Earth Matters

In our first Earth Matters episode 2021, Wong Siew Lyn and Law Yao Hua, the co-founders of local journalism portal Macaranga.org join us to share environmental news from January. First, we discuss what the MCO2.0 and the nationwide emergency might mean for the environment, before turning to a discussion on the recent flooding, and whether logging was to blame for it. And finally, as we all stay ho...

Established in 1985, the South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP) has worked towards the conservation, sustainable management and restoration of rainforests in Malaysia, particularly in Sabah. Through their work, they hope to address the major environmental issues facing the tropics: plantation development, habitat restoration, and climate change. A recent recipient of the Merdeka...

It's estimated the average office worker uses 10,000 sheets of office paper, and about 500 disposable coffee cups every year. That's a lot of waste that can be easily reduced or even eliminated, and we haven't even taken into account the amount of disposable plastic and food waste that one generates per year! Last week, the folks from Zero Waste Malaysia joined us to share some tips to embark on t...

New year, new you! Most people are looking forward to kicking off 2021 with new resolutions, and what better way to improve your health, simplify your lifestyle, save time and money in the long run, and lessen your carbon footprint, than by trying the zero waste lifestyle? Khor Sue Yee, Angie Elsie Roger and Gedeon Lee from Zero Waste Malaysia join us to discuss simple ways to build up healthy and...

In our final Earth Matters episode for the year, we look back at some of the major environment-related news from 2020, with Wong Siew Lyn and Law Yao Hua, the co-founders of local journalism portal Macaranga.org . First we discuss the huge impact of COVID-19 on conservation and ecotourism, before turning to a discussion on the repeated water cuts many of us faced in 2020, due to river pollution. C...

Many developed countries exported their recyclable plastic in large amounts to other countries to process, Malaysia being one of them. Though we have since banned the import of plastic scrap, the official definition of plastic scraps remains vague, and the ban also did not halt unregulated or poorly regulated burning and dumping activities of plastic. It's no secret that the global plastic recycli...

Many developed countries exported their recyclable plastic in large amounts to other countries to process, Malaysia being one of them. Though we have since banned the import of plastic scrap, the official definition of plastic scraps remains vague, and the ban also did not halt unregulated or poorly regulated burning and dumping activities of plastic. It's no secret that the global plastic recycli...

We're advised to be the change we want to see in the world, and the folks involved in the  Friends of Sungai Klang Taman Melawati River Three  group, have definitely taken that to heart. Through sheer determination and communal hard work, these Taman Melawati residents transformed a once-dirty riverbank in their neighbourhood into a clean, tranquil space that is now enjoyed by all. It wa...

The folks behind everything at Macaranga.org join us for their monthly show, this time to highlight  Budget 2021 and the government's plans for the environment, before discussing the increased crackdown on wildlife poaching in Johor, which will hopefully be replicated across the country. Finally we look at The Ministry of Environment and Water's upcoming "No Plastic Bag" campaign, and suss ou...

More commonly known as dusky leaf monkeys, langurs or spectacled leaf monkeys - with their large spectacle-looking markings around their eyes - are the subject of Wildlife Researcher Yap Jo Leen's work. Having seen for herself how langurs were being forced out of their habitats and into the path of danger and death because of deforestation in Penang, Jo Leen set up the Langur Project Penang (LPP)...

Youth-led climate change NGO Malaysian Youth Delegation (MYD), are an organisation which focuses on building the capacity of Malaysian youths, to engage with climate policy. They are set to host the third annual Malaysian Local Conference of Youth (MYLCOY), hosted virtually over three weekends, which aims to take on pressing issues such as Climate Finance, Green Economy, and Green Jobs, Climate Po...

Chrishen Gomez is a wildlife biologist, who's currently the research manager for the Bornean Carnivore Programme, by the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at Oxford University, where he has been studying some of the most elusive carnivores in the jungles of Borneo. A winner of the Merdeka Award Grant for International Attachment 2019, Chrishen joins us to discuss his areas of research, and to sh...

Multi-award winning photographer Sanjitpaal Singh has been capturing the immense wonders that our Malaysian natural heritage has to offer through his camera, sharing a hidden world that so many of us can only dream about. But can wildlife and nature photography complement and promote environmental conservation? Sanjit joins us to share how he uses images to make people aware of, and respond to, en...

A recent survey by the WWF-UM Living Planet Centre, was conducted to gauge Malaysians awareness and attitudes, particularly on environmental issues. The study also aimed to determine Malaysians' environmental, social, economic, and cultural knowledge, in relation to sustainable development. We explore the findings of this survey, and discuss ways forward to improve Education for Sustainable Develo...

In this month's roundup, SL Wong and Law Yao Hua, the editors of Macaranga.org , tackle the nation's water pollution woes, and discuss why we need to continue demanding for better monitoring and enforcement by the authorities. Next, we discuss the degazettement of the Kuala Langat Forest Reserve, tying it to why the National Forestry Act should be amended to make public consultation compulsory in...

Dr Ravinder Kaur has long been working on the conservation of hornbills in Borneo, having studied hornbill breeding ecology and conservation in the Kinabatangan, as part of her PhD. Together with her team, she now runs a conservation programme in the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, through her social enterprise called Explore Gaia , and in partnership with local NGO, Hutan-Kinabatangan Orangutan...

Amy Tan and her family took a road less travelled, and chose to live in the jungle surrounded by nature. For almost 10 years, they lived off-the-grid on a farm in the beautiful jungles of Lenggong, Perak, and ran Permaculture Perak , where they grew their own organic food, and also offered farm stays and apprenticeship programs. Their way of life was even featured on the National Geographic series...

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. Higher education institutes have been called upon to integrate sustainable development into their organisations. One university who has been working hard to do that is Sunway University, and we fin...

Reef Stakes ® is the first marine themed role playing card game in Malaysia, and is designed to mimic real-life stakeholder relationships, introduce some of Malaysia’s most iconic marine species and highlight threats to coral reefs. The card game was recently announced winner of the 8th International Educational Games Competition (IEGC) in the Non-Digital Finished Games category. We find...

In this month's roundup, SL Wong and Law Yao Hua, the editors of Macaranga.org , join us to discuss more environmental issues making headlines. First, we look at the impact of Covid-19 on ecotourism, and how communities that are reliant on this form of tourism are adopting alternative ways to survive. We also discuss river pollution in Malaysia, looking back at the most recent case in Sungai Gong...

Rivers, those large bodies of fresh, flowing water, embody many different values to different people. Many social and economic benefits derived from rivers are dependent on good ‘all round’ river health, but sadly, many rivers around the world are severely degraded or at risk, which undermines their ability to provide critical ecosystem services and related benefits. In conjunction wit...

Back in June this year, communities in the Baram region in Sarawak, together with the civil society group Save Rivers , called for the 148,000 hectare Gerenai forest management unit certification to be cancelled, as they believed that the certification authority and the timber company involved, pushed through the acquirement of the permit during the coronavirus crisis, without proper consultation...

The Shah Alam City Council recently released its latest draft local plan draft (Draf Rancangan Tempatan 2035) for public consultation. In this plan is a proposal to build a road right across the Shah Alam Community Forest linking Setia Alam and Bandar NusaRhu. It's estimated that the proposed road will permanently destroy about two hectares of pristine rainforest, hundreds of trees and species, an...

There are five types of gibbons found in Malaysia, and the IUCN lists all of them as endangered. Sadly, they receive very little protection here, and some of the threats to their existence include habitat loss from deforestation and development, poaching, and trafficking. Mariani Ramli has been working to rescue gibbons from captivity, with the aim of rehabilitating and releasing them back into th...

SL Wong and Law Yao Hua, the editors of Macaranga.org, return for their monthly show, to discuss major environmental news from August this year, and to highlight events and issues to look out for in September. This month, we will discuss whether human-elephant conflicts are on the rise, and we will also dissect Malaysia’s decision to shelve the tabling of the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act...