Earth Matters

The Green Wall Project is a very successful community engagement project which involves the reforestation of the fringes of a forest which is one of the last havens of biodiversity on the island of Java.

The project also includes a tree adoption program, agroforestry, community education and public outreach activities across the island of Java.

We discuss with Ketut Putra, the Executive Director for Conservation International Indonesia, how such holistic conservation activities can protect nature to benefit us all.

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All of Malaysia's caves have unique scientific, recreational, and scenic values, which sadly are now endangered thanks to a severe lack of awareness. 

Speleologist Hymeir Kamaruddin has long been at the forefront of cave and karst conservation in Malaysia, and he joins us to discuss the role we should all play to protect cave and karsts systems in the country.

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We catch up with conservationist Andrew Sebastian, the Head of Communications at the Malaysian Nature Society, about various environment-related news from around the country, in conjunction with Malaysian Environmental Week.

Andrew also fills us in on MNS's annual Festival of Wings, which celebrates the annual phenomenon of dozens of bird species flying from their wintering homes, crossing seas and continents, to warmer climates.

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The feature length documentary "Canning Paradise" delves into the development of the tuna industry in Madang, Papua New Guinea, and in particular the establishment of the Pacific Marine Industrial Zone, which is opposed by many of the local people.

Journalist and documentary filmmaker Olivier Pollet travelled to Madang to find out why, and he joins us to discuss his findings, and to share more about the screening of his film at the Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Festival 2012.

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We find out more about this campaign by residents of Wangsa Maju, Sheena Moses and Aisyah Farhanah, who are fighting to keep the Wangsa Maju Section 10 Forest - one of the only remaining green lungs in the area - from being cleared for development.

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Shot in Borneo and featuring the country's passionate conservation biologist, Wong Siew Te, this film is an amazing representative of the efforts which are championed by the Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre. We find out more from Director Howard Jackson and Producer Dr. Audrey Low.

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The Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Fest (KLEFF) returns for its fifth edition, and we catch up with Yasmin Rasyid, the President and Founder of EcoKnights and the KLEFF Festival Director, who has been working on the project throughout the years.

Joining Yasmin is Neda Ravichandran, the WWF Communications Officer for Protected Areas in Peninsular Malaysia and the producer of local film "Wira Rimba", and they both discuss how they hope such films can change the political and environmental landscape in this country.

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For a forested area of its size and significance, Ulu Muda is surprisingly unknown to many.

We find out about this outstanding area for wildlife conservation and nature tourism from Hymeir Kamarudin, an eco-guide and the Director of Earth Lodge, who has been exploring and working in the Ulu Muda area since the late 1990s.

For more details you can visit http://earthlodgemalaysia.com/

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All too often, instances of cruelty to wildlife are passed off by irresponsible tour operators as eco-tourism.

Andrew Sebastian, Head of Communications at the Malaysian Nature Society, shares some salient points on what truly constitutes eco-tourism, and some rules all travellers and travel operators should know and abide by.

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Plastic is known to be non-biodegradable and has been accused of many of the environmental problems in the world today. Yet, is it truly as dangerous as its being made out to be, or is it in fact a scapegoat for future pollution issues?

Lim Kok Boon, the Chairman of the Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association (MPMA), joins me to give his take on the issue.      

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