Earth Matters

It's difficult to even begin to fathom the scale of plastic pollution - plastics have been detected practically everywhere on Earth, from the Arctic, to the top of Everest. Plastic pollution is clearly a global problem, so do we need a global commitment and plan to solve it, which is then locally implemented by all, including governments, businesses, and people? The world's governments are set to meet at a United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) starting next week, and the creation of a global treaty on plastics is said to be at the top of the agenda. What are the implications of this? In another episode of Plastic Soup on Earth Matters, we explore whether a global treaty is the way for us to get out of this plastic goop, with Mageswari Sangaralingam, a Senior Research Officer with the Consumers' Association of Penang, and Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM).

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Pangolins are the only scaly mammals on earth, and the name “pangolin”, which is derived from the Malay word “pengguling”, loosely translates to “something that rolls up”. Pangolin numbers are rapidly declining, and they are considered one of the world’s most heavily trafficked mammals. It's World Pangolin Day this Saturday, and in conjunction with that, we bring you another episode of The ABC's of Biodiversity, a series explaining why biodiversity loss is OUR loss, this time with a special focus on Sunda Pangolins. Joining us to shed more light on their plight are Dr Chong Ju Lian, an Associate Professor and Lecturer at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, who is researching the Sunda Pangolin, and Elisa Panjang, a Pangolin Conservation Officer at the Danau Girang Field Centre.

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In 2021, investigations by the Rimba Disclosure Project identified and verified 43,539 hectares of forested land supposedly for sale, based on 28 listings on various e-commerce websites. These listings include land within forest reserves, Central Forest Spine habitat linkages, and indigenous customary land, in the states of Perak, Selangor, Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan. We speak to *Amelia, a spokesperson for the Rimba Disclosure Project to discuss the findings of their investigations, and ask what they are demanding from authorities, in relation to these revelations. The Rimba Disclosure Project is led by a group of anonymous activists, and the group is described as "an independent, non-political initiative providing transparency on those responsible for the loss of Malaysia’s rainforests."

*Name has been changed to protect their privacy.

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Marine conservation NGO MareCet celebrated their 10th anniversary just last month, and we celebrate along with them by catching up with the organisation's Chairperson, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Dr Louisa Ponnampalam. A marine biologist by training, Dr Louisa joins us to discuss some of the group's achievements to date, and also their plans moving forward, including their latest initiative, a large-scale outreach programme called the Whales On-The-Wheels (WoW) Mobile Marine Education Nationwide Tour, which will see the group travelling through Malaysia to "bring the ocean" to you.

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Sea Cucumbers and Fish Maw might not strike you as facing threats nor do they seem like the poster children for marine conservation. But a new report by the Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network TRAFFIC, has outlined how the booming online trade of both Sea Cucumbers and Fish Maw in Malaysia and Singapore, coupled with high levels of international trafficking, could endanger wild populations. How is this important from an ecological point of view, and what could happen if regulators don't step up scrutiny and control of this trade? We discuss this and more with Kanitha Krishnasamy, the Director for Southeast Asia at TRAFFIC.

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It's been an almost farcical month, in terms of official responses to some of the nation's environmental crises. From claims of orangutans attacking humans, to the belief that logging is good for tigers, how should the community respond to such statements? We explore this and more in this month's roundup with the folks from environmental journalism portal Macaranga, Wong Siew Lyn & Law Yao Hua. Aside from that, we also discuss the renewed focus on tiger conservation and how the Kuala Lumpur Joint Statement on Tiger Conservation plans to achieve that, but also how the outbreak of the African swine fever could impact tigers and their survival in the wild. Finally we turn our attention to the deaths of several turtles in Terengganu, and the need for more enforcement of existing laws, to protect marine wildlife there.

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The pandemic and subsequent lockdowns over the past two years turned many of us into avid gardeners. An unwitting consequence was also a rise in the use of plastic poly bags to grow plants in, and thus, more plastic waste after the poly bags are done with. Horrified by the thought of this, Dr Jarina Mohd Jani, a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Science and Marine Environment at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), has embarked on a project to teach people how to weave their own poly bags using leaves. In another episode of Plastic Soup, we explore how to get out of this plasticky goop, one leaf at a time.

Image credit: Dr Jarina Mohd Jani Facebook Page

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Why are we in a climate emergency? In our new monthly series, There's no Planet B, we want to share everything you need to know about the climate crisis, first by discussing the basics of climate change science, but then to also show how you can take action. In this first episode, we do a 101 crash course on the causes of climate change, with Dr. Sheeba Nettukandy Chenoli, a meteorologist, who is also a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Geography, at the University of Malaya. Dr Sheeba is also part of the team behind Bite-Size Climate Action, which 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.

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The folks behind the environmental group Persatuan Aktivis Sahabat Alam, or KUASA, believe in standing up for what's right when it comes to protecting nature and our natural resources, and empowering others to do the same. The group goes on the ground to highlight cases of environmental destruction here in Peninsular Malaysia, bringing light to these often hidden or overlooked issues, and reminding us all we have a role to play in holding authorities accountable for dubious decisions which negatively impact the environment, wildlife, and ultimately, us too. We find out more about their work from Hafizudin Nasarudin, the President of KUASA, who also updates us on the ongoing human-tiger conflict in the Gua Musang area.

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In this new segment on Earth Matters - Plastic Soup - we ask whether we are indeed living in a giant bowl of plastic soup, and explore ways we can get out of this goop. The underlying cause of the plastic pollution crisis is said to be rooted in unsustainable levels of both production and consumption of plastic. Today, we want to tackle plastic consumption in particular, and how we can all start to think about reducing our personal use of plastic goods. Joining us to do that are Zero Waste Malaysia's Khor Sue Yee (Co-founder and Director) and Jasreel Lim (Head of Finance & Business Development), who will also share more about their new Trashpedia, which is dubbed the ultimate guide to waste segregation and sustainable living, and they will also touch briefly on Malaysia's Plastics Sustainability Roadmap 2021 - 2030.

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