Earth Matters

Clean air is a basic human right, but air pollution has become one of the greatest environmental risk factors for human health. Exposure to air pollution is a leading global health risk which causes ill health and millions of premature deaths each year worldwide. A recent report titled “ Different Air Under One Sky: The Inequity Air Research ” published by Greenpeace India, estimates that 100% of...

We may never know exactly when or where an earthquake will happen, but Navakanesh Batmanathan is working to help educate people and better prepare them, should it happen. A National Geographic Young Explorer in 2017, he has worked to map faults, and the areas around faults, to gain a clearer picture of potential earthquake hazards. Currently a research assistant with the Southeast Asia Disaster Pr...

For decades now, Adrian Banie Lasimbang has been at the forefront of the movement for sustainable development, and representation for Borneo’s indigenous rural communities. With a long history in grassroots activism, he was the first Malaysian to be awarded the Seacology Prize in 2004 for his success in organising indigenous communities against the unsustainable exploitation of Borneo’s forests, a...

Biodiversity for Malaysia is a monthly series which aims to get everyone on the same page when it comes to all things biodiversity-related, especially on issues surrounding the Convention on Biological Diversity post-2020 framework process, the 30X30 target, and more.  On this month's episode we ask, what exactly does protecting 30% of the planet’s environment look like, especially for biodiv...

In our ongoing series, There's No Planet B, we want to share everything you need to know about the climate crisis. We previously touched on why we're in a climate crisis, the effects of the crisis, and climate governance. In this episode, we want to tackle the three pillars of international climate change law: mitigation, adaptation, and loss & damage. The Paris Agreement discusses loss and da...

YBhg Tan Sri Dato’ Dr. Salleh bin Haji Mohd Nor has spent the better part of his life protecting Malaysia's natural capital. With a long illustrious career to his name – including as the first director-general of the Forest Institute of Malaysia (FRIM), and the president of the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) for 30 years – he is an outspoken and highly respected conservationist, unafraid to challe...

For this month's roundup of environmental news with Macaranga , co-founders Wong Siew Lyn and Law Yao Hua first discuss the Perak state government's decision to go ahead with the lanthanide mining pilot project in Gerik, Hulu Perak, and how the state government hopes to address environmental concerns over the project, before turning our attention to some new research by Coralku, which monitored co...

The ongoing battle to save the Shah Alam Community Forest from being developed continues, the latest update being that two NGOs have filed a judicial review, to challenge the legality of the degazettement of land covering 406ha at the Bukit Cherakah Forest Reserve. The two NGOs, Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam Malaysia (PEKA Malaysia) and Persatuan Rimba Komuniti Shah Alam (SACF Society) jointl...

YELL stands for Youth Environment Living Labs, and was created to strengthen youth led environmental action, rooted in local, indigenous and traditional knowledge. The aim of YELL is a two-pronged one - to help local youths find their voice in environmental action, and to amplify the existing sustainability efforts among young people. We speak to Wani Nur Imannina, a Youth-Environment Community Fa...

The Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC) is a collaborative research and training facility managed by the Sabah Wildlife Department and Cardiff University. Their research aims to help mitigate the loss of Asian biodiversity by understanding the effects of habitat fragmentation on the ecosystem, while encouraging in-situ conservation and engaging with NGOs, stakeholders, and policy-makers alike. From p...

Established in 2005, EcoKnights' focuses on working with key stakeholders to drive and empower sustainable actions for a better planet. Sustainable community development is at the core of their efforts, whether through on-ground community projects, public-private partnerships, or policy advocacy. We catch up with Fadly Bakhtiar, the Programme Director at EcoKnights, to find out about some of their...

More than a year ago, in July 2021, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat released the first official draft of a new Global Biodiversity Framework, to guide actions worldwide through 2030 to preserve and protect nature and its essential services to people. The framework includes 21 targets for 2030, and there has been particular interest in Target 3, a global target known col...

The Sunda or Diardi’s Clouded Leopard was only identified to science in 2006, when genetic research indicated they were a separate species from the mainland Clouded Leopard. Named as such because of the large, blotchy, cloud-like markings on their body, Sunda Clouded Leopards are said to be only found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Listed as vulnerable on the IUCN's Red List, a major threat...

The U.N. General Assembly — the highest UN body that wields considerable influence over its member states — adopted a historic resolution: the recognition that it’s a universal human right to live in a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, on the 29th of July 2022. The resolution has been five decades in the making, and is described as an important tool for accountability and climate justice...

According to a recent report in Macaranga, plantation company AA Sawit Sdn Bhd has just submitted an environmental impact assessment (EIA) report to get federal approval for its new plantations in Johor. However, the development on the site had already begun two years ago, with satellite images showing that between 2020—2021, more than 600 ha of forests on the 3,775 ha site in Endau, northeast Joh...

It's estimated that fewer than 150 Malayan tigers remain in the wild in Peninsula Malaysia, led to near extinction by the usual suspects of poaching and habitat loss. But efforts have been stepped up through the years, not only from hard working NGO's, but through the establishment of the National Tiger Task Force headed by the prime minister, and the setting up of a Wildlife Crime Bureau under th...

Every last Monday of the month, we gather for a roundup of important environmental news from the month past, with the good folks of journalism portal, Macaranga . This month, Law Yao Hua and Wong Siew Lyn, co-founders of Macaranga, join us to discuss how over 53 NGOs are calling for more transparency surrounding environmental impact assessments (EIAs) by the Department of Environment, before we tu...

We've seen the reports and news headlines: "Our planet is choking on plastic" "Microplastics: Polluting our blood, foetuses - and now the dairy and meat we eat." Along with the climate and biodiversity loss crises, pollution - including air and plastic pollution -  is the third part of the Triple Planetary Crisis. How can we be part of the solution to end plastic pollution? In conjunction wit...

Biodiversity for Malaysia is a monthly series which aims to get everyone on the same page when it comes to all things biodiversity-related, especially on issues surrounding the Convention on Biological Diversity post-2020 framework process, the 30X30 target, and more. As we've been discussing over the past few months, there has been little progress on negotiations for a new Post 2020 Global Biodiv...

The Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link or PJD LINK is a proposed 34.3 km, 2 lane dual carriageway expressway, which, as per its description, will act as a traffic dispersal for the Petaling Jaya area, and serve as an alternative to traffic congested areas. Fully funded by the private sector without government subsidies, the proposed highway - which will be a tolled one - is also being mooted as a means...

A biologist turned wildlife photographer, Chien Lee began his career in northern California as an environmental educator, before moving to Sarawak in 1996, which has been his base ever since. Using the power of photography to help more of us understand the beauty and wonders of nature, his works are also a powerful reminder of all the natural heritage that needs protection, as we face the dual cri...

The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) convened another set of week-long talks in Nairobi, which was the Open-Ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. There were a couple of clear wins, but a lot more contentious issues that were left unsettled, with one participant of the talks describing the proceedings as “groundhog day in Nairobi.” With negotiations on biodi...

We know that biodiversity is the variety of life, at genetic, species and ecosystem levels, and is essential for the resilience of ecosystems. We also know that a part of this essential biodiversity contributes in one way or another to agriculture and food production. But reports have pointed to how the global food system is the primary driver of biodiversity loss, and this loss will continue to a...

The Bonn Climate Change Conference was described as two weeks of intense discussions, to make progress on important technical issues, and prepare decisions for adoption at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh in November. What issues were discussed, and were there any fruitful outcomes, especially from the lens of developing nations and the Global South? Why were many develo...

In June 2022's roundup of environmental news, done in collaboration with award-winning environmental journalism portal Macaranga , we look back at news of resistance to large infrastructure projects in Malaysia. We discuss the RM5 billion hydroelectric power plant at Mukim Ulu Nenggiri in Gua Musang, and also the new proposed airport in Pulau Tioman, and explore the environmental and social impact...