Di kawasan Hilir Kinabatangan, Sabah, sekumpulan wanita menggunakan parang, memandu bot dan menjaga anak-anak pokok, untuk menyambungkan kawasan hutan yang telah terkesan akibat aktiviti pembalakan. Inilah suara mereka.
Temuduga dan foto oleh Chen Yih Wen. Penterjemahan oleh Adibah Abdul Ghani.
Diterbit: Disember 4, 2021
Interviewed: Dr Liew Thor Seng, biologist [thorseng@ums.edu.my]
IF YOU don’t know where all the limestone hills are, how will you know which to protect, which to quarry? Moreover, if you want to protect them, which ones do you begin with?
Well, decision-makers now have at their fingertips, Malaysia’s most comprehensive database and map of limestone hills.
(Photo: Screen capture of the online gazetteer showing details of limestone outcrop of interest in Malaysia | Courtesy of Liew Thor Seng)
Species: Mudskipper (Actinopterygii : Gobiiformes)
Known Range: Indo-Pacific, India, Africa
Size: (Adult) Up to 25 cm long
Interviewed: Khaironizam Md Zain, freshwater ecologist (khaironizam@usm.my)
(Photo: Gold-spotted Mudskippers (Periophthalmus chrysospilos) waddling in the mudflats at Bako National Park, Sarawak | Pic by Chien Lee)
WHAT IS an animal that walks on mud, breathes through its skin, and swims using fins? A mudskipper! While they are fish and classified in the fish family Gobiidae, mudskippers don’t quite look like one.
Continue reading Fish On LandMicroplastics are now found in more parts of the human body, writes Professor Dr Lee Yeong Yeh, whose team confirmed the presence of plastics in Malaysians’ bowels. What does this mean?
THIS YEAR, scientists found plastic in the human placenta. This discovery highlights the extent to which plastic permeates our bodies. It should make us very concerned.
By now, it is quite common knowledge that microplastics – smaller than a papaya seed – are ubiquitous in the human food chain, especially seafood and drinking water. This has been shown in many studies, including those in Malaysia.
(Photo: Plastic is entering human bodies when we consume water and seafood. Marine plastic pollution must be tackled, beach cleanups being one way. | Pic by SL Wong)
Continue reading Plastics in the Body A Worrying TrendFrom hill to sea, Malaysia’s newest biosphere reserve in Penang promises opportunities to test, engage, and manage ways to live sustainably with nature.
Text by SL Wong, images by David ST Loh.
Published: October 12, 2021
Cut, Carved, and Cleared: When Big Forests Go
How the largest excision in two decades transformed the landscape, economy, and community
Producer/writer: YH Law; Editor: SL Wong
Produced in collaboration with the Rainforest Investigations Network at the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting.
Published: 21 September 2021
(Forest cleared for oil palm in Jemaluang, Johor | Video by IMR Kreatif)
Interviewed: Alison Kim Shan Wee, molecular ecologist (kimshan.wee[at]nottingham.edu.my)
(Photo: Awash in sea water twice daily, mangrove trees have adapted to the challenging environment | Pic by Alison Kim)
HOW ARE mangroves, which grow by tropical and subtropical coasts, the same as plants in the deserts or the Arctic? Well, they are all extremophiles — a group of organisms that are able to thrive in extreme environments.
According to molecular ecology researcher Alison Kim Shan Wee, mangrove trees can live in soil of high salt levels, which could kill most other trees.
Adakah antara kamu seorang yang bijak dan pandai? Dia harus membuktikannya dengan kelakuannya yang baik, dan melalui kebajikan yang diamalkannya dengan kerendahan hati dan kebijaksanaan. – Alkitab, Yakobus 3: 13
Ditulis oleh Ginny Ng SL dengan Chin Sing Yun, Dylan Ong, Joanna Tang and Surin Suksuwan. Diterjemah oleh Noorainie Awang Anak.
PADA saat saya menerima berita mengenai pemergian Balu Perumal pada 6 Ogos 2021, saya seperti terkedu, tidak percaya. Saya jarang berkomunikasi dengannya, hanya sekali-sekala ketika mengikuti persidangan dan mesyuarat-mesyuarat yang mana kami mempunyai kepentingan bersama.
Saya terus terbayang bagaimana keluarganya dan juga dunia pemuliharaan telah kehilangan seseorang yang amat berharga, seorang pejuang mereka.
Balu adalah seorang pengiat pemuliharaan sepanjang hayatnya, pakar botani, mentor, guru, ketua keluarga, dan juga seorang sahabat.
(Gambar: Seorang pengiat pemuliharaan yang tulin, Balu Perumal [1966–2021] digambarkan pada awal 2000-an meninjau apa yang sekarang ialah Taman Negeri Selangor | Foto oleh Dylan Ong)
APPLICATIONS CLOSED – AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE SELECTED APPLICANTS WILL BE MADE SOON
IF YOU are keen on the environment, here’s an opportunity for you to:
Application deadline: 13 September 2021, 23:59 (KL time).
Click for online application form.
Enquiries: editorial@macaranga.org
Continue reading Apply to Join Macaranga SproutsDespite widespread protests, the Selangor government has excised parts of the Kuala Langat North forest reserve on 12 August 2021. This is a wake-up call to give the Dewan Undangan Negeri the power to stop excision, argues forestry consultant Teckwyn Lim.
The recent degazettement of Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve is a black mark on our democracy. The Selangor state executive council (Exco) headed by Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari gave the middle-finger to the Dewan and to the Rakyat.
It appears that the weak hands of the Exco can be twisted by powerful commercial and political interests. It is thus now time that the Dewan amends the forestry laws to limit the Exco’s power to excise forest reserves.
(Photo: A screenshot of the gazette published on 12 August 2021 announcing the Selangor Exco’s decision to excise parts of the Kuala Langat North forest reserve | Pic by YH Law)
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