Alternative pest control methods ensure the sustainability and yields of paddy farming in Tanjung Karang, finds student Chloe Holley.
PEST CONTROL is a critical part of agriculture because it can impact yield tremendously. But conventional insecticides can devastate the environment. In Tanjung Karang, Selangor, rice planters have turned to biological methods to control pests, a model for farmers everywhere.
(Feature pic: Rice farmers in Selangor are using environment-friendly means to counter pests | Photo by Maureen Beresford)
12 April 2024: Facebook and other social media make it so easy to buy exotic wildlife. What can be done? Juliet Jacobs on BFM 89.9 Radio talks to Macaranga‘s Hannan Azmir and Lee Kwai Han along with Dr Nor Arlina Amirah Ahmad Ghani who is working on strengthening the legal ecosystem regarding wildlife conservation.
Congratulations also to her co-winner Nurul Nabila for her Sinar Harian story, and to Alena Nadia, for her Malaysiakini story for making the shortlist.
All three journalists produced stellar work. We look forward to more inspiring and important stories from them. Thank you to Pusat Sejarah Rakyat for supporting young journalists!
Incidentally, Kwai Han co-wrote her winning story with Yao Hua, who won the award two years ago.
1 April 2024: Prosecutions against illegal wildlife traders get wins in court. A Penang judgement saw RM70,000 in fines imposed for possession of largely reptiles. Meanwhile, the first ever rhino horn smuggling case successfully brought to court in Malaysia will see judgement on 24 April.
We also discuss about whether there is a need for independent verification of the reported recovery aided by a restoration project, of the seagrass meadow near Forest City.
1 April 2024: Can arowanas live free and wild again in our waters? Taking to the air with Juliet Jacobs on BFM 89.9 Radio were Macaranga‘s Law Yao Hua, journalist Tracy Keeling and Fisheries Department’s Dr Haslawati Baharuddin.
Based on Macaranga‘s feature ‘Conserving Arowanas Needs More Than Releasing Fish’ Part 1 & Part 2.
1 April 2024: Always terrific to see our stories republished. With thanks to Sinchew Daily for running our #SeaWorld stories on traditional knowledge and protected areas! Our Chinese stories are also online.
18 March 2024 [updated 1.4.24]: As part of Macaranga’s newsroom mentorship programme on just energy transition, 2 newsrooms have produced great stories interrogating the impacts of the transition to renewables.
The Bernama Garasi team (Sakina Mohamed, Shaza Al Muzayen, Fahmi Abdul Aziz and Ummul Shyuhaida Othman) produced a 3-parter on solar energy waste:
FMT visited an Orang Asli community who were displaced by a dam 13 years ago. They are still awaiting proper compensation. Lynelle Tham and team report in text and video: 13 years on, Kg Pinang’s Orang Asli look to TNB for help
Read also Ashley Yeong’s earlier coverage of mini hydro impacts on Orang Asli culture in Perak for Macaranga.
Inadequate protection of precious urban forests is shrinking them, warns community researcher and organiser Peter Leong.
TAPAN KUMAR Nath’s recent article in Macaranga,Support community efforts to better manage urban green spaces, shines an important light on the urgent need for community based organisations to gain a role in the governance of urban green spaces (UGS).
A 2019 study which found that KL “lost about 88% of its UGS between 2007 and 2017″ is most alarming – it highlights that the door of meaningful opportunity for these organisations’ impact in UGS governance is closing.
(Feature pic: In the densely built-up Klang Valley, remaining forest patches are precious to local communities | Photo by Dorothy Woon)
26 February 2024: We look back the world’s hottest January ever on record and report on coral ecologists’ concerns about mass coral bleaching in Malaysia.
26 February 2024: Malaysiakini/KiniLabs’ Aidila Razak invited us to chat about data and multimedia journalism at the recent Kuala Lumpur Alternative Book Fest. Siew Lyn walked the audience through our stories on the PJD Link, rare earth mining and navigating messy forestry data, and both speakers answered questions about when enough is enough data, and how to get started on data visualisation. Play a game and check out KiniLabs’ brilliant interactive coverage of scamming.
12 April 2024: Facebook and other social media make it so easy to buy exotic wildlife. What can be done? Juliet Jacobs on BFM 89.9 Radio talks to Macaranga‘s Hannan Azmir and Lee Kwai Han along with Dr Nor Arlina Amirah Ahmad Ghani who is working on strengthening the legal ecosystem regarding wildlife conservation.
