Earth Matters

Amy Tan and her family took a road less travelled, and chose to live in the jungle surrounded by nature. For almost 10 years, they lived off-the-grid on a farm in the beautiful jungles of Lenggong, Perak, and ran Permaculture Perak, where they grew their own organic food, and also offered farm stays and apprenticeship programs. Their way of life was even featured on the National Geographic series called ‘Living Free with Kimi Werner.' A year ago though, Permaculture Perak was forced to shut, after a long dispute with the Perak State Development Corporation over the land they were living on. We chat with Amy, who is the co-founder of Permaculture Perak, to find out more about what triggered this eviction, and what she and her family have been working on this past year.

Image Source: Permaculture Perak  

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The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. Higher education institutes have been called upon to integrate sustainable development into their organisations. One university who has been working hard to do that is Sunway University, and we find out how from Dr Elizabeth Lee, the Chief Executive Officer of the Sunway Education Group.

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Reef Stakes® is the first marine themed role playing card game in Malaysia, and is designed to mimic real-life stakeholder relationships, introduce some of Malaysia’s most iconic marine species and highlight threats to coral reefs. The card game was recently announced winner of the 8th International Educational Games Competition (IEGC) in the Non-Digital Finished Games category. We find out more about this award-winning game, and how it can raise awareness of marine conservation, from two of the co-founders of Reef Stakes, Liew Hui Ling and Quek Yew Aun.

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In this month's roundup, SL Wong and Law Yao Hua, the editors of Macaranga.org, join us to discuss more environmental issues making headlines. First, we look at the impact of Covid-19 on ecotourism, and how communities that are reliant on this form of tourism are adopting alternative ways to survive. We also discuss river pollution in Malaysia, looking back at the most recent case in Sungai Gong which caused water supply to be disrupted for 1.2 million users for days. Looking to October, we discuss what to look forward to during World Migratory Bird Day on the 10th of October, while discussing why areas where we can observe migratory birds may be threatened by development and pollution.

Image Source: Pixabay, Wikimedia Commons (Ravinder Thakur)

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Rivers, those large bodies of fresh, flowing water, embody many different values to different people. Many social and economic benefits derived from rivers are dependent on good ‘all round’ river health, but sadly, many rivers around the world are severely degraded or at risk, which undermines their ability to provide critical ecosystem services and related benefits. In conjunction with World Rivers Day, we speak to Dr K. Kalithasan, the Manager of the RIVER Care Programme at the Global Environment Centre (GEC) about the need to protect, conserve and promote living rivers and their biodiversity.

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Back in June this year, communities in the Baram region in Sarawak, together with the civil society group Save Rivers, called for the 148,000 hectare Gerenai forest management unit certification to be cancelled, as they believed that the certification authority and the timber company involved, pushed through the acquirement of the permit during the coronavirus crisis, without proper consultation with objecting communities. Now, the communities involved and Save Rivers are organising a campaign called Stop The Chop, to stop the certification of conflict timber in Sarawak. We find out more from Peter Kallang, the Chairman of the Save Rivers Network.

Image Source: Shutterstock

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The Shah Alam City Council recently released its latest draft local plan draft (Draf Rancangan Tempatan 2035) for public consultation. In this plan is a proposal to build a road right across the Shah Alam Community Forest linking Setia Alam and Bandar NusaRhu. It's estimated that the proposed road will permanently destroy about two hectares of pristine rainforest, hundreds of trees and species, and the forest trails many have come to love, all for a single road. We find out more about this community forest, and how you can participate in the public feedback proposal, from Alicia Teoh, the secretary of the Shah Alam Community Forest (SACF) Society, and Teckwyn Lim, the treasurer of Shah Alam Community Forest (SACF) Society.

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There are five types of gibbons found in Malaysia, and the IUCN lists all of them as endangered. Sadly, they receive very little protection here, and some of the threats to their existence include habitat loss from deforestation and development, poaching, and trafficking. Mariani Ramli has been working to rescue gibbons from captivity, with the aim of rehabilitating and releasing them back into the wild. The founder of the Gibbon Conservation Society, and the Director of the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project (GREP), Mariani or Bam as she's known, joins us to share more about her work, and to also discuss the urgent need to stop the illegal gibbon trade.

Image Source: Gibbon Conservation Society

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SL Wong and Law Yao Hua, the editors of Macaranga.org, return for their monthly show, to discuss major environmental news from August this year, and to highlight events and issues to look out for in September. This month, we will discuss whether human-elephant conflicts are on the rise, and we will also dissect Malaysia’s decision to shelve the tabling of the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act. Looking forward to September, we wonder what implications there will be for the environment, following the Sabah state elections.

Image Source: Pixabay, WallpaperFlare, Wikimedia Commons

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Rising more than 1000m above sea level on the Titiwangsa Range, and straddling the Pahang-Selangor border, Fraser’s Hill is a highland rainforest area that is a popular ecotourism getaway for many. The sudden demolition of both the colonial-style Maybank Lodge and Jelai Resort last month, and the proposed construction of a 15-storey building Resort & Spa on the site has shocked residents. Residents are calling for a review of the proposed development, which is almost three times taller than anything else on Fraser's Hill. We find out more from Nik Jassmin Hew and Sean Yap, who are from Persatuan Alam dan Warisan Bukit Fraser.

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

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