Earth Matters

It's World Environment Day this coming Sunday, and the theme for this year is “Go Wild for Life”, and it sees international communities making a strong statement against illegal wildlife trade. To give us a broader idea of how we can all approach and celebrate World Environment Day is Andrew Sebastian, the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at the Ecotourism and Conservation Society of Malaysia.

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The Ulu Muda Forest Reserve lies on the north-eastern flank of Kedah, bordering Thailand.
Despite its rich biodiversity, immense natural beauty and function as a water catchment area for the Muda, Pedu and Ahning dams, the Ulu Muda forest has become the latest victim of illegal and uncontrolled logging. We get the low-down of what's happening to the forest reserve from Hymeir Kamaruddin, an eco-guide and Director of Earth Lodge, who has been exploring and working in the Ulu Muda area since the late 1990s.

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World Turtle Day is celebrated annually on the 23rd of May. In conjunction with this year's celebration, we speak to Chen Pelf Nyok, the co-founder of the Turtle Conservation Society of Malaysia, to discuss the need for turtle conservation and the threats being faced by these shelled reptiles, which include the exotic food trade, habitat destruction, global warming and the illegal pet trade.

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The Don Sahong Dam, which is being built by Malaysian project developer Mega First Corporation Berhad, is the second of eleven hydropower dams planned on the lower Mekong mainstream. Scientists and Mekong experts believe the dam will block the main channel passable year-round by fish migrating between Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, threatening vital subsistence and commercial fisheries in the Lower Mekong Basin. In essence, the livelihoods and food security of hundreds of thousands of people are at risk. We find out more from Maureen Harris, the Southeast Asia Program Director of International Rivers, a global NGO working to protect rivers and the rights of communities that depend on them.

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Last November, Terengganu made headlines when it became the first state in Malaysia to issue a fatwa prohibiting the illegal hunting of wildlife. A five-minute film called ‘Harimau Selamanya’, was made to highlight the need to protect our environment in the context of Islam, with a special focus on the plight of the Malayan tiger. We discuss the film and wildcat conservation efforts with Dr. Reuben Clements, the co-founder of the non-profit research group Rimba, who is also and the lead researcher of Project Harimau Selamanya, and Harun Rahman, the producer and Director of the ‘Harimau Selamanya’ short film.

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The El Nino phenomenon we're currently facing has wreaked havoc on our weather with Malaysia facing a hot spell which may last till June. Will Klang Valley residents face a water shortage and water rationing exercise similar to that of 2014? We spoke to YB Charles Santiago, the MP for Klang, to get his forecast of things to come, and discussed his recommendations to avoid a possible water crisis.

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According to the WWF, half of the world's original forest cover has been lost over the past 50 years. This has resulted in the entire ecosystem falling apart, and with that, dire consequences for us all. The Tropical Rainforest Conservation Research Centre (TRCRC) aims to reintroduce rare and endangered rainforest plant species back into its native habitats in Malaysia and we find out how from TRCRC's Dr. Dzaeman Dzulkifli and Dr. Tajang Jinggut. 

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On today’s show, we discussed how everyday landscapes have the potential to serve environmental, social and cultural functions. We are joined by LAr. Norliza Mohd Yusof, Member of the Institute of Landscape Architects Malaysia (ILAM) to find out more about the organisation’s passion for organising and developing green spaces.

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Dr. Adam Algar is an ecologist, macro-ecologist, biogeographer, herpetologist, and evolutionary biologist whose research focuses on how climate affects the evolution and ecology of organisms, especially lizards in the Caribbean and Southeast Asia. He joins us to discuss his work and the research he's conducting in Malaysia and the serious repercussions of a world without lizards.

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A recent study titled “Fruit Gardens Enhance Mammal Diversity and Biomass in a Southeast Asian Rainforest” has found that the traditional practices of local indigenous people can have some benefits for animal conservation. We spoke to two of the researchers from the study, Jonathan Moore and Dr. Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz, who investigated the role of the Chewong community's fruit gardens in benefiting forest wildlife.

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