Malaysia is home to some of the world’s most extraordinary biodiversity, from towering dipterocarp forests to coral reefs teeming with life. But decades of deforestation, urbanisation, and industrial growth have taken their toll on our natural heritage. The Malaysian Nature Society, or MNS, is now taking a closer look at where things stand through their upcoming State of Nature Conservation in Malaysia Symposium - 34 years since the maiden release of this report in 1991. Joining us to talk about what’s at stake, what’s changed, and what needs to happen next for our natural heritage in Malaysia are Donovan Louis, MNS’s Head of Conservation, and Ng Sean Fong, MNS's Data and Policy Officer.

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This week, the world is gathering in Belém, Brazil, for COP30, the global climate summit. But here in Malaysia, a parallel movement is unfolding - AlterCOP 30 Malaysia, a grassroots version that mirrors the urgency of COP while grounding it in local realities. It’s independent, youth-driven, and collaborative, and a place for Malaysians to connect global ambition with local action. We speak to the core team organising this summit - Benoit Rabaud, Wan Hidayat, and Gabriel Hii - about what this grassroots “alternative COP” hopes to achieve, and how it might help Malaysians see their own role in the global climate story.

Image Credit: AlterCOP 30

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Every year, the world generates tens of millions of tonnes of electronic waste, from old phones and laptops to discarded TVs. Much of this ends up not in the countries that produced it, but in developing nations ill-equipped to deal with its toxic legacy. A new report by the Basel Action Network, “Brokers of Shame,” exposes how American companies continue to ship e-waste to Asia, and how Malaysia has become one of its biggest recipients. Joining us to unpack these findings is Wong Pui Yi, a Malaysian researcher with the Basel Action Network (BAN).

Image Credit: Michael Neilson, Klang e-waste dumpsite, Selangor

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Across Southeast Asia, we’re all grappling with plastic waste, from rivers choked with bottles and packaging to new proposals for “waste-to-energy” plants that promise to turn rubbish into electricity. But are these really solutions, or just shifting the problem elsewhere? The Philippines, like Malaysia, faces this tension between convenience, consumption, and sustainability too. In this episode, we're joined by two experts from the Philippines who’ve spent years studying and tackling these issues: Dr. Jorge Emmanuel, an environmental scientist and former UN Chief Technical Advisor on the Environment, who’s worked with the WHO and UNDP on safe and sustainable waste management, who's currently an Adjunct Professor and Senior Research Fellow at Silliman University Philippines, and also Merci Ferrer, the Co-Convenor for War on Waste Negros Oriental, and the President of the Philippines Office for the Global Alliance of Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA). Together, we’ll explore what it really takes to move toward cleaner, more sustainable ways of living. 

Image Credit: Shutterstock

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All five of Malaysia’s gibbon species are endangered, facing threats from deforestation, hunting, and the illegal pet trade. But in the forests of Pahang and Sabah, a group of women are fighting to turn things around. They are Malaysia’s first all-female, all-Indigenous wildlife ranger team, working with the Gibbon Conservation Society to rescue, rehabilitate and return gibbons to the wild. Joining us to share more about this are the Gibbon Conservation Society's Founder, Mariani Ramli, and three of the Indigenous rangers: Melda Yapi, Sunnyda A/P Yok Nun, and Lily A/P Din. The rangers discuss their journey into wildlife conservation, their challenges as Indigenous women working in the field, and their hopes for Malaysia’s gibbons.

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For this month's Nature Reads, together with co-host Surin Suksuwan (co-founder, Sunda Shelves), we speak to author and anthropologist Dr. Christine Padoch, whose new bilingual book Pemulai ke Nanga Jela / Return to Nanga Jela takes us back to an Iban longhouse community in Sarawak that once stood above the Engkari River, a landscape that was later submerged by the Batang Ai Dam. Through her time living among the Iban community in the 1970s, Christine documented their extraordinary relationship with the land, from cultivating dozens of rice varieties to maintaining traditions deeply rooted in place. She joins us to talk about the book, her fieldwork, and what this story of Nanga Jela can still teach us about culture, memory, and our connection with nature. 

Nature Reads on Earth Matters is the show where we explore the stories behind books that bring us closer to nature and the world around us. Every month, we team up with the good folks at Sunda Shelves, an independent bookstore and café with a passion for wild places and thoughtful reads.

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Losing a pet can feel like losing a member of the family. Yet many people find their grief dismissed or misunderstood, making the healing process even more difficult. In this conversation, we speak with Shuang Ao, a licensed and registered counsellor about how to navigate the emotions of losing a pet, and how to honour that bond in healthy, meaningful ways.

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Papua New Guinea is home to one of the world’s last great tropical rainforests, a vital ecosystem that stores carbon, supports thousands of species, and sustains Indigenous communities. But a new report titled “Malaysia’s Timber Colony: Exposing Malaysia’s Grip Over Papua New Guinea’s Forests” has revealed just how much control Malaysian-linked companies have over the country’s forests. The investigation finds that 97% of Forest Clearing Authorities - licenses meant for agricultural development - are actually held by Malaysian-linked timber companies, driving large-scale deforestation and the exploitation of local landowners. We speak to co-authors of the report, land owner and land rights activist Samuel Kime from Papua New Guinea, Johanna Michel, Deputy Director of Bruno Manser Fonds, and Adam Farhan, the Director of RimbaWatch, to find out more.

Image Credit: Bruno Manser Fonds

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A new deforestation alert has been raised in Sarawak, this time around the Bakun Reservoir. Satellite and drone images show that native forest is being cleared to make way for a massive commercial bamboo plantation spanning over 44,000 hectares. The project, approved under the state’s License for Planted Forests scheme, has sparked serious concern among affected Indigenous communities and environmental groups. To help us understand what’s happening and what it means for Sarawak’s forests, we speak to Fiona McAlpine, Communications and Project Manager at The Borneo Project.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

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Malaysia’s Budget 2026 has been described as a “green and low-carbon” budget, with RM2.38 billion allocated to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, and new measures like a carbon tax and expanded green technology incentives. But how far do these allocations really go toward protecting our forests, rivers, and wildlife, and what’s missing from the picture? We speak to Adam Farhan, the Director of environmental think-tank RimbaWatch, and Gabriel Hii, the co-chair of the Sarawak CSO–SDG Alliance, for their separate takes on Budget 2026's environment allocations. 

Brought to you by Mah Sing. Reinvent Spaces. Enhance Life.

Image Credit: Shutterstock / Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability

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