Earth Matters

Many developed countries exported their recyclable plastic in large amounts to other countries to process, Malaysia being one of them. Though we have since banned the import of plastic scrap, the official definition of plastic scraps remains vague, and the ban also did not halt unregulated or poorly regulated burning and dumping activities of plastic. It's no secret that the global plastic recycling market is in need of a major overhaul. What are the long-term effects of a broken recycling system, and what would an overhaul of this system look like? We discuss this and more with Mageswari Sangaralingam, a Senior Research Officer at the Consumers' Association of Penang, and a Freelance Researcher at Sahabat Alam Malaysia.

Image Source: Shutterstock 

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We're advised to be the change we want to see in the world, and the folks involved in the Friends of Sungai Klang Taman Melawati River Three group, have definitely taken that to heart. Through sheer determination and communal hard work, these Taman Melawati residents transformed a once-dirty riverbank in their neighbourhood into a clean, tranquil space that is now enjoyed by all. It was International Volunteer Day last Saturday, and joining us to share how a community of volunteers came together to enact change in their own backyard are Kennedy Michael and Syuen Toh, from the Friends of Sungai Klang Taman Melawati River Three group.

Image Source: Friends of Sungai Klang Taman Melawati River Three Facebook

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The folks behind everything at Macaranga.org join us for their monthly show, this time to highlight  Budget 2021 and the government's plans for the environment, before discussing the increased crackdown on wildlife poaching in Johor, which will hopefully be replicated across the country. Finally we look at The Ministry of Environment and Water's upcoming "No Plastic Bag" campaign, and suss out it's feasibility.

Image Source: iMoney.my; Shutterstock 

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More commonly known as dusky leaf monkeys, langurs or spectacled leaf monkeys - with their large spectacle-looking markings around their eyes - are the subject of Wildlife Researcher Yap Jo Leen's work. Having seen for herself how langurs were being forced out of their habitats and into the path of danger and death because of deforestation in Penang, Jo Leen set up the Langur Project Penang (LPP) to focus on ways to conserve and peacefully coexist with langurs. She joins us to share how she's working towards that, together with Hui Yi Wong, an environmental science student in UMS.

If you're interested in the project or would like to know more about it, you can visit langurprojectpenang.com or send an email to [email protected]. You can also check out LPP's Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for more info.  

Image Source: Langur Project Penang - LPP Facebook 

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Youth-led climate change NGO Malaysian Youth Delegation (MYD), are an organisation which focuses on building the capacity of Malaysian youths, to engage with climate policy. They are set to host the third annual Malaysian Local Conference of Youth (MYLCOY), hosted virtually over three weekends, which aims to take on pressing issues such as Climate Finance, Green Economy, and Green Jobs, Climate Policies and Governance and more. We find out how these youths are mobilising, to make their voices heard from Julian Theseira, the Project Manager of the virtual Malaysian Local Conference of Youth 2020 (MY LCOY 2020).

Image Source: Heinreich Böll Stiftung Southeast Asia

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Chrishen Gomez is a wildlife biologist, who's currently the research manager for the Bornean Carnivore Programme, by the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at Oxford University, where he has been studying some of the most elusive carnivores in the jungles of Borneo. A winner of the Merdeka Award Grant for International Attachment 2019, Chrishen joins us to discuss his areas of research, and to share why he believes the fight to protect our natural history and conserve it, is our modern-day battleground.

Image Source: Chrishen Gomez 

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Multi-award winning photographer Sanjitpaal Singh has been capturing the immense wonders that our Malaysian natural heritage has to offer through his camera, sharing a hidden world that so many of us can only dream about. But can wildlife and nature photography complement and promote environmental conservation? Sanjit joins us to share how he uses images to make people aware of, and respond to, environmental issues.

Image Source: Sanjitpaal Singh

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A recent survey by the WWF-UM Living Planet Centre, was conducted to gauge Malaysians awareness and attitudes, particularly on environmental issues. The study also aimed to determine Malaysians' environmental, social, economic, and cultural knowledge, in relation to sustainable development. We explore the findings of this survey, and discuss ways forward to improve Education for Sustainable Development, and also how we can make our communities more environmentally aware with Prof. Dr Esther Daniel, an Honorary Professor at the University of Malaya and Principal Investigator of this study, and Thiagarajan Nadeson, the Head of Education and Markets at WWF-Malaysia.

Image Source: Shutterstock

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In this month's roundup, SL Wong and Law Yao Hua, the editors of Macaranga.org, tackle the nation's water pollution woes, and discuss why we need to continue demanding for better monitoring and enforcement by the authorities. Next, we discuss the degazettement of the Kuala Langat Forest Reserve, tying it to why the National Forestry Act should be amended to make public consultation compulsory in all states. Finally, we look forward to Budget 2021 which will be tabled on the 6th of November, and share the Budget wishlist of Malaysian conservationists.

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Dr Ravinder Kaur has long been working on the conservation of hornbills in Borneo, having studied hornbill breeding ecology and conservation in the Kinabatangan, as part of her PhD. Together with her team, she now runs a conservation programme in the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, through her social enterprise called Explore Gaia, and in partnership with local NGO, Hutan-Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Project. Dr Ravin was just awarded the 2020 Marsh Award for Terrestrial Conservation Leadership, for her “significant contribution to sustainable biodiversity at a local level.” and she joins us to share what this win means, and also to discuss her work to conserve threatened hornbills.

Image Source: Shutterstock

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