Earth Matters

In this month's roundup of environmental news, we first discuss Penang's conflicting coastal conservation plans - on the one hand, they aim to gazette 428 ha of mangroves as forest reserves this year, but then, the state is also proposing to reclaim about 1800 hectares of land on its southern coast - a move widely criticised by conservationists. What gives? Next we will look at the news of a canin...

Reef Check Malaysia has learned of more plans for airport extensions on islands off the East coast of Peninsular Malaysia, this time on Pulau Redang. We find out about these proposed plans from Julian Hyde, the General Manager of Reef Check Malaysia, who will also share how developments such as these can negatively impact biodiversity in the area. Julian will also discuss whether such projects wil...

Human survival is dependent on biodiversity, but our activities - supposedly in the name of our survival - are causing biodiversity loss. And now, with most humans living in cities, there is a need to understand how cities impact biodiversity, and how urban biodiversity impacts people. Kota Hijau Kita is a new integrated platform that was created to support and strengthen a growing movement of peo...

Human survival is dependent on biodiversity, but our activities - supposedly in the name of our survival - are causing biodiversity loss. And now, with most humans living in cities, there is a need to understand how cities impact biodiversity, and how urban biodiversity impacts people. Kota Hijau Kita is a new integrated platform that was created to support and strengthen a growing movement of peo...

Bite-Size Climate Action is a series of fun, flexible, and immersive short online modules designed by experts in the conservation field, to inspire Malaysian youth to act for the climate. From forests to food to electricity, uniquely Malaysian videos , podcasts, quizzes and more are provided to demystify the science of climate change and empower everyone to be the change they want to see. We find...

The estimate is that one million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction. International Day for Biological Diversity, celebrated annually on the 22nd of May, is a day to remind us how biological diversity is the pillar upon which we build civilizations, and that its loss threatens the survival of us all. This year's theme is “we’re part of the solution” and fo...

The Belum Temenggor forest reserve forms the last and largest contiguous block of natural forest in Peninsular Malaysia. Covering an area of over 300,000 hectares, the tropical rainforest is believed to be over 130 million years old, making it older than both the Amazon and the Congo. Home to a dazzling array of flora and fauna, including the endangered Malayan Tiger, the Royal Belum State Park is...

GreenSteps is a community inspired initiative which aims to help communities evolve towards a low carbon society, with a focus on zero waste, healthy consumption, permaculture development and the rejuvenation of green and natural spaces. Greensteps was the first program under Urban-AX, a community inspired accelerator, which focuses on Low Carbon & Circular Economy Development. Azlan Yaacob, t...

 A new landmark global report titled "What We Waste" takes an in-depth look at how single use plastic, metal and glass beverage packaging is being wasted at ever-increasing rates around the world. It is a story which is particularly concerning in countries with inadequate waste management systems, but there are countries who are leading the way, showing the world that there are circular econo...

The always popular Bukit Kiara is one of the few large green open spaces found right here in Kuala Lumpur. A much needed space for so many urbanites, sadly this green lung is also under threat from development, sitting on prime land, as it were. The NGO Friends of Bukit Kiara (FoBK) has long been championing the protection and preservation of this area, and we find out more about their hard work t...

Wong Siew Lyn, the co-founder, co-editor and writer at local environmental journalism portal macaranga.org is back for another Macaranga Wrap-up episode, this time for a round-up of April’s top environmental news. On this episode, we look at why Malaysia was called a “bright spot of hope” by Global Forest Watch, before looking at the not-so-good news about some marine life in Sab...

Many may think of FRIM or the Forest Research Institute Malaysia as a lovely and popular recreational park set amid a lush rainforest setting, right here in the Klang Valley. But FRIM is also one of the leading institutions in tropical forestry research in the world, and award-winning research at that. Latest research by the institute has found that 567 Malaysian plant species are now listed as th...

With land in Sarawak under intense pressure from the logging, palm oil and mega-hydro companies, communities in the Baram River Basin are getting together and organising themselves, to create an indigenous managed protected zone, and fend off unwanted and poorly planned development projects. Ahead of this year's Earth Day - which calls on us all to Restore Our Earth - we find out more about how th...

Was Malaysia snubbed when it wasn't invited to the US-organised Leaders Summit on Climate, which will be hosted by US President Joe Biden? The event will feature world leaders from 40 countries, and a statement from the White House said that invitees included the “heads of other countries that are demonstrating strong climate leadership, are especially vulnerable to climate impacts, or are c...

Unlike many other mammals, bats are often greatly feared by people. There is even a condition for it - Chiroptophobia - or the fear of bats, which may largely stem from their association with darkness, vampires, horror films, or even their association as disease vectors and pests. This fear or dislike of bats is believed to be an important barrier to bat conservation globally. But a new study aims...

Wong Siew Lyn and Law Yao Hua, the co-founders of Macaranga.org return for their monthly wrap-up of environmental news, first to discuss several protests organised this month alone by various Orang Asli communities, against development projects on their ancestral lands. We then turn to the news about an anti-poaching raid that was conducted in Tawau, Sabah which led to the arrest of 14 men, includ...

In 2018, China's National Sword Policy came into effect, which banned 24 types of solid waste imports into the country. This included plastic waste, which then caused a global disruption of the market for recyclable material. It also led to the redirection of plastic waste to Southeast Asia, and from January to July 2018, Malaysia became the world's top destination for plastic waste exports. This...

The theme for World Water Day 2021 is 'Valuing Water'. Safe to say that for many of us in the Klang Valley, we valued our water most, when we lost access to our steady supply on several occasions last year, as a result of water pollution. If water is considered a human right under international laws, what powers do we as lay people have, to ensure clean and safe access to water at all times? We di...

It's been said that tree planting ‘has mind-blowing potential’ to tackle the climate crisis. Billions more trees, scientists claimed, could remove two-thirds of all the carbon dioxide created by human activity. But does it matter which trees are being planted? In a report released at the end of January, scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG Kew) and Botanic Gardens Conser...

Described as an unassuming patch of greenery, Bukit Persekutuan or Federal Hill, is one of the last sizable forest areas in the Kuala Lumpur city centre. This secondary forest is home to an impressive range of flora and fauna, and is also an area that is culturally and historically significant, complete with iconic buildings that are part of our nation's history. Unfortunately, Bukit Persekutuan's...

In 2020, local environmental journalism portal Macaranga.org published four in-depth articles based on their investigation into forest-use changes in Peninsular Malaysia. Called Forest Files, the series explored issues such as forest-use policies, key drivers of forest loss and also how citizens could influence forest use. In our third and final interview covering the Forest Files' findings, we lo...

In our roundup of environmental news for February 2021,  Macaranga.org 's Wong Siew Lyn fills us in on the 2020 winners of the  5th Asia Environmental Enforcement Awards  which were just announced, and gives props to the two Malaysian federal agencies and the Royal Malaysia Police Taskforce that were among the winners, while discussing the implications of this international recognit...

Last year, local environmental portal Macaranga.org published four in-depth articles based on their investigation into forest-use changes in Peninsular Malaysia. Called Forest Files, the series explored issues such as forest-use policies, key drivers of forest loss and also how citizens could influence forest use. In our second of three interviews covering Macaranga's findings, we speak to Law Yao...

Last year, local environmental portal Macaranga.org published four in-depth articles based on their investigation into forest-use changes in Peninsular Malaysia. Called Forest Files, the series explored issues such as forest-use policies, key drivers of forest loss and also how citizens could influence forest use. In our first of three interviews covering Macaranga's findings, we speak to Law Yao...

In his first day as President of the USA, Joe Biden overturned his twice-impeached predecessor's actions on the environment, by rejoining the Paris climate accord, cancelling the Keystone XL pipeline, revoking oil and gas development at national wildlife monuments, and directing agencies to review and reverse more than 100 actions on the environment by the previous administration. What more can we...