Earth Matters

A chartered biologist with a keen interest in environmental studies, zoology and a long standing voluntary commitment to environmental issues and museums, Dato Sri Gathorne - the 5th Earl of Cranbrook or Lord Cranbrook, was one of the early conservationists to have worked in Malaysia. A member of the British nobility, he is a specialist in the biology and management of cave swiftlets, the biology of living mammals and zooarchaeology of the Malaysian region, and has contributed immensely to raising awareness of conservation issues in Malaysia. A recipient of the Merdeka Award in 2014, Lord Cranbrook joins us to share some highlights from his long and illustrious career, specifically here in Malaysia.

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In recent years, environmental politics and policymaking have expanded and grown increasingly multifaceted. Prof. Philippe Le Prestre, a professor of political science at Laval University in Canada, has been a member of numerous national and international scientific committees, and has authored books on international environmental politics and international relations. He joins us to discuss the need to go beyond the received wisdom of international environmental politics and how he thinks a complex systems approach might help define the contours of a new model of international environmental governance.

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Erik Solheim, the Head of UN Environment, said this is a make or break year for the world’s coral reefs. 2018 has been declared as the third International Year of the Reef, which, among other things, aims to strengthen awareness globally about the value of, and threats to, coral reefs and associated ecosystems. We discuss the possibilities of this international initiative at both a global and local level, with Julian Hyde, the General Manager of Reef Check Malaysia.

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The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international not for-profit, multi-stakeholder organisation, established to promote responsible management of the world’s forests. It's considered by many to be the gold standard of forest management in the world. FSC Malaysia  began operations back in 2014, with the aim to be the main driver for bringing the world's leading standards to our country. Anthony Sebastian, a Wildlife Ecologist and Conservation Planner, who also sits on the Forest Stewardship Council's International Board of Directors, joins us to discuss the challenges and successes they've encountered, so far.

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It's been three years since the Ecotourism and Conservation Society of Malaysia, or ECOMY was founded. Their aim was to focus on sustainable ecotourism as the way forward to ensure that conservation values are upheld at all key natural heritage sites in Malaysia. Celebrating their anniversary this week, we catch up with Andrew Sebastian, the Co-Founder & CEO of ECOMY, to find out what they've been up to, this past year and how much of their aim has been achieved, thus far.

The recent degazettement of 4,515 hectares of permanent forest reserves in Terengganu has caused great alarm. The degazetted forest reserves, roughly the size of more than 4,500 football fields, are to be given to Terengganu government-linked company TDM Bhd, an oil palm plantations cultivator wholly owned by the state investment arm, Terengganu Inc Sdn Bhd, for their plantation expansion. We find out the implications of this degazettement on the health of the environment from MNS Terengganu Branch Chairman, Wong Chee Ho.

Since 2008, Bea Johnson and her family of four have only been producing one jar of waste, per year. Author of the book Zero Waste Home, Bea is acknowledged as the founder of this now global movement. She joins us to share her story of going zero waste and explains why zero-waste is not just about ‘trying to be eco-friendly’ by recycling or giving away old clothes: it’s about not buying what you don’t need in the first place.

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Today we look back at some of our popular Earth Matters episodes for Year 2017. We revisit President Trump’s decision to pull U.S. out from the Paris agreement with Dato' Dr Gurdial Singh Nijar, the Taman Tun residents’ battle with DBKL to protect Taman Rimba Kiara from development with Hafiz Abu Bakar and Leon Koay, and the shift away from our current reliance on fossil fuels with Richard Heinberg.

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SAVE Rivers is a group of concerned citizens building broad-based support to mobilise the public to speak-up against plans to build more new dams that are destructive to both the people and ecosystems of Sarawak. Peter Kallang, an indigenous leader and the SAVE Sarawak Rivers network Chairman, joins us in conjunction with Human Rights Day to share the group's story.

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The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is beginning its first readiness funding to Malaysia in partnership with Carbon Trust. Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dato Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar and CEO of Carbon Trust Tom Delay explain how the country's first GCF Readiness project will be rolled out.

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