Earth Matters

An engineer by profession and an entrepreneur by passion, Ali Raza Randhawa founded his company PAK-Energy Solution, with the aim of turning cow manure into gold. Targetting villagers and farmers living in the rural areas of Pakistan, the company hopes to turn farm waste into gas and fertilizer with portable and domestic natural gas digester. We find out more. See omnystudio.com/listener for priva...

Malaysia's aquaculture industry is expected to produce 800,000 tonnes of fish in 4 years time. Do we have what it takes to meet the demands? Dr. Natrah Fatin Mohd Ikhsan explains. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are now perhaps less than 10 Sumatran rhinos left in Malaysia and less than 100 in Indonesia. We speak to wild-life conservationist Adilla Jamaludin to find out more about the dire situation, what prompted her to champion the Sumatran rhinos and The Rhino Cup - a charity polo tournament to aid Sumatran rhinos. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Peruvian government is drawing flak over its decision to continue with the expansion of the controversial Camisea natural gas project onto land inhabited by uncontacted indigenous tribes. Survival International claims that Peru and the six companies that make up the Camisea consortium have violated United Nations guidelines that protect the land of uncontacted tribes and prohibit the granting...

The idea of smart cities has become the latest hot topic in the tech industry. By 2050, it is estimated that 70% of the world's population will live in cities. However, cities cover just 2% of the Earth's surface yet consume about 75% of the world's resources. Given that more of the world's population now live in cities than in rural areas, it's clear they are key to tackling climate change and re...

The demand for vegetable oil derived from oil palm is rapidly expanding. Appromiately 90% of world production takes place in Indonesia and Malaysia. Unfortanately, around 10% of palm oil plantations in Southeast Asia are on peat soils, which until recently were covered by peat swamp forests. The drainage of these carbon-rich organic soils for plantations is causing massive greenhouse gas emissions...

Many countries, including Malaysia, have alluded to the importance of green economy as the way forward for development. But how committed is Malaysia in developing our nation to be a green economy?  Yasmin Rasyid, the Chairman of Malaysian Environmental NGOs (MENGO) and Mohamed Shah Redza Hussein, the Executive Director of the Malaysian Nature Society join Meera Sivasothy to discuss the commi...

World Tapir Day was established to raise awareness about the only four species of tapir that still exist on the planet today. As large herbivores, tapirs are invariably the first species affected by human encroachment into their territory, and are now classified as endangered.  The Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) are set to celebrate these gentle creatures in a big way this weekend. Meera Siva...

Between the 3rd to th e 15th of March 2013, the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP16) to CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) will take place in Bangkok, Thailand. There are proposals for increased protection for African elephants, polar bears, West African manatees, manta rays and sharks. Dr. Ronald I. Orenstein, a zoologist,...

The Green Wall Project is a very successful community engagement project which involves the reforestation of the fringes of a forest which is one of the last havens of biodiversity on the island of Java. The project also includes a tree adoption program, agroforestry, community education and public outreach activities across the island of Java. We discuss with Ketut Putra, the Executive Director f...

All of Malaysia's caves have unique scientific, recreational, and scenic values, which sadly are now endangered thanks to a severe lack of awareness.  Speleologist Hymeir Kamaruddin has long been at the forefront of cave and karst conservation in Malaysia, and he joins us to discuss the role we should all play to protect cave and karsts systems in the country. See omnystudio.com/listener for...

We catch up with conservationist Andrew Sebastian, the Head of Communications at the Malaysian Nature Society, about various environment-related news from around the country, in conjunction with Malaysian Environmental Week. Andrew also fills us in on MNS's annual Festival of Wings, which celebrates the annual phenomenon of dozens of bird species flying from their wintering homes, crossing seas an...

The feature length documentary "Canning Paradise" delves into the development of the tuna industry in Madang, Papua New Guinea, and in particular the establishment of the Pacific Marine Industrial Zone, which is opposed by many of the local people. Journalist and documentary filmmaker Olivier Pollet travelled to Madang to find out why, and he joins us to discuss his findings, and to share more abo...

We find out more about this campaign by residents of Wangsa Maju, Sheena Moses and Aisyah Farhanah, who are fighting to keep the Wangsa Maju Section 10 Forest - one of the only remaining green lungs in the area - from being cleared for development. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shot in Borneo and featuring the country's passionate conservation biologist, Wong Siew Te, this film is an amazing representative of the efforts which are championed by the Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre. We find out more from Director Howard Jackson and Producer Dr. Audrey Low. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Fest (KLEFF) returns for its fifth edition, and we catch up with Yasmin Rasyid, the President and Founder of EcoKnights and the KLEFF Festival Director, who has been working on the project throughout the years. Joining Yasmin is Neda Ravichandran, the WWF Communications Officer for Protected Areas in Peninsular Malaysia and the producer of local film "Wira Rimba", and the...

For a forested area of its size and significance, Ulu Muda is surprisingly unknown to many. We find out about this outstanding area for wildlife conservation and nature tourism from Hymeir Kamarudin, an eco-guide and the Director of Earth Lodge, who has been exploring and working in the Ulu Muda area since the late 1990s. For more details you can visit http://earthlodgemalaysia.com/ See omnystudio...

All too often, instances of cruelty to wildlife are passed off by irresponsible tour operators as eco-tourism. Andrew Sebastian, Head of Communications at the Malaysian Nature Society, shares some salient points on what truly constitutes eco-tourism, and some rules all travellers and travel operators should know and abide by. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Plastic is known to be non-biodegradable and has been accused of many of the environmental problems in the world today. Yet, is it truly as dangerous as its being made out to be, or is it in fact a scapegoat for future pollution issues? Lim Kok Boon, the Chairman of the Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association (MPMA), joins me to give his take on the issue.       See omnystudio....

Tim Cotter is the founder of AWAKE, a provider of psychology-based resources for developing a culture of sustainability in organisations and communities. He discusses ways to stimulate the psychological conditions which lead to sustainable behaviour. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Kota Damansara Community Forest Reserve is one of the few remaining green areas for the Klang Valley. Officially gazetted in 2010, we speak to Justine Vaz, the Pro-Tem Secretary of the Kota Damansara Community Forest Society, about efforts to create constructive activities for the area, including conservation, education and research. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the Rio+20 Conference this June, everyone from world leaders to NGOs will come together to discuss how to reduce poverty, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection. Yin Shao Loong, who attended the conference 10 years ago as Facilitator of the NGO caucus, will talk about his experiences there and after, while sharing his thoughts on the upcoming summit and what he thinks it will...

The annual My Garden Birdwatch survey will take place on the 2nd and 3rd of June 2012, and we find out how everyone can aid in the conservation of birds and their habitat from Rafi Kudus, the Chairman of Bird Conservation Council of Malaysia and Mark Ng, the MNS Bird Group coordinator. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This June, Kenny Peavy and Jamie Raskin will journey by bike and other sustainable means from Thailand to Bali, along the way exploring Southeast Asia's wealth of biodiversity, and meeting with groups and individuals involved in its protection and destruction. We find out about the journey ahead from Kenny, who is also part of the Environmental Education Alliance of South East Asia. See omnystudio...

We find out about the current status of the Sumatran Elephant and the efforts being made for its conservation, from ecologist Dr. Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz. Dr. Ahimsa is principal investigator at the Management & Ecology for Malaysian Elephants or MEME, an organisation which is working on developing a long-term elephant conservation strategy, based on scientifically sound knowledge of elephant beh...