Ever so often, we hear about another patch of forest being cleared, excised or reclassified. But if you've ever tried to find out exactly what happened, when it happened, or whether it was even legal, you'll know just how difficult that information can be to access. That's exactly the problem journalist Law Yao Hua set out to solve. Drawing on years of reporting, hundreds of official gazettes and forest reserve maps, he has created Fate of Our Forests, a platform that brings together more than two decades of official changes to forest reserves across Peninsular Malaysia. It's an ambitious project that aims to make forest data more accessible, transparent and useful for everyone. Yao Hua joins us to tell us how the platform came together, what it can reveal, and why understanding the fate of our forests should matter to all Malaysians.

Ever so often, we hear about another patch of forest being cleared, excised or reclassified. But if you've ever tried to find out exactly what happened, when it happened, or whether it was even legal, you'll know just how difficult that information can be to access. That's exactly the problem journalist Law Yao Hua set out to solve. Drawing on years of reporting, hundreds of official gazettes and forest reserve maps, he has created <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://yhlreporter.github.io/fate-of-our-forests/">Fate of Our Forests</a>, a platform that brings together more than two decades of official changes to forest reserves across Peninsular Malaysia. It's an ambitious project that aims to make forest data more accessible, transparent and useful for everyone. Yao Hua joins us to tell us how the platform came together, what it can reveal, and why understanding the fate of our forests should matter to all Malaysians.

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.

Earth Matters

Following the Fate of Our Forests 

On this episode of Nature Reads, we speak to Malaysian children's author and scuba diver Gloria Chieng, together with co-host Jennifer Neoh Tan, Bookshop Manager at Sunda Shelves. We explore the books and experiences that inspired Gloria's love of nature, how her time beneath the waves led to her debut picture book, Paco the Hermit Crab, and why stories can help children connect with the ocean and the importance of protecting it.



Nature Reads on Earth Matters is a monthly show where we explore the stories behind books that bring us closer to nature and the world around us, in collaboration with independent bookstore Sunda Shelves.

On this episode of Nature Reads, we speak to Malaysian children's author and scuba diver Gloria Chieng, together with co-host Jennifer Neoh Tan, Bookshop Manager at Sunda Shelves. We explore the books and experiences that inspired Gloria's love of nature, how her time beneath the waves led to her debut picture book, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://oceanismyfriend.wordpress.com/">Paco the Hermit Crab</a>, and why stories can help children connect with the ocean and the importance of protecting it.Nature Reads on Earth Matters is a monthly show where we explore the stories behind books that bring us closer to nature and the world around us, in collaboration with independent bookstore <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://linktr.ee/sundashelves">Sunda Shelves</a>.

Nature Reads: Small Stories, Big Ocean Lessons

Sustainable finance has become a major part of the global push towards tackling climate change and protecting nature. By helping direct investment towards projects that deliver environmental and social benefits, it has the potential to reshape how development happens. Here in Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia and Securities Commission Malaysia are developing a Sustainable Finance Taxonomy to help classify which economic activities can be considered sustainable. But civil society groups say that the framework needs stronger safeguards for forests, biodiversity and community rights, and that without those protections, projects that damage nature could still end up being labelled as "sustainable". We take a closer look at why these concerns matter, and what they could mean for the future of sustainable development in Malaysia, with Hilary Kung, Senior Researcher at Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM), and Gulzhan Musaeva, an independent expert on sustainable finance.

Sustainable finance has become a major part of the global push towards tackling climate change and protecting nature. By helping direct investment towards projects that deliver environmental and social benefits, it has the potential to reshape how development happens. Here in Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia and Securities Commission Malaysia are developing a Sustainable Finance Taxonomy to help classify which economic activities can be considered sustainable. But civil society groups <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://foe-malaysia.org/articles/a-stronger-sustainable-finance-taxonomy-is-needed-for-our-forests-biodiversity-and-community-rights/">say</a> that the framework needs stronger safeguards for <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://forestsandfinance.org/">forests</a>, biodiversity and community rights, and that without those protections, projects that damage nature could still end up being labelled as "sustainable". We take a closer look at why these concerns matter, and what they could mean for the future of sustainable development in Malaysia, with Hilary Kung, Senior Researcher at Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM), and Gulzhan Musaeva, an independent expert on sustainable finance.

Sustainable Finance: Protecting Forests or Greenwashing?

Land reclamation is often promoted as a driver of economic growth, but it's also one of the most controversial forms of development, with lasting impacts on the environment, coastal communities, and traditional livelihoods. Now, a recent Court of Appeal judgment involving the Penang South Islands reclamation project has sparked a new debate, not just about the environmental impacts of reclamation, but about who has the legal authority to approve it in the first place. Although the appeal against the project was dismissed, the court's written judgment has prompted environmental groups to question whether the proper legal authority existed to approve reclamation over Malaysia's territorial sea and seabed. They argue the issues raised go far beyond Penang and could have implications for how future reclamation projects are governed across the country. Joining us to unpack what the ruling means, why civil society groups are still calling for answers, and what this could mean for the future of coastal development, is filmmaker and Programme Coordinator for Jaringan Ekologi dan Iklim, or JEDI, Andrew Han.



*Watch Andrew’s film “Doa Seorang Nelayan” here.



Image Credit: Jaringan Ekologi dan Iklim Facebook

Land reclamation is often promoted as a driver of economic growth, but it's also one of the most controversial forms of development, with lasting impacts on the environment, coastal communities, and traditional livelihoods. Now, a recent Court of Appeal judgment involving the Penang South Islands reclamation project has sparked a new debate, not just about the environmental impacts of reclamation, but about who has the legal authority to approve it in the first place. Although the appeal against the project was dismissed, the court's written judgment has prompted environmental groups to question whether the proper legal authority existed to approve reclamation over Malaysia's territorial sea and seabed. They argue the issues raised go far beyond Penang and could have implications for how future reclamation projects are governed across the country. Joining us to unpack what the ruling means, why civil society groups are still calling for answers, and what this could mean for the future of coastal development, is filmmaker and Programme Coordinator for <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://linktr.ee/jedipenang">Jaringan Ekologi dan Iklim</a>, or JEDI, Andrew Han.*Watch Andrew’s film “Doa Seorang Nelayan” <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYiOgdTE7Hw">here</a>.Image Credit: Jaringan Ekologi dan Iklim Facebook

Following the Fate of Our Forests

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