Earth Matters

There are five species of gibbons, found in Malaysia. The white-handed gibbon, dark-handed or agile gibbon, and the siamang are found in Peninsular Malaysia, while Muller's gibbon and Abbott's grey gibbon live in Sabah and Sarawak. Gibbons are known for providing one of nature's most enchanting concerts - welcoming the sunrise with their songs. But their songs and cherubic faces make them a sought...

Bukit Kiara remains as one of the few large green open spaces found right here in Kuala Lumpur, and is a hugely popular recreational site for urbanites in the Klang Valley. The green lung also provides a number of ecosystem services, including flood mitigation and erosion and landslide prevention, just to name two. But with the whole area not fully gazetted and protected, there is still work to be...

According to a recent report in the Malay Mail, there is a proposal to develop the 292-hectare Kuala Selangor Nature Park (KSNP) into a tourist destination. Though there is nothing in black and white yet, the plan is causing worry among the many stakeholders looking to preserve the safety and sanctity of this wetlands area. What's happening over in the area? We speak to Andrew Sebastian, the Found...

Coral reefs are the ocean’s most biodiverse ecosystems, and provide food, coastal protection and income for many people across the world, and here in Malaysia too. But in a recent article in Macaranga, marine ecologist Sebastian Szereday has warned that a lack of action and funding will ring the death knell for coral reefs in the face of warming seas. With most attention focussed on the climate cr...

We continue with Biodiversity for Malaysia on Earth Matters, a monthly series which wants to get everyone on the same page when it comes to biodiversity matters, all the issues surrounding the Convention on Biological Diversity post-2020 framework process, the 30X30 target and more. So we know that currently, about 17 percent of terrestrial, and eight percent of marine areas, are under some form o...

This year’s World Oceans Day, on 8 June 2022, will highlight the theme Revitalization: Collective Action for the Ocean. A healthy ocean is a critical part of the solution to the climate and biodiversity crises, but currently, less than 17% of land and 8% of the ocean worldwide is protected. We speak to Monique Sumampouw, Head of the Marine Programme at WWF-Malaysia , about the changes happening to...

It's been said that one of Yeb Sano’s defining moments came during the 2013 UN Climate Summit in Warsaw, where, as the Philippines Chief Negotiator, he delivered an emotional appeal and underwent 14 days of fasting in solidarity with Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) victims, and all those already faced with the impacts of the climate crisis. With nearly two decades of experience working to combat climate...

Another month gone by, another round-up with our two favourite environmental journalists, Law Yao Hua and Wong Siew Lyn, the co-founders of Macaranga . This May, we look back at KL's floods and why it's supposedly happening so often, before turning our attention to the skies, and how Migratory Bird Day this year calls attention to light pollution and its impact on birds, even here in Malaysia. We...

Serene Chng is a wildlife trade researcher and a program officer with TRAFFIC in Southeast Asia. Her work involves recording wildlife traded in many of the region’s most notorious markets, and she has brought many emerging wildlife trafficking issues to light through her research and collaborations with others. A bird lover herself, Serene is a co-coordinator with the IUCN Species Survival Commiss...

Juara Turtle Project is a conservation and research centre on Tioman Island, and the group call themselves a "peoples project", because they believe change begins with people. The group runs a number of volunteer-based conservation projects to try and progress the situation for the sea turtles and natural habitats on Tioman island, which also has some of the world’s most pristine coral reefs that...

On this month's episode of The ABC's of Biodiversity, we "shellebrate" World Turtle Day! Observed annually on the 23rd of May, the celebration aims to promote the protection of turtles and tortoises around the world, and also their disappearing habitats. Joining us is Dr. Chen Pelf Nyok, the President of the Turtle Conservation Society of Malaysia (TCS), to give us a 101 on Malaysia's freshwater t...

No monkeying around - a new study has revealed that a new, never-before-identified monkey has been spotted near the Kinabatangan River, in Sabah. The monkey is believed to be a rare hybrid between two different species, likely the offspring of a proboscis monkey and a silvery langur, which are two distantly related species that share the same habitat. As amazing as this discovery is, the researche...

Late last month, the Rimba Disclosure Project (RDP), released its findings for 2021, and found that Peninsular Malaysia will see deforestation amounting to a minimum of 72,584.73ha in the near future, which is nearly equal to the size of Singapore. They based their findings off a total of 86 environmental impact assessments (EIAs) involving forested land had been approved, 28 listings of forests f...

The International Day for Biological Diversity is taking place later this month, and the theme for this year is “Building a shared future for all life.” Much like our ongoing series, Biodiversity For Malaysia, the theme was chosen to continue building momentum and support for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework to be adopted at the upcoming UN Biodiversity Conference #COP15. So in this mon...

Plastic Soup on Earth Matters is an ongoing series where we ask whether we are indeed living in a giant bowl of plastic soup, and explore ways we can get out of this goop. It's the tail end of Ramadan, and Hari Raya Aidilfitri is just around the corner. But like any festival or celebration, we tend to consume more, and likewise generate more waste too. On today's show, we want to explore how to be...

Wong Siew Lyn and Law Yao Hua, the Co-Founders of environmental journalism portal Macaranga , return for their monthly round-up of top environmental news from the month past. This month, we discuss how residents of Klang are exploring the possibility of taking action against the government for their failure to respond adequately to the floods that hit them in December last year, before turning our...

Gabungan Darurat Iklim Malaysia (GDIMY) have released a letter calling upon the Government of Malaysia at the federal, state and local levels to declare a Climate Emergency in Malaysia, by no later than 16 September 2022. The coalition has also outlined 12 specific demands, including one to initiate a rapid decarbonisation trajectory for Malaysia with the phase-out of fossil fuel and adoption of 1...

The science is clear - we are pressuring the planet in more ways than one,  causing unprecedented changes in climate and biodiversity, and mostly driven by human activities. All this combined increasingly threatens nature, human lives, livelihoods and well-being around the world. This Earth Day , the call is to "Invest in Our Planet" and for everyone to come together to act (boldly), innovate...

Last November, the good folks from Zero Waste Malaysia released the beta version of the Trash Encyclopedia , but this 23rd of April, the full version is set to be released, providing priceless information on 101 trash items - including day-to-day household waste, industrial waste and e-waste - and how to recycle them. We catch up with Khor Sue Yee, the Co-founder and Director of Zero Waste Malaysi...

The closure of Malaysia's international borders hit the local tourism industry hard, and almost decimated the ecotourism sector. Now that borders have reopened, we speak to two nature guides and ecotourism operators, Andrew Sebastian, the Founder & Chief Executive Officer of the  Ecotourism & Conservation Society Malaysia and Gwenda Gui, the Vice President of the Sabah Tourist Guides...

In our new 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, and also the effects of the crisis. In this third episode, we want to explore climate governance - the processes involved in building global-scale climate solutions, and how these international policies are eventually created and sup...

We continue our monthly series looking at the Convention on Biological Diversity post-2020 framework process, and in this episode, focus on the recent meeting in Geneva to negotiate this framework. Many are reporting that the two weeks of negotiations to establish the draft of a new global deal to reverse the loss of wildlife and habitats were a “major disappointment,” after countries failed to ag...

Gunung Raya Forest Reserve is home to a diverse ecosystem, with wildlife such as great hornbills, black giant squirrels and island flying foxes, just to name a few. The mountain is 220 million years old and composed mainly of granite, and is a part of Southeast Asia’s first UNESCO Global Geopark, chosen because of its geological importance to the region. Recently though, locals have discovered imp...

The proposed Maharani Energy Gateway project in Muar, Johor will involve creating three man-made islands covering an area of 1,295 hectares, and making it into an energy hub and deep-sea port. It's expected that the main activities involved in the reclamation stage for the man-made islands are the transportation of sea sand from Malacca, sand filling work, compaction, and bank revetment works. Sah...

For 50 years, WWF-Malaysia has worked with government agencies, businesses, communities, NGOs and individual supporters to protect nature, and as they themselves put it, to: "shape Our Future where people and nature thrive together." We catch up with Dr Henry Chan, WWF-Malaysia’s Conservation Director, for a look back at some of their many achievements, and a look forward to what they have in stor...