https://news.mongabay.com/list/malaysia/ Environmental science and conservation news Mon, 09 Oct 2023 08:43:01 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3 https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png https://news.mongabay.com/list/malaysia/ 32 32 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/wasnt-us-fire-hit-indonesia-claims-as-malaysia-chokes-on-poor-air-quality/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/wasnt-us-fire-hit-indonesia-claims-as-malaysia-chokes-on-poor-air-quality/#respond 05 Oct 2023 15:04:58 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273982 - Air quality in Kuala Lumpur and other parts of Malaysia have worsened in recent days, with more than a dozen regions recording unhealthy air quality.
- Indonesian officials have denied that fires in their jurisdiction are to blame, and accused their Malaysian counterparts of misreading the data.
- Indonesia dismissed that same source of data in 2019, however, when fires in Sumatra and Borneo also spread to Malaysia and Singapore.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/wasnt-us-fire-hit-indonesia-claims-as-malaysia-chokes-on-poor-air-quality/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/small-wins-for-indigenous-malaysian-activists-in-dispute-with-timber-giant/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/small-wins-for-indigenous-malaysian-activists-in-dispute-with-timber-giant/#respond 04 Oct 2023 16:33:16 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273865 - In September, Samling agreed to withdraw a lawsuit it filed against SAVE Rivers, a local NGO that publicized concerns about the company’s treatment of people living in and around two areas under the company’s management.
- Samling also lost certification for its Ravenscourt Forest Management Unit, one of the areas of concern in its lawsuit against SAVE Rivers.
- Activists in Sarawak say they will continue in their fight to empower Indigenous communities questioning Samling and other industrial giants’ plans for their land and resources.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/small-wins-for-indigenous-malaysian-activists-in-dispute-with-timber-giant/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/forest-restoration-can-fare-better-with-human-helping-hand-study-shows/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/forest-restoration-can-fare-better-with-human-helping-hand-study-shows/#respond 28 Sep 2023 15:22:05 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273707 - The researchers also found that planting a diverse suite of seedlings, instead of only one species, led in just one decade to greater biomass and forest complexity.
- The study provides more weight to the argument that greater forest species diversity in general — and specifically for restorations — delivers more ecosystem services, possibly including carbon sequestration.
- However, there is the possibility that the particular life cycle of the type of trees used in this study — hardwood tropical species from the Dipterocarpaceae family, chiefly found in Southeast Asia — could have especially enhanced diversity in this case.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/forest-restoration-can-fare-better-with-human-helping-hand-study-shows/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/group-certification-helps-malaysias-sabah-aim-for-palm-oil-sustainability/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/group-certification-helps-malaysias-sabah-aim-for-palm-oil-sustainability/#respond 19 Sep 2023 18:08:01 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273359 - As the deadline nears, getting smallholders certified has proved to be a major challenge; out of an estimated 30,000 smallholders in the state, just 885 have been certified.
- The certification process can be difficult and expensive for small farmers, but NGOs like WWF are working to overcome this barrier by supporting growers’ cooperatives.
- Other obstacles in the statewide certification process include debate over whether any deforestation should be allowed for oil palm, and the continued issuance of licenses to clear forest in the state.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/group-certification-helps-malaysias-sabah-aim-for-palm-oil-sustainability/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/protected-areas-a-boon-for-vertebrate-diversity-in-wider-landscape-study-shows/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/protected-areas-a-boon-for-vertebrate-diversity-in-wider-landscape-study-shows/#respond 15 Sep 2023 17:51:01 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273377 - The researchers say their findings back up the U.N.’s 30×30 target to protect 30% of Earth’s lands and waters by 2030.
- The findings indicate that larger reserves result in more spillover of biodiversity benefits into surrounding landscapes. The authors call on governments to invest in expanding larger reserves over the proliferation of smaller ones.
- Conservationists say that while expanding protected area coverage is part of the solution, serious investment in management and resourcing for existing protected areas is a matter of urgency to ensure they are not simply “paper parks.”
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/protected-areas-a-boon-for-vertebrate-diversity-in-wider-landscape-study-shows/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/palm-oil-giants-indonesia-malaysia-start-talks-with-eu-over-deforestation-rule/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/palm-oil-giants-indonesia-malaysia-start-talks-with-eu-over-deforestation-rule/#respond 01 Sep 2023 16:06:44 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=272906 - Indonesia and Malaysia account for 85% of global palm oil exports, and would be heavily impacted by the EU Deforestation-Free Regulation (EUDR), which prohibits imports into the EU of commodities sourced by clearing forests.
- At the first joint meeting of an EU-Indonesia-Malaysia task force, delegates discussed risk designations for producer countries as well as the role of certification schemes like the RSPO to help meet EUDR requirements.
- Indonesian officials say their main issue with the EUDR is that it discriminates against small farmers, who manage 41% of the total plantation area in the country and would have difficulty complying with the new regulation’s requirements.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/palm-oil-giants-indonesia-malaysia-start-talks-with-eu-over-deforestation-rule/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/asian-elephants-picky-diet-helps-shape-their-forest-home-study-shows/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/asian-elephants-picky-diet-helps-shape-their-forest-home-study-shows/#respond 09 Aug 2023 03:34:45 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=271944 - The findings suggest that by selectively feeding on their preferred food plants, such as grasses, palms, liana vines and fast-growing trees, elephants are can shape the structure of their rainforest home.
- The researchers call for more conservation focus on elephants given their important influence on forest ecosystem health and globally important processes like carbon sequestration.
- The team also suggests the findings could be applied to practical conservation solutions aiming to restore wildlife corridors and improve the condition of reserves for megafauna species.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/asian-elephants-picky-diet-helps-shape-their-forest-home-study-shows/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/sustainability-is-a-continuous-journey-qa-with-rspos-joseph-dcruz/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/sustainability-is-a-continuous-journey-qa-with-rspos-joseph-dcruz/#respond 08 Aug 2023 04:33:26 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=271925 - Today, the organization is headed by veteran development professional Joseph D’Cruz, a self-professed newcomer to the industry who says he wants the RSPO to be less reactive and more proactive.
- In a wide-ranging interview with Mongabay, D’Cruz discusses why sustainability should be seen as an unending journey rather than an end goal, how the gap between sustainable and “conventional” palm oil is closing, and what role governments must play in driving greater sustainability.
- “When you watch the progress of platforms like the RSPO, sometimes on the outside it might seem frustratingly slow,” he says. “But that’s because you got to bring everybody along and that’s a very tricky challenge sometimes.”
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/sustainability-is-a-continuous-journey-qa-with-rspos-joseph-dcruz/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/oil-palms-may-be-magnet-for-macaques-boars-at-expense-of-other-biodiversity/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/oil-palms-may-be-magnet-for-macaques-boars-at-expense-of-other-biodiversity/#respond 07 Aug 2023 00:13:17 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=271789 - The research team found local numbers of wild pigs and macaques “exploded” in proximity to oil palm plantations, where they believe the animals derive enormous fitness benefits by consuming high-calorie palm fruit.
- Scientists caution that while these species can aggregate in some areas, their overall numbers are in decline due to a wide range of threats, including habitat loss, environmental degradation, disease outbreak, and poaching for the pet trade and biomedical research.
- The researchers call for the establishment of buffer zones around oil palm plantations and avoiding encroachment into intact forest as a way to address any problems arising from negative human-wildlife interactions and ecological impacts.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/oil-palms-may-be-magnet-for-macaques-boars-at-expense-of-other-biodiversity/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/in-sabah-natural-capital-agreement-surfaces-again-despite-critics/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/in-sabah-natural-capital-agreement-surfaces-again-despite-critics/#respond 03 Aug 2023 21:12:30 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=271796 - Since Mongabay surfaced news of the agreement in November 2021, the project has stalled in the face of a wave of criticism about its origins and planned implementation.
- In recent weeks, the proponents of the deal, including Sabah’s Deputy Chief Minister Jeffrey Kitingan, have publicly resumed efforts to bring the agreement into force.
- Civil society groups opposed to the project say that concerns remain over Indigenous rights and lack of transparency or details about the planned project.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/in-sabah-natural-capital-agreement-surfaces-again-despite-critics/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/nursing-oil-palm-plantations-back-to-nature-in-malaysian-borneo/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/nursing-oil-palm-plantations-back-to-nature-in-malaysian-borneo/#respond 26 Jul 2023 18:03:41 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=271279 - RFF works closely with the Sabah government, and reports that rare species are already making use of the developing corridor, including Bornean elephants, orangutans, sun bears and clouded leopards.
- However, raising funds to buy oil palm plantations has proven challenging, with many funders more focused on preserving intact forests or shying away from any involvement with the oil palm industry.
- Unable to rely on piecemeal donations, RFF is looking for other sources of revenue, including a plan to harvest and sell oil palm fruit while restoration gets underway.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/nursing-oil-palm-plantations-back-to-nature-in-malaysian-borneo/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/airport-proposal-for-malaysian-island-doesnt-fly-with-conservationists/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/airport-proposal-for-malaysian-island-doesnt-fly-with-conservationists/#respond 21 Jul 2023 01:44:03 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=271215 - Plans for the airport were rejected by authorities in 2018 due to the scale of the environmental impacts it would cause, but government officials are again considering an environmental impact assessment for the development.
- Many of the island’s 3,000 residents have been left in the dark about the plans, which could wipe out livelihoods in two of the island’s seven villages.
- Critics of the project recommend authorities focus on upgrading an existing airstrip on the island to accept larger aircraft and in the meantime invest in sustainable, meaningful, nature-based tourism.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/airport-proposal-for-malaysian-island-doesnt-fly-with-conservationists/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/new-data-show-10-increase-in-primary-tropical-forest-loss-in-2022/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/new-data-show-10-increase-in-primary-tropical-forest-loss-in-2022/#respond 27 Jun 2023 08:35:05 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=270226 - These losses occurred despite the pledges of 145 countries at COP26 in 2021 to increase efforts to reduce deforestation and halt it by 2030; the new data, from the University of Maryland, puts the world far off track for meeting the goal of zero deforestation.
- According to Frances Seymour of World Resources Institute, there is an urgent need to increase financing for protecting and restoring forests.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/new-data-show-10-increase-in-primary-tropical-forest-loss-in-2022/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/a-southeast-asian-marine-biodiversity-hotspot-is-also-a-wildlife-trafficking-hotbed/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/a-southeast-asian-marine-biodiversity-hotspot-is-also-a-wildlife-trafficking-hotbed/#respond 07 Jun 2023 15:22:35 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=269488 - The animals trafficked include rays, sharks and turtles, mostly between Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia, for which the region forms a maritime border zone.
- The people of the Sulu and Celebes seas region have strong transboundary cultural and trade links, prompting experts to call for enhanced international cooperation in enforcement efforts.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/a-southeast-asian-marine-biodiversity-hotspot-is-also-a-wildlife-trafficking-hotbed/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/indonesia-malaysia-deploy-ministers-to-push-back-on-eu-palm-oil-restrictions/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/indonesia-malaysia-deploy-ministers-to-push-back-on-eu-palm-oil-restrictions/#respond 27 May 2023 00:06:06 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=269119 - The officials will meet with European policymakers to discuss ways to minimize the regulation’s impacts on palm oil producers, particularly smallholders.
- The world’s two biggest palm oil producers have long protested EU policies against palm oil, calling them discriminatory and protectionist of Europe’s own oilseeds industry.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/indonesia-malaysia-deploy-ministers-to-push-back-on-eu-palm-oil-restrictions/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/flooding-for-hydropower-dams-hits-forest-reliant-bats-hard-study-shows/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/flooding-for-hydropower-dams-hits-forest-reliant-bats-hard-study-shows/#respond 26 May 2023 14:17:45 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=269074 - The study in Peninsular Malaysia adds to a growing body of evidence demonstrating how hydropower developments impoverish tropical ecosystems.
- Although forest-specialist bats were lost from the flooded landscape, bats that forage along forest edges and in open space were still present.
- To minimize localized extinctions, the researchers advocate a preventive rather than mitigative approach to hydropower planning that prioritizes habitat connectivity and avoids creating isolated forest patches.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/flooding-for-hydropower-dams-hits-forest-reliant-bats-hard-study-shows/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/sarawak-indigenous-org-squeezed-by-defamation-case-silenced-from-reporting-alleged-logging/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/sarawak-indigenous-org-squeezed-by-defamation-case-silenced-from-reporting-alleged-logging/#respond 16 May 2023 07:45:30 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=268646 - According to the statement of claim filed by Samling plaintiffs, the case hinges on eight articles published on SAVE Rivers’ website between June 2020 and March 2021 involving allegations of illegal logging and a rush to gain sustainable forestry certification, which Samling says is untrue.
- Last month, 160 organizations signed a letter describing this suit as a strategic litigation against public participation, or SLAPP case, noting that the fine — plaintiffs are asking for 5 million ringgit ($1.1 million) — would bankrupt SAVE Rivers.
- The deferment of the trial comes days after the Forest Stewardship Council, an international organization that operates a certification scheme for sustainable forestry, said the company will be investigated for alleged violations of the council’s policies.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/sarawak-indigenous-org-squeezed-by-defamation-case-silenced-from-reporting-alleged-logging/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/im-not-distressed-im-just-pissed-off-qa-with-sumatran-rhino-expert-john-payne/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/im-not-distressed-im-just-pissed-off-qa-with-sumatran-rhino-expert-john-payne/#respond 11 May 2023 16:12:26 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=268506 - With no rhinos left to care for, Payne has started working with other species, and recently published a book in which he argues the strategy to save Sumatran rhinos from extinction was flawed from the start.
- In an interview with Mongabay, Payne speaks about his new book, moving on after the loss of the rhinos he cared for, and his frustration with officials and conservation organizations.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/im-not-distressed-im-just-pissed-off-qa-with-sumatran-rhino-expert-john-payne/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/eu-deforestation-tracking-regulation-sparks-division-among-groups-producers/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/eu-deforestation-tracking-regulation-sparks-division-among-groups-producers/#respond 09 May 2023 15:40:28 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=268419 - The proposed law continues to be divisive, with palm oil producing countries like Indonesia and Malaysia calling the regulation too stringent and unfair, whereas civil society groups say the bill is too weak.
- In a recent joint statement, a group of 44 Indonesian CSOs say the EU regulation only focuses on eliminating deforestation from its supply chain, without addressing the root causes of deforestation in producing countries.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/eu-deforestation-tracking-regulation-sparks-division-among-groups-producers/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/deforestation-in-borneo-threatens-three-endangered-endemic-plant-species/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/deforestation-in-borneo-threatens-three-endangered-endemic-plant-species/#respond 21 Apr 2023 04:00:54 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=267663 - The researchers are calling for stricter protection of the forest fragments as a key conservation strategy for the three plant species and for further research to be done to better understand the species’ population status so as to improve their management.
- The island of Borneo, which is split between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, has for the last few decades lost more than a third of its forests due to fires, logging, mining and industrial plantations, particularly oil palms.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/deforestation-in-borneo-threatens-three-endangered-endemic-plant-species/feed/ 0