way of life. This was swiftly refuted by indigenous land rights defenders, including Save Rivers and Keruan, who criticised the assemblyman's comments, saying that it demonstrated a real lack of understanding of the issues and needs on the ground...

Rewilding is described as an innovative way of restoring wild nature. It’s also said to be about letting nature take care of itself, enabling natural processes to shape land and sea, and restore degraded landscapes. On our part - having caused most of the destruction facing this planet - we can give rewilding a helping hand by creating the right conditions, for example by allowing natural forest r...

These past few weeks have seen several states in Malaysia experiencing continuous rainfall, and subsequently with that, the occurrence of floods, evacuations, massive disruptions and destruction, and even the loss of life. Over in some areas in Sarawak, flooding has become more frequent and intense in recent years, as witnessed by the local communities there. NGO  Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM),...

For nearly 50 years, Greenpeace has been sailing the world's oceans, protecting our planet and fighting for environmental justice. Through the Greenpeace Fleet - Rainbow Warrior, Arctic Sunrise and Witness - and tireless Greenpeace activists, they have been successful in obstructing nuclear tests in the Pacific, documenting plastics in our oceans, conducting research into the effects of climate ch...

It's World Wildlife Day on the 3rd of March, an annual UN International day to celebrate all the world's wild animals and plants and the contribution that they make to our lives and the health of the planet. Malaysia is of course  recognized as one of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world, meaning it is one of the top biodiversity-rich countries and home to many animals including sun bear...

For this month's roundup of environmental news, we're joined by Wong Siew Lyn, the co-founder of environmental journalism portal Macaranga . First, the Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad recently proposed increasing the punishment for water pollution from RM100,000 to RM10 million and the maximum jail time from one year to 15 years, or both. Are harsher...

Malaysia's Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim retabled Budget 2023 last Friday on the 24th of February, after the first tabling in October 2022 by the previous Ismail Sabri administration was thrown out, due to parliament being dissolved. With a new unity government at the helm, there are significant changes to what was initially tabled, with the newly consolidated Natura...

Parti Hijau Malaysia or the Green Party of Malaysia is the new kid on the block, focussed on highlighting environmental issues in Malaysia, and protecting forest reserves. Highly vocal on issues surrounding the degazettement of forest reserves in Selangor, the party is hoping that the Registrar of Societies (ROS) will approve their application before the next Selangor state election is called, so...

We kick off a new ecotourism-centred series on Earth Matters - Tak Kenal Maka Tak Cinta - which aims to highlight lesser-known ecotourism spots right here in Malaysia. Done in collaboration with the Ecotourism & Conservation Society of Malaysia (ECOMY) the series aims to shine a spotlight on lesser-known ecotourism spots right here in Malaysia, that will take you on off-the-beaten-track nature...

Back in 2015, wildlife researcher Dr Ravinder Kaur and wildlife photographer Sanjitpaal Singh set up the social enterprise Explore GAIA , to conserve the hornbills of Malaysia. Explore GAIA, together with the NGO Hutan, are currently the only groups providing nesting opportunities for endangered hornbills in Malaysia, and they have been searching for natural nesting sites of endangered hornbills,...

Late last month, the Federal Court in a landmark decision, quashed a hillside development that was issued by the local authority in Penang. Federal Court judge Nallini Pathmanathan who wrote the unanimous decision, ruled that Section 22(2A) says that the development affecting hill tops or hill slopes is no longer merely an issue of local state governance, but is also a federal and national issue....

It was World Wetlands Day on the 2nd of February, and we wanted to give props to the many underrated habitats that fall under the category of wetlands, which are described as the most productive ecosystems in the world. Previously, we spoke about what wetlands are, but in this second episode of our two-part special, we discuss threats that continuously degrade these habitats, but also solutions on...

We catch up on some of the top environmental news of January 2023, with the co-founders of environmental journalism portal, Macaranga . This month, we first discuss the implications of a Federal Court ruling which ruled in favour of Sungai Ara residents, who challenged the Penang island city council’s (MBPP) decision to grant planning permission to a developer to build a housing scheme on a hillsl...

February 2nd marks World Wetlands Day, and 2023's theme is “It’s Time for Wetlands Restoration,” highlighting the urgent need to prioritise wetland restoration. Though they are called bogs, swamps, marshes, and a host of other unappealing names, wetlands are the most productive ecosystems in the world, and exist in every country and in every climatic zone. In a two-part special, we take a deep div...

Standing at 291m, Bukit Dinding is described as one of the last green fortresses in Kuala Lumpur, and is a popular recreational spot for many. Back in late 2022 though, news broke that two blocks of 26-storey condominiums will be built there, even though the area has been known to be landslide-prone, and has an underground water source at the hill. Residents around the area and others opposing the...

Hazen Audel is a biologist, TV presenter, and natural history guide, who is Kootenai and Salish Native American and Greek by descent. He founded The Wild Classroom, a non-profit online web-series offering teachers and students quality, natural history educational videos for use in the classroom and home. As the host of National Geographic's Primal Survivor series, he has documented many adventures...

The Swap Project (TSP) was launched in late 2018 by Jayda Chong and Jamie Choy, two young women who "are passionate about sustainability in a fashionable way". Fashion of course has a huge environmental cost, and it's estimated that the fashion industry is currently responsible for more annual carbon emissions than all international flights and maritime shipping, combined. How can pre-loved clothi...

Back in November 2022, the 19th Conference of the Parties (CoP19) to CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) took place in Panama, to discuss the future of the international trade in endangered species. At the meeting, Malaysia lobbied for two proposals to respectively upgrade and add protection for two songbird species - the straw-headed bulbul and the white-rumped sha...

One million species are currently at risk of extinction. Back in 2011, almost 200 countries agreed to the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, a set of 20 targets intended to protect nature, save biodiversity and enhance its benefits for people. All 20 targets were missed. In late December 2022, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) was finally signed, a landmark agreement which consists...

A landmark deal was reached after two weeks of talks in Montreal at the COP15 UN biodiversity summit, where nations from across the world agreed to a new set of goals and targets to “halt and reverse” biodiversity loss by 2030. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework includes something we've been discussing often - the “30×30” target, to conserve 30% of the world’s land and 30% of the o...

In our last Earth Matters show for 2022, we catch up with Wong Siew Lyn and Law Yao Hua, the co-founders of environmental journalism portal Macaranga, who share some of the big stories that they covered throughout the year, on macaranga.org . We cover five main topics including food security and climate change, the impacts of African swine fever in Malaysia, calls to modernise Penang’s pig farming...