Tag Archives: flood

In-Depth

The Climate-friendly Virgin in Terengganu

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Tropical peat swamp forests are key bastions in our defense against global warming. They store huge amounts of carbon in their soil, and their forests absorb more greenhouse gases than they release. 

Malaysia, like many other countries, has established regulations to stop the exploitation of peatland.

But private company Pure Green Development Sdn Bhd  is seeking to convert forests in Terengganu into oil palm. Its 2,228ha site includes 900 ha of virgin peat swamp forest. 

We look at the project’s catastrophic climate impact and ways to protect the forest.

Read our interactive story and share your thoughts with us below.

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In-Depth

Fixing Forest Plantations, Part 3: For Wood, Water, and Wildlife

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Fixing Forest Plantations, Part 3: For Wood, Water, and Wildlife

Despite foresters and planters promising tight regulations in Perak, locals are protesting one of the biggest forest plantations in the state over fears of water security and wildlife attacks.

Writer: YH Law; Editor: SL Wong

Published: 11 July 2024

Part 1 | Part 2

(Omar Pandak (right) telling fellow villagers of Kampung Bukit Chermin about the forest plantations coming to Kledang Saiong forest reserve in Perak. | Pic by YH Law)

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In-Depth

Floods, Rising Seas Make Dumps More Dangerous

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We already have a rubbish problem, but floods, sea-level rise and other climate crisis impacts make implementing solutions critical.

THE LANDFILL looms like a Titan, 27 meters into the sky, a stark symbol of Malaysians’ mounting waste problem. That is as tall as a 4-storey building. Its decaying mound emits a foul stench, all from the waste we generate.

This is the Jeram landfill in Selangor, which receives waste from 6 local councils in the Klang Valley. Within 10 minutes, 30 trucks unload their contents onto the ever-growing heap. Every day, 1,000 rubbish trucks dump on average, 3.7 million kilograms of waste into the landfill.

(Feature image: Scavengers like cattle egrets find sustenance in waste, but these heaps are getting more dangerous to animals and humans by the day. | Photo by Ashley Yeong)

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Insight

气候变迁法案是系统治灾依据

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治灾防灾靠的不只是人力财力，更需要完善的法律。

为解决气候变迁和频繁水灾的根本问题，气候变迁法案是其中一个尚在规划的方案，而前能源、工艺、科学、气候变化及环境部长兼蒲种国会议员杨美盈希望在团结政府届满前，在国会提呈及通过气候变迁法案。

她之前解释，政府应成立一支特工队，设下18个月的目标，在2年内完成气候变迁法案。

(图片：水灾给百姓带来巨大的损失。| 来源：Canva 图片库)

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Insight

可持续规划，治水灾根本

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气候变迁导致降雨骤增，更揭露了我国长期忽视排水需求的根本问题。我们该如何对治频频发生的严重水灾呢？

每年年杪至年初，水灾一直是马来西亚的重大课题。根据国家灾难管理机构（NADMA）灾难控制中心发出的最新全国灾难事故报告指出，2023年11月11日至2024年1月13日期间，累计有2万2966户家庭和7万4807名受害者安置在临时疏散中心（PPS），其影响农地达4900公顷，造成我国2300万令吉的经济损失。

(图片：淹没的村镇。 | 来源：Canva 图片库)

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Insight

As Disasters Rise, Climate Change Act Clearly Needed

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While its towns bear the consequences of extreme weather, experts and politicians push for a long-awaited climate bill to be signed into law.

MANY Malaysians remember the floods of December 2021, when roads turned to rivers, and homes were swept away or submerged by rising water. 

The disaster claimed 50 lives, at least 400,000 people had to be evacuated and financial losses were estimated at RM6.1 billion, according to a 2022 analysis by Serina Rahman, an environmental anthropologist.

Young Syefura Othman, the member of parliament for Bentong district in Pahang, recalls how three consecutive days of pelting rain inundated her constituency. The flooding happened “of course because of climate change,” she said.

(A man walks through floodwaters in Taman Sri Muda, Malaysia, December 2021  | Image: Alamy)

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