Inside Southeast Asia's Gibbon Smuggling Trade

Gibbons are known for their beautiful calls and their ability to swing effortlessly through the forest canopy. But some of these animals are ending up in a very different environment: inside suitcases, being smuggled through international airports. A new analysis by TRAFFIC Southeast Asia has docum…

COP31: Climate Justice or Business as Usual?

We're heading towards COP31, the annual United Nations climate conference where governments from around the world come together to negotiate and make decisions on how to tackle climate change and the climate crisis. This year's meeting takes place in Antalya, Türkiye, and there's plenty at stake, f…

Deep Cobalt: Congo's Mines and the Cost of Our Gadgets

Congo might seem a long way from Malaysia, but the two are connected in ways we don't always think about. The minerals extracted from Congolese soil help power technologies used around the world, while here at home, communities are asking what happens when development puts pressure on their land, l…

Nature Reads: Heritage Trees, Butterflies and Forgotten Tastes

What do trees, butterflies, spiders and forgotten food traditions have in common? They’re all part of the books that have shaped Bilqis Hijjas’s relationship with the natural world. The Director of Rimbun Dahan and committee member of the Biji Alam Awards, Bilqis joins us and co-host Dylan Jefri On…

Can Small Forest Patches Make a Difference?

When we talk about saving forests in Malaysia, the instinct is to think big: national parks, huge reserves, major conservation bodies. But Shariff Mohamad took a different approach, by purchasing three acres of land in Hulu Selangor, and simply letting it grow back. His camera traps have since rec…

The Cost of Keeping Cool

As temperatures rise and air-conditioning becomes an increasingly common part of daily life, staying cool can come at a cost. There’s the electricity bill to think about, of course, but there’s also the energy we consume and the carbon emissions associated with it. So, how can we stay comfortable w…

Telling Stories About Malaysia’s Wild Places

Our forests are full of stories, but it takes a certain kind of storyteller to bring them to life. For independent filmmaker Myles Storey, that means looking beyond the animals themselves, to the landscapes they live in, the people who share those spaces, and the connections between them. Since we …

Budget 2027: Is Malaysia Investing Enough in Nature?

Malaysia’s Budget 2027 includes funding for biodiversity conservation, community rangers and green initiatives, alongside measures to address issues such as flooding and water security. The government has also increased the allocation for the Ecological Fiscal Transfer, which provides funding to st…

Understanding Climate Tipping Points and Planetary Health

Climate change is often described as a gradual process, but there are points where a system can change much more rapidly, and potentially in ways that are difficult or impossible to reverse. These are what scientists call tipping points. They can happen in the climate and natural world, but they ca…

Putting the Environment Into Budget 2027

As Budget 2027 approaches, what should Malaysia be investing in to address pollution, climate impacts and the protection of our natural resources? Meenakshi Raman, President of Sahabat Alam Malaysia, discusses environmental funding and enforcement, the rapid growth of data centres and their demand …