Earth Matters

 It's Bat Week this week, an international, annual celebration created to raise awareness about the need for bat conservation. In line with that, we pay tribute to these tiny ecosystem services providers, who, although hardly seen, are hard at work all around the world each night, busy working on so many things, from pest control to plant pollination. Joining us to share why bats are so awesome are the folks from the research group Rimba's Project Pteropus, Dr Sheema Abdul Aziz (Principal Investigator), Mary-Ruth Low (Senior Conservation Scientist) and Hana Abdul Aziz (Communications Manager). We also find out more about The Fruit Bat Fundraiser by Project Pteropus, which aims to alert Malaysians to how wonderful, harmless and helpful these night-time gardeners really are.

Image credit: pixabay.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The  “One Health” concept isn't something new. It's been described as an idea that had been known for more than a century; that human health and animal health are interdependent, and bound to the health of the ecosystems in which they exist. We do a 101 on this approach on today's show, and also specifically explore how the One Health approach can offer solutions to the health problems of the tropics, with Professor Dr Latiffah Hassan, a veterinary public health epidemiologist and academician from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).

Image credit: idcmjournal.org

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A public park, run by a public trust, in perpetuity - that's the plan for the very popular Taman Tugu, a 66-acre rehabilitated and regenerated forest park in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. With more than 5km of forest trails which is open and free to all, the park was initially set to be converted into a for-profit tourist attraction theme-park, before it was protected. We speak to Calvin Jacob, the Executive Director of the Taman Tugu Project and Tracey Surin, Taman Tugu Project's Head of Fundraising, Activation & Communications, about how this model of a public trust works, and why Taman Tugu is literally a breath of fresh air in urban KL.

Image credit: Taman Tugu

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most of us understand that our relationship with the planet isn't great, and that for humanity to survive, we need to make some changes, and fast. It's easy to get overwhelmed, but one simple way forward is available in the form of Permaculture, which allows everyone the chance to be part of a transition to a more eco-friendly, ethical and sustainable future. How? We find out from two permaculture advocates and practitioners, Abdul Razak Abdul Aziz, the co-founder of SEEDS Malaysia, and Jumaatun Azmi, from Fairground. Together, they are also organising the Food Forest Forum, which will explore the elements of a sustainable, low maintenance, plant-based food production system.

Image credits: fairground.world website & SEEDs Malaysia Facebook page.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Live hornbills, dead green sea turtles, live gibbons, horns from dead rhinos - just some of the seizures made by authorities, over the past two months alone. Dead or alive, these and more wildlife are still being actively traded all over Southeast Asia and the world. How do we even begin to combat these massive conservation crimes, which includes the illegal wildlife trade? We discuss this and more with Elizabeth John, a Senior Communications Officer at TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, an NGO working in all 10 Southeast Asian countries, monitoring the wildlife trade.

Image credit: flickr.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's that time of the year again, when plain pouched hornbills migrate from their breeding grounds in Thailand to Malaysia, and if you're lucky enough, you'll get to see 10 species of hornbills in areas like Royal Belum State Park in Perak, where the other nine species of hornbills can be found. Andrew Sebastian, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of the Ecotourism & Conservation Society Malaysia (ECOMY) joins us once again for a quick refresher on hornbills in Malaysia, and to share more on the Royal Belum International Hornbill Expedition 2021.

Image credit: birdsmalaysia.my

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Malayan Rainforest Station believes in conservation through empowerment. The environmental NGO which is based in Merapoh, Pahang - a unique landscape teeming with biodiversity - has a strong focus on research and wildlife conservation, but they are also working hard on awareness-raising campaigns, and capacity building programs with the local communities in the area, all in the name of environmental conservation. We find out more from Izereen Mukri, who is the President of Malayan Rainforest Station, and Head of the Research and Conservation Unit.

Image credit: Malayan Rainforest Station

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been over a year since the Shah Alam City Council proposed to build a road right across the Shah Alam Community Forest. Two hectares of pristine rainforest, hundreds of trees and species, and the forest trails used and loved by many on a daily basis, destroyed forever - for a single road. The battle between the community and state government over this forest continues, and we catch up with the folks from the Shah Alam Community Forest (SACF) Society, Alicia Teoh (Founder & Secretary) and Dr Teckwyn Lim (Treasurer), to get updates on the matter. We also look at the study which has found that the area had been wrongly designated as development land, and the state government's response to that.

Image credit: shahalamforest.org

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the recent announcement of the 12th Malaysia Plan, we dissect the key points of the environmental agenda under the blueprint with Meenakshi Raman, the President of Sahabat Alam Malaysia, and discuss whether the proposed strategies will be sufficient to brace the impact of climate change and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, while protecting factors of economic growth and development in Malaysia.

Image credits: TheEdgeMarkets.com and Pixabay.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 In this month's roundup of environmental news with Macaranga's Wong Siew Lyn & Law Yao Hua, we celebrate the success of Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve being saved from development, albeit after a very long and tiring campaign. We also look at how this issue and the recently tabled Protected Areas Act in Pahang is related to the powers and roles of the state government in deciding what to conserve or not. Next, we discuss how Malaysian authorities seized smuggled hornbills and rhinoceros horns in KLIA, highlighting once more our country's central position as a wildlife trade hub.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.