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Earth Matters

Climate change, ferocious weather and ‘the haze’ are now part our everyday lives. How are our lifestyles connected to them, and what can we do about it? What does the economy have to do with it? Earth Matters engages with activists and experts to explore our changing relationship with the planet that we only borrow from our children.

society & culture natural sciences

All Episodes

38:16

Meet Malaysia’s Trailblazing Indigenous Women Rangers

Earth Matters ·

2025/10/29

All five of Malaysia’s gibbon species are endangered, facing threats from deforestation, hunting, and the illegal pet trade. But in the forests of Pahang and Sabah, a group of women are fighting to turn things around. They are Malaysia’s first all-female, all-Indigenous wildlife ranger team, working with the Gibbon Conservation Society to rescue, rehabilitate and return gibbons to the wild. Joining us to share more about this are the Gibbon Conservation Society's Founder, Mariani Ramli, and three of

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44:06

Nature Reads: Remembering Nanga Jela, an Iban Homeland

Earth Matters ·

2025/10/27

For this month's Nature Reads, together with co-host Surin Suksuwan (co-founder, Sunda Shelves), we speak to author and anthropologist Dr. Christine Padoch, whose new bilingual book Pemulai ke Nanga Jela / Return to Nanga Jela takes us back to an Iban longhouse community in Sarawak that once stood above the Engkari River, a landscape that was later submerged by the Batang Ai Dam. Through her time living among the Iban community in the 1970s, Christine documented their extraordinary relationship with

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37:28

Grieving the Loss of a Pet

Earth Matters ·

2025/10/27

Losing a pet can feel like losing a member of the family. Yet many people find their grief dismissed or misunderstood, making the healing process even more difficult. In this conversation, we speak with Shuang Ao, a licensed and registered counsellor about how to navigate the emotions of losing a pet, and how to honour that bond in healthy, meaningful ways.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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27:36

Malaysian Firms Linked to Papua New Guinea Logging

Earth Matters ·

2025/10/22

Papua New Guinea is home to one of the world’s last great tropical rainforests, a vital ecosystem that stores carbon, supports thousands of species, and sustains Indigenous communities. But a new report titled “Malaysia’s Timber Colony: Exposing Malaysia’s Grip Over Papua New Guinea’s Forests” has revealed just how much control Malaysian-linked companies have over the country’s forests. The investigation finds that 97% of Forest Clearing Authorities - licenses meant for agricultural development -

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28:15

The Bamboo Boom Threatening Sarawak’s Forests

Earth Matters ·

2025/10/14

A new deforestation alert has been raised in Sarawak, this time around the Bakun Reservoir. Satellite and drone images show that native forest is being cleared to make way for a massive commercial bamboo plantation spanning over 44,000 hectares. The project, approved under the state’s License for Planted Forests scheme, has sparked serious concern among affected Indigenous communities and environmental groups. To help us understand what’s happening and what it means for Sarawak’s forests, we speak

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41:45

Budget 2026: Investing in (or Ignoring) the Environment?

Earth Matters ·

2025/10/13

Malaysia’s Budget 2026 has been described as a “green and low-carbon” budget, with RM2.38 billion allocated to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, and new measures like a carbon tax and expanded green technology incentives. But how far do these allocations really go toward protecting our forests, rivers, and wildlife, and what’s missing from the picture? We speak to Adam Farhan, the Director of environmental think-tank RimbaWatch, and Gabriel Hii, the co-chair of the

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41:24

Saving Tigers Together: RIMAU’s Conservation Mission

Earth Matters ·

2025/10/08

Just last month, as we celebrated Malaysia Day, news broke of a heartbreaking poaching case in Johor, where a Malayan tiger was found dead, stuffed into the boot of a car. It had been caught in a trap and shot six times before its death, a cruel reminder of how vulnerable our national treasure remains. With fewer than 150 Malayan tigers left in the wild, every loss hits hard, but there’s still hope, thanks to the tireless efforts of those working to protect them. One such group is Persatuan

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41:15

Green Wishlists for Malaysia’s Budget 2026

Earth Matters ·

2025/10/06

Climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution are challenges that don’t wait for budget cycles. That’s why many are calling for stronger government commitments in Budget 2026. What's on the environmental wish list, and why does it matter for all of us? We hear from two activists working in the environment and conservation field - Khor Sue Yee, Co-founder and Director of Zero Waste Malaysia, and Andrew Sebastian, the CEO of the Ecotourism and Conservation Society of Malaysia (ECOMY) - about their

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37:30

Rethinking Tourism for People and Planet

Earth Matters ·

2025/10/01

Tourism isn’t just about where we travel, it also shapes our economy, our communities, and our natural heritage. Three years ago, The Habitat Foundation and Tengah Island Conservation came together with a bold idea: to create a coalition that could raise the profile of sustainable tourism and strengthen the people working in the field. We speak to its co-founders, Justine Vaz and Cher Chua-Lassalvy, to talk about their work, their lessons after three years, and their hopes for the future of tourism

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25:51

Nature Reads: Travels, Consultancy, and the Books...

Earth Matters ·

2025/09/29

For September's episode, we speak to Dr. Balamurugan, the founder of ERE Consulting Group and CEO of Elistra Advisory, who recently retired after a long and influential career in environmental consultancy. He is also an avid traveller with a lifelong passion for nature, and together with co-host, Surin Suksuwan, co-founder of Sunda Shelves, he discusses the books that shaped his journey, both professionally and personally.Nature Reads on Earth Matters is a monthly show where we explore the stories

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38:39

Why River Terrapins Matter More Than You Think

Earth Matters ·

2025/09/24

Terrapin conservation isn’t just about saving a species, it’s also about involving communities, empowering women, and reconnecting Malaysians with our rivers. That’s the approach taken by the Turtle Conservation Society of Malaysia, the country’s first and only NGO dedicated to freshwater turtle conservation. We catch up with its Co-Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Chen Pelf Nyok, for our annual check-in to talk about recent findings, the society’s ongoing projects, and their much-anticipated

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38:01

Malaysia’s Marine Conservation Challenges

Earth Matters ·

2025/09/22

From diving while seven months pregnant, to pioneering sustainable aquaculture projects that support coastal communities, Prof. Dato' Dr. Aileen Tan has dedicated her life to the ocean. That dedication has now earned her global recognition, as she’s the first Malaysian to win the Anton Bruun Medal, one of marine science’s highest honours. Dr Aileen, a Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and Director of the Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies (CEMACS)

en-US

44:22

Logging, Blockades, and Hope in Sarawak’s Forests

Earth Matters ·

2025/09/17

Forests, rivers, and communities are all deeply connected. In Sarawak, Indigenous communities have been working tirelessly to protect their homelands, and organisations like Save Rivers have been walking alongside them. Their campaigns have led to big wins, like holding timber companies accountable, and they’re also nurturing alternatives, like reforestation, ecotourism, and mapping ancestral lands. As we celebrate Malaysia Day, we catch up with Celine Lim, the Managing Director of Save Rivers, to

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41:59

Birds, Forests, and Marvellous Adventures in Terengganu

Earth Matters ·

2025/09/10

This Merdeka and Malaysia Day season, we’re reminded that our country’s story isn’t just about people and places, it’s also about our connection to nature. We speak to a family who embodies that spirit - wildlife photographer Anuar McAfee (Director, International Centre, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin and Research Fellow, East Coast Environmental Research Institute), and his sons Muhammad Cornelius McAfee (Tour Guide, Ketengah), and Aidan McAfee (Student, Politeknik Banting) - who have spent

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32:34

Can We Conquer Marine Debris?

Earth Matters ·

2025/09/08

Have you ever been to the beach, only to find more rubbish than seashells? Unfortunately, that’s a reality for many of our coastlines. But every September, thousands of Malaysians gather to clean our beaches and record what’s being collected during the International Coastal Cleanup, coordinated by Reef Check Malaysia. Those numbers reveal not just what’s ending up in the ocean, but also what needs to change in our daily lives and in policy. Joining us to talk about this year’s cleanup, and the

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37:28

Can Smart Cities Save the Environment?

Earth Matters ·

2025/09/03

We’ve all been there - stuck in traffic, breathing in exhaust, or wondering why our city feels harder to live in than it should. But what if the solution wasn’t just more roads or bigger buildings, but smarter ways to design and run our cities? We speak to Dr. Non Arkaraprasertkul, a Senior Expert at Thailand’s Digital Economy Promotion Agency, who's been behind more than 120 smart city projects across Thailand. He joins us to share more about his work which involves cities across ASEAN, and how

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44:58

Protecting Malaysia's Iconic Hornbills

Earth Matters ·

2025/08/27

They are striking, noisy, and unmistakable - but hornbills are far more than beautiful rainforest residents. As key seed dispersers, they’re essential to the health of our forests. Few people know them as well as Dr. Yeap Chin Aik, co-founder & Primary Investigator for the MNS Hornbill Conservation Project with the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS), who has spent over twenty years tracking their movements, studying their habits, and working to ensure their survival. We explore the stories and

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17:16

Macaranga Wrap-Up: August 2025

Earth Matters ·

2025/08/25

On this month’s Macaranga Wrap-Up, we turn to the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. In Selangor, Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (JOAS) marked the occasion with a two-day celebration themed “Defend the Earth, Restore the Land, Regreen the Future – Through Indigenous Wisdom.” We speak to Macaranga co-founder Wong Siew Lyn to unpack what that means for Indigenous rights and the environment, and for a run-down of the festivities.Image Credit: Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysiaSee

en-US

32:22

Nature Reads: The Skeat Expedition’s Forgotten Stories

Earth Matters ·

2025/08/25

In our latest episode of Nature Reads, we travel back to 1899, when Cambridge anthropologist Walter William Skeat led a major scientific expedition to Malaya. The expedition didn’t just collect plants and animals; it also produced classic books on zoology, botany, and culture that continue to influence how we understand our natural history today. To guide us through this chapter, we’re joined by Katherine Enright, a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge, whose research looks at the politics

en-US

43:04

Sustainable Tourism and Spots to Visit in Malaysia

Earth Matters ·

2025/08/20

Malaysia’s ecotourism scene has been quietly growing, with communities, conservation groups, and travellers all playing a part in making tourism more sustainable. Over the past year, Sustainable Tourism Malaysia has gone from 8 projects to 25, covering everything from waste-free islands to geoparks and urban green spaces. We catch up with Mariam Ghani, the Senior Programme Manager for The Habitat Foundation, who is also the Lead at Sustainable Tourism Malaysia, to discuss some highlights from the

en-US

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