Tag Archives: water

Better Drainage Can Fight Floods

BFM recording - Drainage
Left: WIth BFM producer Juliet Jacobs (top left): Liani MK, SL Wong and Charles Bong; RIght: DID officers and consultants inspecting a drain to be widened under a flood mitigation project (Pic: Arieff Zafir)

12 November 2024: In this Earth Matters segment on BFM89.9FM Radio, we focus on how floods have been worsening in Kuching due to woefully outdated drainage.

But there are technological and funding solutions, say Assoc Prof Dr Charles Bong (urban drainage management researcher, UNIMAS),  Liani MK (journalist), and Macaranga’s Wong Siew Lyn. Produced by Juliet Jacobs on ‘Earth Matters’, 89.9FM Radio.

Based on our story Fighting Floods with Better Drainage in Kuching.

[The story is supported by Earth Journalism Network]

Shark Conservation 101 – What are ISRAs?

17 October 2024: Malaysia has new 10 Important Shark and Ray Areas, (ISRAs), critical habitats identified as critical for the conservation of shark and ray species based on scientific criteria.

To dissect the meaning of this new list are scientists Serena Adam (Marine Conservation Officer, WWF-Malaysia, member of the IUCN),  Assoc. Prof. Dr Amy Then (Senior Lecturer, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Malaya), and Macarang’s Wong Siew Lyn (right to left in photo above). Produced by Juliet Jacobs on ‘Earth Matters’, 89.9FM Radio.

Based on our story Divers, Fishers and Scientists Map Sharks and Rays to Save Them and interactive map.

[The story is supported by a grant from Youth Environment Living Labs (YELL). The grant is administered by Justice for Wildlife Malaysia]

[Photo: BFM89.9 Radio]

The Heat on Peat – A Look at Tropical Peat Swamp Forests

17 October 2024: The Mak Jintan peat swamp forest in Terengganu is the last known virgin peat swamp in Peninsular Malaysia. When plans emerged to convert it into an oil palm plantation, it sparked significant concern among scientists, conservationists, and even an industry regulator.

Macaranga journalist Law Yao Hua speaks to Juliet Jacobs about the impact of this on biodiversity, carbon storage and water regulation on ‘Earth Matters’, 89.9FM Radio.

Based on our  story, The climate-friendly virgin in Terengganu.

[The story is supported by a grant from Youth Environment Living Labs (YELL). The grant is administered by Justice for Wildlife Malaysia]

Please Stop Loving Our Corals to Death

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)

Continue reading Please Stop Loving Our Corals to Death

The Real Meaning of ‘Water is Life’

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)

Continue reading The Real Meaning of ‘Water is Life’