Earth Matters

The concept of “human-wildlife conflict” is becoming central to conservation work, but the mitigation of these conflicts are also said to be one of the greatest challenges for conservation of wildlife worldwide. In conjunction with World Elephant Day, which is celebrated annually on the 12th of August, we take a closer look at how human-elephant conflict plays a role in the decline of elephant numbers, and discuss ways that people and elephants can share space. Joining us to discuss this and more are Wong Ee Phin and Lim Teck Wyn, from the organisation Management & Ecology of Malaysian Elephants (MEME).

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Called the “rainforests by the sea,” coastal mangroves are among the most threatened ecosystems on earth. Current estimates indicate that up to 67% of mangroves have been lost to date, and nearly all unprotected mangroves could perish over the next 100 years.

It was International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem on July 26th, and we get a 101 on the priceless benefits of mangrove forests from Dr. Ahmad Aldrie Amir, a Senior Lecturer and Research Fellow at the Institute for Environment and Development (LESTARI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and the coordinator of the Malaysian Mangrove Research Alliance and Network (MyMangrove).

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Since the beginning of the 20th century, we have lost over 95% of the world's wild tiger population. 

Celebrated on the 29th of July, Global Tiger Day was launched during the last Chinese Year of the Tiger (2010), with the aim to double the global population of wild tigers by the next Year of the Tiger (2022). We find out how far along we've come to reaching that goal from Dr. Mark Rayan Darmaraj, who spearheads the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF)’s Tiger Landscape, who will also discuss WWF Malaysia's efforts to prevent tiger poaching, which is one of the biggest threats to their existence. 

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Last year, the world was amazed by the news that a new species of orangutan - the Tapanuli orangutan - was found in Batang Toru, Sumatra. Unfortunately, researchers believe that only fewer than 800 of these animals are surviving in a tiny tract of forest. Listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN, the Tapanuli Orangutans are now facing a more dangerous threat in the form of the Chinese-funded Batang Toru hydropower project, which would slice their tiny habitat in half, and pretty much ensure their extinction. Leading scientists have slammed plans of this development, which was refused support by other major funders such as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation, which judged the ape’s habitat far too sensitive environmentally to sustain further development. We find out more from Distinguished Professor William Laurance, the Director of the Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science at the James Cook University, Cairns, Australia. He is also a member of ALERT—the Alliance of Leading Environmental Researchers & Thinkers

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2018 has been declared as the third International Year of the Reef, to increase awareness and understanding of coral reefs, and to further conserve and manage these valuable ecosystems. Reef Check Malaysia has been doing all this and more for a long time now, but they have even more events planned this year, including participating in the International Coastal Cleanup Day, happening here in Malaysia on the 22nd of September, 2018. We find out more about what's planned from Julian Hyde, the General Manager of Reef Check Malaysia, who will also share the results from Reef Check's 2017 report on the health of coral reefs.

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Giving up meat and dairy in your diet could be the “single biggest way” to reduce your environmental impact on earth, a new study suggests. Researchers have found that while meat and dairy provide just 18% of calories and 37% of protein, it uses around 83% of farmland and produces 60% of agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions. It also suggests that cutting these products from your diet could reduce food’s carbon emissions by up to 75%. We find out more from the lead researcher of the study, Joseph Poore, from the Department of Zoology and the School of Geography and Environment, at the University of Oxford.

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The KWAP Inspire: Environmental Conference 2018 is a two-day conference, themed “Inspiring Action for a Better Tomorrow”, hosted by KWAP together with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) as part of the Sustainable Investment Week 2018.
Joining us to share more about the conference, and how the finance sector must play a role in the fight against climate change are Dr. Keith Lee, the Sustainable Finance Engagement Manager at WWF-Malaysia and Ismail Zakaria, the Director of the Corporate Strategy & Performance Department, at the The Retirement Fund Incorporated (KWAP).

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MareCet is Malaysia's first and only non-profit, non-governmental organization solely dedicated to the research and conservation of marine mammals in our country. We catch up with the co-founders of the organisation, Dr. Louisa Ponnampalam and Fairul Izmal Jamal Hisne, to find out about their continued efforts in working towards increasing scientific knowledge on marine mammals in the region, while also getting the public more involved in understanding our marine environment. They also discuss the upcoming World Oceans Day event that they are organising.

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According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), up to one third of all food is spoiled or squandered before it is consumed by people. Food losses represent a waste of resources used in production such as land, water, energy and inputs, increasing the green gas emissions in vain. A not-for-profit organisation in Malaysia, The Lost Food Project, rescues good food that would otherwise end up in landfills, and redistributes it to those in need. They have also teamed up with MARDI & UN FAO MYSaveFood Initiative along with SWCorp to also tackle issues on saving food and reducing waste. We catch up with Suzanne Mooney, the Founder of The Lost Food Project and Tracey Wardhaugh, the social media campaign manager of the organisation, to find out how the project is progressing, and how we can all reduce our food waste.

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As is often the case, humans are causing trouble for other species, in this case, turtles. Dr. Chen Pelf Nyok, a turtle researcher and conservationist, believes that without concerted conservation action, many of the world’s turtles and tortoises will become extinct within the next few decades. She joins us to discuss her work in turtle conservation through the Turtle Conservation Society of Malaysia, and to share how we can all put a stop to this impending extinction crisis.

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