Earth Matters

This Merdeka and Malaysia Day season, we’re reminded that our country’s story isn’t just about people and places, it’s also about our connection to nature. We speak to a family who embodies that spirit - wildlife photographer Anuar McAfee (Director, International Centre, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin and Research Fellow, East Coast Environmental Research Institute), and his sons Muhammad Cornelius McAfee (Tour Guide, Ketengah), and Aidan McAfee (Student, Politeknik Banting) - who have spent countless hours exploring Terengganu’s forests, rivers, and skies. We discuss their love of the outdoors, the birds and wildlife of Terengganu, and why Kenyir Lake and other nature spots around Terengganu are natural gems worth discovering.

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Have you ever been to the beach, only to find more rubbish than seashells? Unfortunately, that’s a reality for many of our coastlines. But every September, thousands of Malaysians gather to clean our beaches and record what’s being collected during the International Coastal Cleanup, coordinated by Reef Check Malaysia. Those numbers reveal not just what’s ending up in the ocean, but also what needs to change in our daily lives and in policy. Joining us to talk about this year’s cleanup, and the bigger picture of marine debris and pollution, are Julian Hyde, the CEO of Reef Check Malaysia, and Theresa Ng, Reef Check Malaysia’s COO.

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We’ve all been there - stuck in traffic, breathing in exhaust, or wondering why our city feels harder to live in than it should. But what if the solution wasn’t just more roads or bigger buildings, but smarter ways to design and run our cities? We speak to Dr. Non Arkaraprasertkul, a Senior Expert at Thailand’s Digital Economy Promotion Agency, who's been behind more than 120 smart city projects across Thailand. He joins us to share more about his work which involves cities across ASEAN, and how bringing together technology, good policy, and what people actually need, can achieve the goal of creating cities that are easier to live in, better for the environment, and built for the future.

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They are striking, noisy, and unmistakable - but hornbills are far more than beautiful rainforest residents. As key seed dispersers, they’re essential to the health of our forests. Few people know them as well as Dr. Yeap Chin Aik, co-founder & Primary Investigator for the MNS Hornbill Conservation Project with the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS), who has spent over twenty years tracking their movements, studying their habits, and working to ensure their survival. We explore the stories and science behind these remarkable birds.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

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On this month’s Macaranga Wrap-Up, we turn to the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. In Selangor, Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (JOAS) marked the occasion with a two-day celebration themed “Defend the Earth, Restore the Land, Regreen the Future – Through Indigenous Wisdom.” We speak to Macaranga co-founder Wong Siew Lyn to unpack what that means for Indigenous rights and the environment, and for a run-down of the festivities.

Image Credit: Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia

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In our latest episode of Nature Reads, we travel back to 1899, when Cambridge anthropologist Walter William Skeat led a major scientific expedition to Malaya. The expedition didn’t just collect plants and animals; it also produced classic books on zoology, botany, and culture that continue to influence how we understand our natural history today. To guide us through this chapter, we’re joined by Katherine Enright, a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge, whose research looks at the politics and legacies of expeditions like Skeat’s. Together with co-host Dylan Jefri Ong, the co-founder of Sunda Shelves, we discuss the stories behind the books, the people, and the knowledge they preserved. 

Nature Reads on Earth Matters is a monthly show where we explore the stories behind books that bring us closer to nature and the world around us, done in collaboration with Sunda Shelves, an independent bookstore and café with a passion for wild places and thoughtful reads.

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Malaysia’s ecotourism scene has been quietly growing, with communities, conservation groups, and travellers all playing a part in making tourism more sustainable. Over the past year, Sustainable Tourism Malaysia has gone from 8 projects to 25, covering everything from waste-free islands to geoparks and urban green spaces. We catch up with Mariam Ghani, the Senior Programme Manager for The Habitat Foundation, who is also the Lead at Sustainable Tourism Malaysia, to discuss some highlights from the group's work this past year, and how they’ve been building sustainable tourism networks across the country. Mariam also shares some amazing cuti-cuti ideas and spots we can head to, for a sustainable and eco-friendly holiday.

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The world is drowning in plastic, and governments have been working for more than three years on a global treaty to tackle the crisis. Countries have been locked in negotiations to create this treaty that could change the way plastics are produced, used, and managed worldwide. But the latest round of talks in Geneva has ended without a deal, as countries remain divided on some of the toughest issues, especially whether to curb plastic production itself. To help us understand what happened, why it matters, and what comes next, we speak to researcher Wong Pui Yi from the Basel Action Network, who was in Geneva throughout these negotiations.

Image credit: Friends of the Earth International

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Asian elephants are iconic, intelligent, and a vital part of our natural heritage, but here in Malaysia, they face an uncertain future. Habitat loss, human–elephant conflict, infrastructure cutting through their ranges, and other growing threats have put immense pressure on their populations. Yet, hope remains, through groundbreaking research, innovative conflict mitigation strategies, and renewed efforts to foster coexistence between people and elephants. In this World Elephant Day special, we’ll explore what it really takes to share a landscape with these gentle giants with Associate Professor Dr. Wong Ee Phin (Principal Investigator, Management & Ecology of Malaysian Elephants (MEME)/ Nottingham University Malaysia) and Professor Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz (Principal Investigator, Megafauna Ecology and Conservation Research Group, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden).

Listen to our World Elephant Day Special on Bornean Elephants here.

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They’re small, elusive, and unlike any other elephants in the world, but many of us don’t even realise that Bornean elephants are found only here, in the forests of northeastern Borneo. These gentle, intelligent creatures are not just rare, they’re also in trouble. Habitat loss, human–elephant conflict, roads cutting through their range, and, more recently, signs of ivory poaching have all taken a toll on this endangered subspecies. In this World Elephant Day special, we’re dedicating the show to learning more about these incredible animals, the threats they face, and the people working tirelessly to protect them. Joining us once again is wildlife biologist Dr. Nurzhafarina Othman, a Senior Lecturer at Universiti Malaysia Sabah and the founder of conservation NGO Seratu Aatai.

Listen to our World Elephant Day special on Asian Elephants here.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

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