Earth Matters

Professor David Macdonald is the founder and director of the University of Oxford’s Wildlife Conservation Unit or WildCRU as it's better known, one of the most high-profile science-based conservation groups in the world. We caught up with the multiple award-winning professor, to discuss his work as an academic, author, film-maker, and policy adviser, and his efforts to popularise biology with the general public. 

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It's estimated that at least 100 million sharks are killed every year for their fins. Malaysia has been identified as among the world's largest shark's fin consumers and this demand has led to an alarming decline of shark numbers, which in turn affects the wider ecosystem, including all of us. We speak to Wong Siew Lyn and Wong Wee Liem, from the MNS Marine Group and Wong Si Peng, a scuba instructor, who are all part of a Shark Awareness Program happening in June, about the critical need to keep sharks in our waters.

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Malaysians are turning Facebook into a wildlife marketplace, driving a roaring and often illegal trade in iconic and threatened animals, according to a new report from TRAFFIC. The “Trading Faces: A Rapid Assessment on the use of Facebook to Trade Wildlife in Peninsular Malaysia” report has revealed that the rise of social media has enabled the creation of a thriving marketplace for wild animals as pets where one previously didn’t exist, in Malaysia. We find out more from Kanitha Krishnasamy, Programme Manager for TRAFFIC in Southeast Asia and a co-author of the new report.

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Last week, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak launched the revised National Policy on Biological Diversity, which has outlined five key principles in biodiversity management. Chee Yoke Ling, the Director of Programmes at the Third World Network, joins us to analyse the revised policies and to discuss whether these revisions will suffice, to help fulfil Malaysia’s obligations under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

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Dr. Louisa Ponnampalam and Fairul Izmal Jamal Hisne, the co-founders of The MareCet Research Organization, joined us to give some factual afterthoughts about the whale that was stranded and died in Batu Pahat, Johor last week. They cleared up some misleading facts that were put out in the news about the incident, which include the wrong species of whale being cited, among many other factual errors .

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It’s no revelation that most travellers don't worry about the problems of the world and take into account environmental and social sustainability when making travel plans. Andrew Sebastian, the Co-Founder and CEO of the Ecotourism & Conservation Society of Malaysia (ECOMY) joins us to make the case for why we should all opt for sustainable tourism choices, and to help sift through 'greenwashing' practices by eco-tourism companies, who market sustainability more than they practice it.

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Citizen science involves everyday people who volunteer to help scientists with their research, and it is widely regarded as a tool for creating public awareness on many environmental issues. We chat with John-James Wilson, Jisming See and Gary Sing, co-authors of the citizen science project “The First Peninsular Malaysia Butterfly Count”, to find out more about the benefits of such studies, and why butterflies are often the focus of such projects.

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Hailed as a turning point for action to limit climate change below dangerous levels, The Conference of Parties (COP) 21 Climate Change Summit in Paris last December saw 195 countries come together to adopt a universal and legally binding global climate deal. We speak to Professor Gurdial Singh Nijar, Lead Spokesmen for Like Minded Developing Countries and His Excellency Christophe Penot, Ambassador of France to Malaysia, about the outcome of the summit and what happens next. 

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Called a true ninja of sustainability, Sir Jonathon Porritt has more than 40 years of work dedicated to the field of environmental sustainability. Founder Director and Trustee of Forum for the Future, Sir Jonathan is also the co-chair of the High Carbon Stock Study, which hopes to enable oil palm to be grown more sustainably. He joins us to discuss the results of the study. 

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It was another dismal year for the environment, what with the haze, continued deforestation, loss of wildlife and the pervasive effects of climate change among others. We take stock of the environmental issues of the year past with Dr. Sundari Ramakrishna, the Conservation Director at WWF-Malaysia and Prof. Dr. Ahmad Ismail, the Vice President of the Malaysian Nature Society.

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