Category Archives: Remarks

Opinions by experts and practitioners in environmental matters.

Remarks

Nurturing a Nature Revival

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Nature is trendy again. Conservationist Surin Suksuwan takes a look at the journey of colonial-era ‘Nature Study’ to the present.

NOW, PERHAPS more than ever before, Nature is becoming a concern for all rather than just to a fringe group who are labelled as tree huggers.

Unfortunately, it has taken the combined crises of climate change and biodiversity loss for people to realise that the Earth is in trouble and we cannot go on with business as usual.

(Feature pic: Nature Study was once taught to primary and secondary schoolchildren. | All photos by Surin Suksuwan)

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Remarks

Green Pest Control Key to Sustainable Paddy Farming

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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)

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Remarks

Nibbling Away at Kota Damansara Forest

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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)

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Remarks

Support Community Efforts to Better Manage Urban Green Spaces

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Urban communities appreciate green spaces and should be allowed to co-manage these areas for better results, writes interdisciplinary researcher Tapan Kumar Nath.

IN 2022, the Prime Minister of Malaysia outlined directions towards developing and improving the country’s urban green infrastructure, which would turn into therapy spaces in an effort to relieve the stresses of life that directly improve mental and physical well-being of urban people.

To achieve this vision, I urge the authorities to engage community associations actively in the governance structure of urban green spaces (UGS).

(Feature pic: Precious forests stretch across the dense urban clusters of Kota Damansara and Mont Kiara. | Pic from Google Earth Pro, 2023)

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Remarks

Please Stop Loving Our Corals to Death

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The new airport for Tioman has been averted. Now, tourism needs a good relook, writes Reefcheck Malaysia’s Julian Hyde.

AS SCIENTISTS grow increasingly concerned about biodiversity loss and the accompanying loss of critical ecosystem services, the time has come to revisit tourism policy – and practice – in Malaysia.

This is particularly relevant following the recent decision by the government to abandon plans for a new airport on Tioman. The plan projected a four-fold increase in visitor numbers – from 250,00 per year to a million.

(Feature pic: Seeing fish or people? Tourists galore at a snorkelling site in Tioman |  Pic by Alvin Chelliah/Reefcheck Malaysia)

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Remarks

Menghormati dan Bekerjasama dengan Orang Asal yang Berpindah

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Wong Pui May berkongsi pengalaman Tok Batin Mohammad bin Pokok di Bengkel Dana +20, Jordan. Tok Batin Batek dari Kelantan menambah suaranya kepada seruan antarabangsa untuk bekerjasama dengan ahli komuniti dalam hal berkenaan pemuliharaan dan pembangunan.

Dunia kita kini menghadapi pelbagai ancaman, termasuk perubahan iklim dan kemusnahan alam semula jadi yang mengugat jaminan makanan, merosakkan harta benda dan membahayakan nyawa.

Terdapat banyak yang dapat dipelajari daripada cara hidup Orang Asal yang telah diamalkan secara turun-temurun yang dapat meningkatkan daya tahan alam semula jadi melalui pengurusan tanah dan air yang berkesan.

Inilah pesanan peserta dalam perbincangan antarabangsa yang diadakan pada September lalu, 20 tahun selepas Pengisytiharan Dana, di Rizab Alam Semula Jadi Wadi Dana, Jordan.

(Gambar: Tok Batin Mohammad bin Pokok [tengah] berbincang dengan peserta-peserta Bengkel Dana +20 di Jordan September lalu. |  Gambar oleh Wong Pui May)

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Remarks

The Real Meaning of ‘Water is Life’

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On World Water Day this 22 March, ecosystem restoration activist Kennedy Michael brings us on a journey of rivers, dams and our role as polluters.

RIVERS. THE watering pipes of mountains and forests and fields and factories. Bringing us fresh and clean water (once upon a time, now maybe not so) from the highest elevations to the lowest lands.

The shift from hunting and gathering to agrarian societies that signalled the start of early civilizations was centred around the fresh water brought by rivers.

And just as it did 6,000 years ago, it remains today for us the main source of our civilization.

(Feature pic: Raw water is carried through main supply pipes from the Klang Gates Dam to the water treatment plants in Wangsa Maju and Bukit Nanas  |  Pic by Alliance for River Three)

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Remarks

No Fiercer Tiger Defender Than Kae

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What does it take to speak up for tigers? Conservationist Wong Pui May pays tribute to her mentor and a great Malayan tiger defender, Kae Kawanishi.

IT WAS IN 1998, the Year of the Tiger, that Dr Kae Kawanishi started her journey in Malayan tiger conservation. She was Malaysia’s first tiger biologist. This year marks her third Tiger Year in Malaysia.

As it draws to a close, I thought it was time that we who are following in her footsteps, thanked Kae for leading the way.

(Photo: Kae Kawanishi in Taman Negara with PERHILITAN wildlife rangers)

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Remarks

What Happens After Poachers Are Arrested?

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Bringing poachers and illegal wildlife traders to court is complex and needs serious attention, says conservationist Nor Arlina Amirah Ahmad Ghani.

MANY Malaysians want to see people behind bars for committing wildlife crimes. But very rarely do they pay attention to the ornate pathway after the arrest and what it takes to convict offenders.

We celebrate arrests and seizures made by our enforcement officers, but the news often ends there, whereas an arrest is almost always only the first step towards reclaiming justice for wildlife in Malaysia.

(Photo: Prosecution and sentencing need to be strengthened when offenders reach the court, such as this Environmental Court in the Temerloh High, Session, and Magistrate Court | Pic by Nor Arlina Amirah for Justice for Wildlife Malaysia)

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Remarks

Lapangan Terbang Baru Tioman Perlu Difikirkan Semula

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Pembinaan lapangan terbang baru di Tioman yang melibatkan tanah tebus guna tidak disokong orang tempatan sepenuhnya, tulis Suhaimi Awang.

DENGAN penuh rasa kekurangan dari diri, saya menulis di sini. Saya anak jati Pulau Tioman, berasal dari Kampung Juara dan keseluruhan family saya juga dari Kampung Juara. Saya pengusaha resort kecil di tanah warisan keluarga saya.

Saya berpendapat bahawa Tioman Development Authority (TDA) seharusnya memainkan peranan yang jauh lebih penting selain menjaga kelestarian Pulau Tioman. [TDA ialah agensi kerajaan yang menerajui pembangunan Pulau Tioman.]

Ya, ada yang mereka buat dengan baik. Tetapi mereka juga harus peka dengan penduduk Pulau Tioman, bukan dengan cadangan orang-orang kaya, tetapi apa yang orang kampung perlukan.

(Foto: Dari laut ke hutan, daya tarikan paling penting Tioman ialah alam sekitarnya | Gambar oleh Suhaimi Awang)

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