Earth Matters
385 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 year ago -Climate change, ferocious weather and ‘the haze’ are now part our everyday lives. How are our lifestyles connected to them, and what can we do about it? What does the economy have to do with it? Earth Matters engages with activists and experts to explore our changing relationship with the planet that we only borrow from our children.
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Episodes
Tak Kenal Maka Tak Cinta Ep3: Bukit Batu Putih in Port Dickson
May 03, 2023 07:00 - 23 minutes - 21.3 MBTak Kenal Maka Tak Cinta is a tourism-themed series on Earth Matters, which aims to highlight lesser-known ecotourism spots right here in Malaysia. Done in collaboration with the Ecotourism & Conservation Society Malaysia (ECOMY), we want to take you back to the great outdoors, and experience the many off-the-beaten-track nature spots our country has to offer. In our third episode, we head over to Port Dickson, but specifically to the areas surrounding Tanjung Tuan, including Bukit Batu Put...
Macaranga Wrap-up: April 2023
April 26, 2023 07:30 - 13 minutes - 12.2 MBDescription: We catch up with local, lovable environmental journalism portal Macaranga, for a roundup of top environmental news from April 2023. This month, we discuss court cases and petitions galore over the defence of traditional indigenous lands, namely involving the Semai tribe from Pos Lanai, and the Temiar tribe of Kampung Cunex, and also the Sarawak NGO Save Rivers, who are fighting a lawsuit by a timber company over indigenous rights claims. Then we turn our attention to the issue ...
Haze: Coming Soon
April 26, 2023 07:00 - 18 minutes - 17.3 MBThe recent unwelcome visit by the haze in the region was another unpleasant reminder that the issue of transboundary haze is far from resolved. Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad reportedly said that the haze was caused by peat fires and open burning in several areas in the country, but that the haze was also happening in other ASEAN countries. The ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution has been criticised for lacking enforcement mechanis...
‘Policy Plans’ - the path to folly in Malaysia’s urban planning? - Part 2
April 19, 2023 07:00 - 37 minutes - 34.5 MBBack in late January of this year, Malaysia witnessed a major win for environmental law in Malaysia, when the Federal Court - in a landmark decision - quashed a hillside development that was issued by the local authority in Penang. Many have noted that this ruling might have impacts on other public interest litigation cases in the country. On a two-part special, we discuss this apex judgement, and what significance it holds in Malaysia with Peter Leong, a researcher and environmental activ...
On the Peat Beat
April 17, 2023 07:00 - 37 minutes - 34.3 MBPeatlands are a type of wetland which occur in almost every country and are known to cover at least 3% of global land surface. Peatlands are an integral part of our ecosystem - they are the largest natural terrestrial carbon store, and can store more carbon than all other vegetation types in the world combined. Sadly, these are areas that have been undervalued for years, seen as no-man's land, or one that only has value if modified for some "better" use. Working towards improving the image ...
‘Policy Plans’ - The Path to Folly in Malaysia’s Urban Planning? - Part 1
April 12, 2023 07:00 - 51 minutes - 47.4 MBBack in late January of this year, Malaysia witnessed a major win for environmental law in the country, when the Federal Court - in a landmark decision - quashed a hillside development that was issued by the local authority in Penang. Many have noted that this ruling might have impacts on other public interest litigation cases in the country, including the ongoing Taman Rimba Kiara case. On a two-part special, we discuss this apex judgement, and what significance it holds in Malaysia with ...
Tak Kenal Maka Tak Cinta Ep2: Pulau Bangau in Teluk Intan
April 10, 2023 07:30 - 23 minutes - 21.6 MBTak Kenal Maka Tak Cinta is a new ecotourism-centred series on Earth Matters, which aims to highlight lesser-known ecotourism spots right here in Malaysia. Done in collaboration with the Ecotourism & Conservation Society Malaysia (ECOMY) the series will take you back to nature, by visiting off-the-beaten-track spots in our country. In our second episode, we head over to Teluk Intan in Perak, and find out about Pulau Bangau, an island in Sungai Perak which is now a thriving heronry. We trai...
Natural Forest Clearing Approved for Palm Oil Plantations in Pahang
April 10, 2023 07:00 - 20 minutes - 19.1 MBRimbaWatch recently brought attention to the Department of Environment’s (DOE) approval of an EIA for a palm oil project in Pahang, which amounts to 8,498ha. This project involves the deforestation of intact natural forests nearly twice the size of Putrajaya, and is the largest single palm oil project approved in Peninsular Malaysia in recent years. Why is this happening, considering the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil certification (MSPO) does not allow for deforestation occurring after 202...
A Huge Win with CA|TS Approval for Royal Belum State Park
April 05, 2023 07:00 - 51 minutes - 47.2 MBThe Royal Belum State Park, under the management of the Perak State Parks Corporation (PSPC), has been awarded the prestigious Conservation Assured |Tiger Standards (CA|TS) approval, in recognition of its exceptional conservation efforts and commitment to tiger conservation. This milestone places Malaysia on the map as the very first country in Southeast Asia to implement CA|TS. But what does this accreditation mean for tiger conservation, and how can it pave the way for other sites to stre...
Incinerators - A Pain In The Ash?
April 03, 2023 07:00 - 32 minutes - 29.4 MBA growing population also means a growing trash problem - just looking at Malaysia's stats, we reportedly generated over 38 thousand metric tonnes of solid waste per day in 2021 (1.17 kg/capita/day). Of which, 82.5 percent is disposed of in landfills. Experts have warned that there will be no more land left in Malaysia by 2050 if nothing is done to reduce waste. Some have said the solution lies in waste incineration - burning refuse in incinerators to make electricity, which will also supp...
What's Driving Deforestation in Malaysia?
March 29, 2023 07:00 - 35 minutes - 32.6 MBEarlier in March, RimbaWatch - formerly known as the Rimba Disclosure Project - released a study which revealed that Malaysia is set to lose 2.3 million hectares of forest, reducing forest cover in the country to 47.35%. The "State of the Malaysian Rainforest 2023" report further put that into perspective by explaining that the area earmarked for deforestation would roughly be 100 times the size of Kuala Lumpur, and larger than the size of Perak, Penang and Melaka combined. The top driver o...
Macaranga Wrap-up: March 2023
March 27, 2023 07:30 - 14 minutes - 13.3 MBAnother month almost over, another roundup of top environmental news with the co-founders of journalism portal Macaranga. This month, Law Yao Hua and Wong Siew Lyn join us to discuss the Sarawak Premier's announcement that the state will establish a Sarawak Climate Change Centre, before tackling the news from the Dewan Rakyat by Natural Resources, Environment, and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, that the government are mulling the idea of granting the authority to the Environme...
Anchor Management with Greenpeace's Captain Pep Barbal
March 27, 2023 07:00 - 20 minutes - 19 MBThe 'Rainbow Warrior' is one of three ships in the Greenpeace fleet, patrolling the world's oceans and fighting for climate and environmental justice. The ship was named after a North American Cree Indian prophecy which goes: “When the world is sick and dying, people will rise up like Warriors of the Rainbow.” We catch up with Captain Pep Barbal Badia, the Captain of the Rainbow Warrior, to find out more about his voyages with the Greenpeace crew. Image Credit: D_Zheleva / Shutterstock.com...
Messy Forest Data in Malaysia Messes Conservation
March 22, 2023 07:00 - 42 minutes - 39 MBIn a recently published two-part series, local journalism portal Macaranga, in collaboration with the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investigations Network, identified gaps in forest data for the years 2002—2021, with a focus on Peninsular Malaysia. Their investigations revealed that the data is pretty messy - supposed forest reserves not gazetted, oil palm plantations inside reserves, outdated maps - discrepancies and bad forest data that will hamper Malaysia’s conservation, flood management...
Logging in Baram - Beneficial to Who, Exactly?
March 20, 2023 07:00 - 31 minutes - 28.6 MBEarlier in March, Sarawak assemblyman Dennis Ngau claimed that logging in Ulu Baram, Miri, was welcomed by indigenous communities, and did not harm their way of life. This was swiftly refuted by indigenous land rights defenders, including Save Rivers and Keruan, who criticised the assemblyman's comments, saying that it demonstrated a real lack of understanding of the issues and needs on the ground. We speak to Celine Lim, the Managing Director of Save Rivers for a clearer picture of the sit...
Rewilding – A (Re)Growing Movement
March 13, 2023 07:00 - 37 minutes - 34.3 MBRewilding is described as an innovative way of restoring wild nature. It’s also said to be about letting nature take care of itself, enabling natural processes to shape land and sea, and restore degraded landscapes. On our part - having caused most of the destruction facing this planet - we can give rewilding a helping hand by creating the right conditions, for example by allowing natural forest regeneration, or by reintroducing species that have disappeared as a result of human’s actions, ...
Forest Loss, Monoculture Plantations & Floods in Sarawak
March 08, 2023 07:00 - 36 minutes - 33.1 MBThese past few weeks have seen several states in Malaysia experiencing continuous rainfall, and subsequently with that, the occurrence of floods, evacuations, massive disruptions and destruction, and even the loss of life. Over in some areas in Sarawak, flooding has become more frequent and intense in recent years, as witnessed by the local communities there. NGO Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM), who have an office over in Marudi, Sarawak have also expressed their continued concern over this, a...
The Rainbow Warrior
March 06, 2023 07:00 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MBFor nearly 50 years, Greenpeace has been sailing the world's oceans, protecting our planet and fighting for environmental justice. Through the Greenpeace Fleet - Rainbow Warrior, Arctic Sunrise and Witness - and tireless Greenpeace activists, they have been successful in obstructing nuclear tests in the Pacific, documenting plastics in our oceans, conducting research into the effects of climate change in the Arctic, and stopping shiploads of illegal timber leaving the Amazon. The fleet of s...
World Wildlife Day 2023: (Some of) Malaysia's Marvellous Mammals
March 01, 2023 07:00 - 50 minutes - 46.7 MBIt's World Wildlife Day on the 3rd of March, an annual UN International day to celebrate all the world's wild animals and plants and the contribution that they make to our lives and the health of the planet. Malaysia is of course recognized as one of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world, meaning it is one of the top biodiversity-rich countries and home to many animals including sun bears, Malayan tigers, Sunda Clouded Leopards, Asian elephants, pangolins and more. On this episode of E...
Macaranga Wrap-Up: February 2023
February 27, 2023 07:30 - 13 minutes - 12.4 MBFor this month's roundup of environmental news, we're joined by Wong Siew Lyn, the co-founder of environmental journalism portal Macaranga. First, the Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad recently proposed increasing the punishment for water pollution from RM100,000 to RM10 million and the maximum jail time from one year to 15 years, or both. Are harsher penalties for water pollution the solution? Then we turn our focus to the Penang Nature-Based Cl...
Budget 2023: Prioritising the Environment Through Inclusive & Sustainable Economic Growth?
February 27, 2023 07:00 - 33 minutes - 30.7 MBMalaysia's Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim retabled Budget 2023 last Friday on the 24th of February, after the first tabling in October 2022 by the previous Ismail Sabri administration was thrown out, due to parliament being dissolved. With a new unity government at the helm, there are significant changes to what was initially tabled, with the newly consolidated Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC) ministry receiving about RM6.53 billion in ...
Pushing The Green Agenda Through Parti Hijau Malaysia
February 22, 2023 07:00 - 42 minutes - 39.1 MBParti Hijau Malaysia or the Green Party of Malaysia is the new kid on the block, focussed on highlighting environmental issues in Malaysia, and protecting forest reserves. Highly vocal on issues surrounding the degazettement of forest reserves in Selangor, the party is hoping that the Registrar of Societies (ROS) will approve their application before the next Selangor state election is called, so they can contest in the upcoming polls. We speak to Abdul Razak Ismail, the pro-tem secretary-g...
Tak Kenal Maka Tak Cinta Ep1: Kuala Tahan
February 20, 2023 07:00 - 38 minutes - 35.3 MBWe kick off a new ecotourism-centred series on Earth Matters - Tak Kenal Maka Tak Cinta - which aims to highlight lesser-known ecotourism spots right here in Malaysia. Done in collaboration with the Ecotourism & Conservation Society of Malaysia (ECOMY) the series aims to shine a spotlight on lesser-known ecotourism spots right here in Malaysia, that will take you on off-the-beaten-track nature adventures. In our first episode, we explore the hidden delights that the areas surrounding Ku...
GAIA To The Rescue Of Endangered Hornbills
February 15, 2023 07:00 - 45 minutes - 41.3 MBBack in 2015, wildlife researcher Dr Ravinder Kaur and wildlife photographer Sanjitpaal Singh set up the social enterprise Explore GAIA, to conserve the hornbills of Malaysia. Explore GAIA, together with the NGO Hutan, are currently the only groups providing nesting opportunities for endangered hornbills in Malaysia, and they have been searching for natural nesting sites of endangered hornbills, monitoring and protecting active nests and innovating artificial nest boxes. In a love-themed Ea...
Sg Ara Hillslope Development Quashed - A Major Win for Environmental Law
February 13, 2023 07:00 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBLate last month, the Federal Court in a landmark decision, quashed a hillside development that was issued by the local authority in Penang. Federal Court judge Nallini Pathmanathan who wrote the unanimous decision, ruled that Section 22(2A) says that the development affecting hill tops or hill slopes is no longer merely an issue of local state governance, but is also a federal and national issue. What does this all mean, and how will this ruling impact other hillslope development plans arou...
Wild About Wetlands Part 2: Using Wetlands Wisely
February 08, 2023 07:00 - 42 minutes - 38.9 MBIt was World Wetlands Day on the 2nd of February, and we wanted to give props to the many underrated habitats that fall under the category of wetlands, which are described as the most productive ecosystems in the world. Previously, we spoke about what wetlands are, but in this second episode of our two-part special, we discuss threats that continuously degrade these habitats, but also solutions on how to conserve and protect remaining wetlands. Joining us to do this is Dr. Ahmad Aldrie Amir...
Macaranga Wrap-up: January 2023
January 30, 2023 07:35 - 18 minutes - 17 MBWe catch up on some of the top environmental news of January 2023, with the co-founders of environmental journalism portal, Macaranga. This month, we first discuss the implications of a Federal Court ruling which ruled in favour of Sungai Ara residents, who challenged the Penang island city council’s (MBPP) decision to grant planning permission to a developer to build a housing scheme on a hillslope. Next, we turn our attention to The Guardian's investigation of Verra Carbon offsets, which ...
Wild about Wetlands Part 1: What Are Wetlands?
January 30, 2023 07:00 - 33 minutes - 30.5 MBFebruary 2nd marks World Wetlands Day, and 2023's theme is “It’s Time for Wetlands Restoration,” highlighting the urgent need to prioritise wetland restoration. Though they are called bogs, swamps, marshes, and a host of other unappealing names, wetlands are the most productive ecosystems in the world, and exist in every country and in every climatic zone. In a two-part special, we take a deep dive and discuss all things wetlands with Dr. Ahmad Aldrie Amir, a Senior Lecturer and Research Fe...
Saving Bukit Dinding
January 25, 2023 07:00 - 29 minutes - 27.5 MBStanding at 291m, Bukit Dinding is described as one of the last green fortresses in Kuala Lumpur, and is a popular recreational spot for many. Back in late 2022 though, news broke that two blocks of 26-storey condominiums will be built there, even though the area has been known to be landslide-prone, and has an underground water source at the hill. Residents around the area and others opposing the development filed for a Judicial Review on the project last December, and are keeping up the f...
Hazen Audel - The More You Learn, The Less You Need
January 18, 2023 07:00 - 36 minutes - 33.8 MBHazen Audel is a biologist, TV presenter, and natural history guide, who is Kootenai and Salish Native American and Greek by descent. He founded The Wild Classroom, a non-profit online web-series offering teachers and students quality, natural history educational videos for use in the classroom and home. As the host of National Geographic's Primal Survivor series, he has documented many adventures and tales of survivalism, and his experiences living with and working alongside indigenous peo...
Swap, Don't Shop!
January 16, 2023 07:00 - 27 minutes - 25 MBThe Swap Project (TSP) was launched in late 2018 by Jayda Chong and Jamie Choy, two young women who "are passionate about sustainability in a fashionable way". Fashion of course has a huge environmental cost, and it's estimated that the fashion industry is currently responsible for more annual carbon emissions than all international flights and maritime shipping, combined. How can pre-loved clothing swap-meets like The Swap Project make a change in the way we think about fashion and our per...
Live Songbirds, And Prosper!
January 11, 2023 07:00 - 35 minutes - 32.7 MBBack in November 2022, the 19th Conference of the Parties (CoP19) to CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) took place in Panama, to discuss the future of the international trade in endangered species. At the meeting, Malaysia lobbied for two proposals to respectively upgrade and add protection for two songbird species - the straw-headed bulbul and the white-rumped shama - in the wild. In a huge win for Malaysia, both were accepted unanimously, and will help aga...
The Global Biodiversity Framework - A Framework for All Life on Earth?
January 09, 2023 07:00 - 32 minutes - 30 MBOne million species are currently at risk of extinction. Back in 2011, almost 200 countries agreed to the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, a set of 20 targets intended to protect nature, save biodiversity and enhance its benefits for people. All 20 targets were missed. In late December 2022, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) was finally signed, a landmark agreement which consists of four key goals and a set of 23 targets, intended to address biodiversity loss, restore ecos...
COP15 - The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework Explained
January 04, 2023 07:00 - 33 minutes - 31.1 MBA landmark deal was reached after two weeks of talks in Montreal at the COP15 UN biodiversity summit, where nations from across the world agreed to a new set of goals and targets to “halt and reverse” biodiversity loss by 2030. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework includes something we've been discussing often - the “30×30” target, to conserve 30% of the world’s land and 30% of the ocean by 2030. What does this all mean? We dissect what went down at the talks with Julian Hyde ...
Macaranga Wrap-Up 2022
December 28, 2022 07:00 - 40 minutes - 37.6 MBIn our last Earth Matters show for 2022, we catch up with Wong Siew Lyn and Law Yao Hua, the co-founders of environmental journalism portal Macaranga, who share some of the big stories that they covered throughout the year, on macaranga.org. We cover five main topics including food security and climate change, the impacts of African swine fever in Malaysia, calls to modernise Penang’s pig farming business, the need for coral restoration (and coral awareness in general), and also the strange...
Indah Water Konsortium: Tackling Sewage, Sustainability and More
December 21, 2022 07:00 - 15 minutes - 14.7 MBIndah Water Konsortium, Malaysia's national sewerage company has been entrusted with the tasks of developing and maintaining a modern and efficient sewerage system for all Malaysians. Providing crucial services to millions of households in the country, Indah Water is determined to keep building a sustainable business that contributes towards a cleaner, greener and healthier environment. How are they doing that? We speak to Narendran Maniam, the CEO of Indah Water Konsortium, to discuss the ...
A Checklist For the Environment Ministry
December 14, 2022 07:00 - 27 minutes - 25.1 MBWe have a new rebranded Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change, led by YB Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad. What are among the issues that he should prioritise? We speak to two Earth Matters regulars, about what they hope the ministry will focus on, as we collectively tackle the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. First we hear from Andrew Sebastian, the Founder & Chief Executive Officer of the Ecotourism & Conservation Society Malaysia (ECO...
Post GE15: Priorities for the Environment in Sarawak
December 12, 2022 07:00 - 32 minutes - 30 MBThe rebranded Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change will be at the forefront to address Malaysia's environmental issues, and the ministry combines natural resources, pollution control, climate change, and the water sector all under one roof. Described as a move towards more holistic environmental governance, the ministry will be led by Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad. On the show, we speak to Celine Lim from Sarawak's Save Rivers, about what she feels the new ministry must focus...
World Soil Day 2022: OK Bloomer, Let's Talk Soil
December 07, 2022 07:00 - 35 minutes - 32.3 MBDescribing the work he does as “literally anything under the sun for sustainability," Abdul Razak Abdul Aziz, the founder of Social Eco Enterprise Development for Sustainability or SEEDS Malaysia, likes to get involved any way he can, working towards promoting a more ecologically-friendly lifestyle for us all. Together with his wife Intan and their family, they have been running a natural farming and sustainable living centre in Klang since 2017, and Razak believes that when it comes to far...
Macaranga Wrap-up: November 2022
November 30, 2022 07:40 - 14 minutes - 13 MBIn our penultimate roundup for 2022, we catch-up with the co-founders of environmental journalism portal Macaranga, Wong Siew Lyn and Law Yao Hua, to discuss top environmental news from November 2022. Most Malaysians were focussed on GE15 this month, and the intense campaigning around it. But were conversations on prioritising the environment and the climate crisis also part of those discussions, from both the competing candidates, and civil society? November also brings monsoon rains to th...
COP27: Did it Deliver for People and Planet?
November 30, 2022 07:00 - 49 minutes - 45 MBThe 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – COP27 – was meant to build on the outcomes of COP26 to deliver action on an array of issues critical to tackling the climate emergency. Were these critical issues - urgently reducing greenhouse gas emissions, building resilience, adapting to the impacts of climate change, delivering on the commitments to finance climate action in developing countries - met? We catch up with Meenakshi Raman, the...
COP27 - Outcomes for Youth, Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples
November 23, 2022 07:00 - 44 minutes - 40.5 MBThe 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference - COP27 - has concluded. Were there wins from this set of climate negotiations, or were they just another set of never-ending theoretical discussions? We speak to Malaysian activist Ili Nadiah Dzulfakar, the chairperson of Klima Action Malaysia (KAMY), who was in Sharm el-Sheikh for the talks, to get a youth perspective of what went down at the negotiations, and to also discuss the civil society demands and collective COP27 demands from the ...
Climate Action and the Youth Vote
November 16, 2022 07:25 - 17 minutes - 15.6 MBResearch shows that the environment and climate change is a top issue for young people around the world, as youths will be the most affected by climate change and biodiversity loss. With many young, first time voters heading to the polls this GE15, how can youths concerned about climate change drive both their activism and their participation at the ballot box? We discuss this and more with Natasha Zulaikha, a Conservation Scientist and the Co-founder of Coralku. Image Credit: Shutterstock...
It's time to #Vote4Climate
November 16, 2022 07:00 - 17 minutes - 15.8 MBGreenpeace Malaysia recently conducted a study ahead of GE15, scraping Malaysia's Parliamentary Hansard from 2018-2022, and using more than 100 environmental keywords. The results showed that questions with environmental keywords only surfaced about 8.4% of times over the last four years - clearly showing our leaders are not prioritising a holistic and meaningful approach to dealing with environmental crises. We speak to Thing Siew Shuen (Senior Program Manager, Greenpeace Southeast Asia) ...
Biodiversity for Malaysia: COP15 - A Chance to Save Nature?
November 14, 2022 07:00 - 41 minutes - 38.4 MBCome December, The UN Biodiversity Conference, the Fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP-15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will take place, and the main objective of the Conference is to adopt the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. Since March this year, we've been collaborating with the good folks from Reef Check Malaysia on this series called Biodiversity for Malaysia, a monthly segment which aimed to get everyone on the same page when it comes to...
Methane: A Crucial Opportunity in the Climate Fight
November 09, 2022 07:00 - 33 minutes - 30.7 MBMethane emissions account for roughly 25 percent of current global warming, and contribute to climate-related threats including more intense and frequent heat waves and flooding, food insecurity, and poor air quality. According to Malaysia’s third biennial update report to the United Nations, methane emissions contributed 17 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in 2016, with its major source being fugitive emissions from the oil and gas industry. Where does Malaysia’s biggest opportunities f...
Skin and Bones: No Let Up in Tiger Trafficking
November 07, 2022 07:00 - 33 minutes - 30.4 MBCurrent estimates put the global tiger population at around 4,500 individuals, having plummeted from the 100,000 tigers estimated at the start of the 20th century, and they are currently found in less than 6% of its historical range. The situation doesn't seem to be getting any better, as detailed in the recently released report titled, Skin and Bones: Tiger Trafficking Analysis from January 2000 – June 2022, which points to no let-up in tiger trafficking in the last couple of decades. This...
Rubble Rubble, Toil and Trouble - Why More Quarrying at the Bukit Lagong Forest Reserve?
November 02, 2022 07:00 - 45 minutes - 41.3 MBRecent revelations of licences issued for rock quarrying within the Bukit Lagong Forest Reserve (BLFR) have raised more than just eyebrows among environmental conservation groups and the public alike. Many have called on the Selangor state government to address concerns surrounding the establishment of 27 quarries in the Bukit Lagong Forest Reserve, but already across the Rawang/Kuang area, quarries have greatly scarred the landscape in many places leaving no trees. So how could these const...
Macaranga Wrap-up: October 2022
October 31, 2022 07:35 - 14 minutes - 13.1 MBIt's that time of the month, where we catch up with the good people from environmental journalism portal Macaranga, for a round-up of the top environmental news of the month past. For October's round-up, we speak to Macaranga co-founder Law Yao Hua, and discuss three main topics - firstly, the many issues surrounding quarrying plans for the Bukit Lagong forest reserve, secondly, the Central Forest Spine public outreach exhibition that was organised by the Forestry Department of Peninsular M...
The Road to COP27: More Action Needed
October 31, 2022 07:00 - 29 minutes - 27.5 MBAmbassador Ken O’Flaherty is the COP26 Regional Ambassador for Asia-Pacific, Caribbean and Small Island Developing States. He worked closely with governments, business and civil society across the region to boost climate action ahead of the COP26 Leaders’ Summit which took place in Glasgow last year, and continues to do so, ahead of the upcoming COP27. He joins us to share more about his reflections of the outcomes of COP26 from last year, his hopes for the upcoming talks in Sharm El Sheikh...