Earth Matters

For many islands, their social, economic and environmental well being is tied strongly to the fate of a single sector: tourism. But badly planned tourism risks depleting biodiversity, degrading land and polluting the seas. Using Tioman Island as a case study, Reef Check Malaysia, the local chapter of the world’s largest international coral reef monitoring programme, released a paper titled: Tioman as a Sustainable Tourism Destination. Joining us to shed more light on this paper is Julian Hyde, the General Manager of Reef Check Malaysia.

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The PONGO Alliance is an alliance of oil palm growers, businesses and NGOs, who aim to make resilient landscapes for wildlife and people, by seeking ways to allow lands outside protected areas to play a role in conserving wildlife. We find out more about the alliance and how they are working to create a Human and Orangutan Coexistence Landscape, from its Executive Director, Dr John Payne, and also from Dr Felicity Oram, who is the Kinabatangan Project Director for the alliance. 

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In a matter of months, the world has changed. Covid-19 has changed the way we live and the pandemic's stay-at-home orders have brought a welcome relief in many places from air pollution and the worsening environment. In Malaysia, we also had a change in government and a new Cabinet, which included the reshuffling of environment-related ministries and portfolios. With a global call to build back better, will Malaysia see carbon and pollutant emissions “bounce back” or will we see changes in the way we do things, as far as the environment is concerned? We discuss this and more with Surin Suksuwan, a member of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, and Preetha Sankar, an environmental lawyer.

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COVID-19 has upended lives and livelihoods across the planet, and it's impact is not only being felt on land, but at sea too, and is affecting our “blue economy.” How can we take advantage of this great pause, and use this window of opportunity offered by reduced emissions and energy demand, to protect the marine environment better? In conjunction with World Oceans Day on the 8th of June, we discuss how to build an ocean economy that is both stronger and more sustainable after COVID-19, with Fairul Izmal Jamal Hisne, the Vice-Chairperson & Co-Founder of MARECET and Lau Chai Ming, a Programme Manager at Reef Check Malaysia.

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Macaranga is a journalism portal covering environment and sustainability-related topics in Malaysia. Helmed by writers Law Yao Hua and SL Wong, the duo aim to provide relevant and insightful content that builds knowledge on ecosystems, through the portal. In their first monthly episode on Earth Matters, both the editors of Macaranga join us to give a wrap-up of major environmental news from April and May this year, while discussing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the environment, and also on the people and organisations working in the environmental sector.

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Across the world, many wildlife reserves and animal sanctuaries have been severely impacted by the coronavirus lockdown measures which has led to reduced tourism, and a shortage of funds to support their conservation work. The Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, the only sun bear conservation centre in the world, is also being impacted by Malaysia's Movement Control Order, as they rely on funds from ecotourism activities at the center, which helps fund their day to day activities. We find out more from  Dr Wong Siew Te, a sun bear conservationist, and the CEO and Founder of the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre.

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The current Movement Control Order (MCO) and the suspension of activities by NGOs by the Registrar of Societies, have made it impossible to have any proper assessment of impacts or dialogue on the proposed degazettement of the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve. So it came as a surprise when the Selangor state government announced it would soon conduct a public hearing session for the proposed degazettement. The Coalition for the Protection of Selangor’s Forests are calling upon the Selangor State Government to formally suspend the de-gazettement process, and to focus on the more important issues at hand; combatting the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and the multiple impacts on the people and the local economy. We find out what's happening from Faizal Parish, the Director of the Global Environment Centre (GEC).

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Water is one of the basic necessities of life, which we use almost without thinking, and this can lead to significant waste. While we're always advised on how much water we should drink daily, we don't really hear much about the amount of water we are wasting, water scarcity, or how we can reduce usage. This World Water Day, we speak to Norizan Mohd Mazlan, the Head of Conservation in Peninsular Malaysia at WWF-Malaysia, about major issues that must be addressed to ensure the sustainability of our water resources here in Malaysia.

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A report released by wildlife trade monitoring organisation Traffic has concluded that a new strategy is urgently needed to curb wildlife trafficking in southeast Asia, one of the world’s biggest biodiversity hotspots. The report, titled Southeast Asia: At the heart of wildlife trade, has detailed how organised criminal networks aided by wildlife cybercrime, inadequate laws and dismal conviction rates are allowing illegal trade to flourish. We find out more about the report, and what needs to be done to curb 'jaw-dropping' wildlife trafficking in southeast Asia, from Elizabeth John, the Senior Communications Officer at TRAFFIC Southeast Asia.

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The Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve (KLNFR) currently covers about 958ha of peat swamp forest – a small remnant of a much larger forest that was degazetted and converted for development over the last 50 years. This forest reserve has been home to the Temuan tribe for more than a hundred years, and it also supports critically endangered species such as the Malayan Sun Bear, Selangor Pygmy Flying Squirrel and the rare Langat Red Fighting Fish. Now, the reserve is now facing an unprecedented threat – the Selangor State Government is proposing to degazette about 97% of the area, for a mixed development project. We discuss what's at stake with the degazettement of this forest reserve with Leela Panikkar, the director of Treat Every Environment Special (TrEES) and Batin Samsul Anak Senin, the Chairman of Majlis Pengurusan Komuniti Kampung Orang Asli in Kg Busut Baru.

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