Earth Matters

Dr Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots, which has local chapters in over 132 countries, has now added Malaysia to its fold.  With a focus on getting youths involved in making positive changes for animals, the environment and society, we find out the Malaysian chapter’s plans and projects for the near future from Jyunichi Washizaki, the project manager of Roots and Shoots Malaysia.

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Associate Professor Dr. Lawal Bilal's research is in geospatial applications in environmental planning and management, particularly in flood forecasting and monitoring and urban planning. He joins us to discuss his research and work, and explores ways these methods can be applied in Malaysia, what with the recent devastating floods that hit our country.

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Warm and humid, mangrove forests protect our coasts and serve as a nursery ground for much of our seafood. Sadly, we are fast losing these mangrove forests to commercial activities. We spoke to Dr. Dan Friess who studies mangrove ecosystems, to discuss the status and functions of mangrove forests in Southeast Asia.

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Widespread deforestation, pollution, overfishing, changing weather patterns, poaching of wildlife - it's been a poor year for the environment in Malaysia. Andrew Sebastian, the Head of Communications at the Malaysian Nature Society, joins us to take a look back at the news that dominated the environment landscape in 2014 and the urgent need for action in the new year.

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One of the most endangered animal species anywhere in the world, the existence of the Sumatran rhinoceros is still critical. John Payne, the Executive Director of the Bornean Rhino Alliance (BORA), joins us to discuss what needs to be done to prevent the first extinction of a mammal species in Malaysia since 1932.

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The Mekong, one of world's great rivers which sustains the lives of 65 million people, is under dire threat from a cascade of hydroelectric dams. Journalist and filmmaker Tom Fawthrop has just released a documentary, The Great Gamble on the Mekong, which details how the construction of these dams in the Mekong region can affect the ecosystem. Tom joins us to discuss the need for an investigation into the possible social and environmental impacts of the dams being built, which includes the blocking of migratory fish routes, which will negatively affect nutrition and livelihoods across regional boundaries.

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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. FSC Malaysia recently began operations and aims to be the main driver for bringing the world's leading standards to our country. Andrew Ng, the Interim Executive Director of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Malaysia, joins us to discuss how.

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The Sustainable Palm Oil Transparency Toolkit or SPOTT is a free, interactive resource, designed for investors and other stakeholders in the palm oil sector, to assess oil palm growers on the information that they make publicly available about the sustainability of their operations. We find out more about how it works from Elizabeth Clarke and Michal Zrast, the Business and Biodiversity Manager and Global Palm Oil Manager respectively, at the Zoological Society of London.

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The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is a non-profit association which aims to transform markets to make sustainable palm oil the norm. The Secretary General of the RSPO, points to challenges, efforts and achievements faced by the association since its inception.

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Time to rethink how we can move our behinds from one part of town to another and commute (or travel) in ways that hurt the environment less. A city with less traffic congestions and coughing vehicles sitting idle, spitting out smoke and stench, is a more liveable city. An experiment is beginning with PJ-Ecomobility.

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