Earth Matters

The East and West coasts of Peninsular Malaysia and the coasts of Sabah and Sarawak are home to 27 species of dolphins, whales, porpoises and dugongs. However, marine mammals in Malaysia are being threatened by increased levels of pollution in our waters. As our country embarks on the journey to development, the conditions of our waters are being neglected. Speaking to us about these challenges is Dr. Louisa S. Ponnampalam, Research Fellow at the Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences and Co-Founder of the MareCet Research Organization.

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How often do we stop to think about where our waste goes? I’d say very rarely, if not never. In one day alone, Malaysia produces 33,000 tonnes of Municipal Solid Waste, out of which only 10.5% is being recycled. On the 1st of September 2015, households in 7 states and 2 federal territories began compulsory waste separation of solid waste. Here today are Nithi Nesadurai, president of the Environmental Protection Society Malaysia and Christa Hashim, director of Treat Every Environment Special, to speak to us about the sustainability of this new scheme, both in relation to the environment as well as to our livelihood.

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The Belum-Temengor forest complex in Perak has 130-million-year-old rainforests, with some of the world’s most threatened species. Now a group known as the Pulau Banding Foundation are carrying out their fourth scientific expedition to assess the area’s biodiversity. Joining us to discuss the expedition is Dato’ Dr Abdul Rashid Bin Ab Malik of the Pulau Banding Foundation along with Andrew Sebastian of the Malaysian Nature Society who speaks about the conservation challenges surrounding the rainforest.

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For more than a decade, Bukit Kiara’s status as a forest reserve has remained ambiguous. And despite several public campaigns to save one of the city’s green lungs, residents and activists say construction and development still present a very real threat. Here to discuss the issue further are Tan Sri Salleh Mohd Nor, and Liew Khooi Cheng from Friends of Bukit Kiara and Yong Foo Chuen, from TRAKS Malaysia. The National Landscape Department, Sime Darby, Berjaya, KL City Hall have all declined to be interviewed.

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By 2048, the world's oceans will no longer be able to provide people with seafood, according to the WWF. And 90 percent of global fish stocks are depleted. Hence the need to shift the trade towards responsibly caught fish, and find ways of making fish farms sustainable. Here to discuss the subject are Chitra Devi, Senior Sustainable Seafood Officer, and Victor Charlie Andin, Aquaculture Officer, WWF-Malaysia.

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The December UN Climate Change conference in Paris offers a last chance to reach a deal that would keep global warming from reaching risky levels, says UN climate chief Christiana Figueres. But with greenhouse gasses projected to rise to more than 4 Celsius, can countries even make the necessary cuts? And how will the Paris talks succeed when previous conferences have failed to come up with any concrete pledges? Here to answer these questions is France’s Ambassador at large for climate change for Asia and Oceania, Philippe Zeller.

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Some of Malaysia’s remote Orang Asli villages are now lit up, thanks to a community-based group, Friends of Village Development or Tonibung. They use renewable energy from micro-hydro systems to generate electricity. The group also helps build other green energy programmes. So how far can these projects go towards making rural villages entirely self-sufficient? And what difference have these schemes made in their lives? Joining me on the phone to discuss this is Adrian Lasimbang, director of Tonibung.

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All over Malaysia, green grassroots projects are springing up. And they’re sometimes just a click away. The Negawatt Revolution, a Malaysian website, helps you reduce your energy and carbon emissions via a digital tracking system. And on a community-based level, ToniBung or Friends of Village Development, works with Orang Asli villages using sustainable means. We talk to them about how they hook remote villages up with electricity, and ask Negawatt just how you can reduce your footprint.

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Climate change is crushing bee populations, according to the journal That’s because their habitats have shrunk due to rising temperatures, threatening agricultural yields. Can sustainable engineering play a role in reversing the effects of climate change, thereby slowing the bees’ decline? And what will it take for these new, green technologies to be widely adopted? Science.

Joining us on the phone is Edwin Khew, the President-Elect of the Institution of Engineers, Singapore. His organization is behind the World Engineers Summit -- Climate Change, which takes place on 21-24 July in the city-state.

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India has the second-worst air pollution levels in the world, according to The World Bank’s latest report. And that’s set to get worse as the country becomes more industrialized and more Indians move to big cities. Joining us on the phone is Sarath Guttikunda. He’s the director of an independent research group, Urban Emissions.Info and has helped build India’s first air quality monitoring system.

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