Earth Matters

Malaysia has come in second-last in a report published in May on environmental legislation. The Environmental Democracy Index ranks 70 countries, and is compiled by the U.S.-based World Resources Institute. Is this a sign that we are not doing enough to protect our environment? Or is the report intrinsically flawed?

To explore these questions, I’m joined by Dr. Gary Theseira, Deputy Undersecretary at the Environmental Management & Climate Change Division, Roger Chan, an environmental lawyer, and Jeffrey Phang, a member of The Access Initiative and Chairman of the Friends of Kota Damansara.

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With the recent announcement of the 11th Malaysia Plan, we dissect the key points of the environmental agenda under the blueprint with Yin Shao Loong, the Executive Director of Institut Rakyat and Dr. Hezri Adnan, the Program Director of the Technology, Innovation, Environment and Sustainability division at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia.

Our experts debate on whether the proposed strategies will be sufficient to brace the impact of climate change and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, while protecting factors of economic growth and development in Malaysia.

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Unsustainable fishing and farming practices have severely impacted many of our most popular seafood choices. Without urgent measures we may be the last generation to catch food from the oceans.

In conjunction with World’s Ocean Day, Chitra Devi, the Senior Sustainable Seafood Officer under WWF-Malaysia's Marine Programme joins us to discuss how consumers, businesses and industry players can and should join the sustainable seafood movement.

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Although they get little attention, seagrasses are a vital part of the marine ecosystem and home to a diverse range of organisms. But seagrasses are in trouble: it’s estimated that 29% of the world’s seagrass meadows have died off in the past century, with 1.5% more disappearing each year. We get a Seagrass 101 crash course from Dr. Jillian Ooi, a marine biologist and Senior Lecturer from the Department of Geography, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Malaya.

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 The United Nations Climate Change Conference is set to be held in Paris this December and governments from over 190 nations across the globe must commit to an ambitious deal to rein in carbon emissions by then. Sir David King, former chief scientific adviser to the UK government and now the special representative for climate change, is busy travelling the world on a mission of climate diplomacy. We find out more about this mission and get his thoughts and proposed action plans to battle climate change, which he has called the biggest challenge of all time.

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 The Malaysia Environmental Sustainability Youth Movement (MESYM), is a one-stop platform which hopes to provide the general public with everything one may need, to get involved in environmental work/ causes. Joining us to share how they connect the green dots for all are co-founders and co-general managers of MESYM, Dr. Jun-E Tan and Leonardo Losoviz.

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Suwanna Gauntlett is a founder of the Wildlife Alliance, a conservation group who are regarded as leaders in direct protection to forests and wildlife in the Southeast Asian tropical belt. She joins us to discuss her life's work and to share the strategies used by Wildlife Alliance to combat deforestation, wildlife extinction, climate change, and poverty.

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Dubbed the Jungle-wallah of Langkawi, Irshad Mobarak gave up the corporate rat-race over 20 years ago, and became a self-taught naturalist whose knowledge was gleaned from years of trekking through Langkawi's jungles and mangroves. He joins us to discuss his life and work with Langkawi's natural resources and to fill us in on the new environmental NGO he is part of, the Ecotourism & Conservation Society Malaysia (ECOmy).

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We catch up with Andrew Sebastian, the Head of Communications at the Malaysian Nature Society, about the annual Raptor Watch event organised by the MNS, which highlights the phenomenal migration of birds of prey, otherwise known as raptors. Andrew will also fill us in on the MNS’s plans for their 75th anniversary this year.

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EcoKnights is a collective effort with a vision to raise a nation of ecologically conscious Malaysians that embrace and adopt sustainable lifestyles. Co-founder Yasmin Rasyid, who is also the President and Executive Director of EcoKnights, drops by to share more about the organisation's expanding quest, while also discussing the topic of sustainability in corporations. 

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