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.

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

Sustainable Finance: Protecting Forests or Greenwashing?

Rice is a staple food for millions of Malaysians, but a proposed field trial in Perak is raising questions about how we grow it, and who bears the risks when new technologies are introduced. The trial involves genetically modified MR219 rice that has been engineered to tolerate glyphosate, as well as resist certain bacterial and fungal diseases. But 61 organisations representing farmers, consumers and environmental groups are objecting to the trial, citing concerns about the increased use of herbicides, possible genetic contamination of conventional and wild rice, and the lack of clear legal protection for farmers if their crops are contaminated. They also point to concerns about potential impacts on soil and paddy biodiversity, as well as the fact that some toxicological data for this particular GM rice is still unavailable. So, how serious are these concerns, and what could this field trial mean for Malaysia's farmers, food system and food sovereignty? We get Nurfitri Amir Muhammad, a trained microbiologist who is doing his own rice farming, and who is also the coordinator of the Malaysia Food Sovereignty Forum, to help break it down for us. 



Image Credit: Shutterstock

Rice is a staple food for millions of Malaysians, but a proposed field trial in Perak is raising questions about how we grow it, and who bears the risks when new technologies are introduced. The trial involves genetically modified MR219 rice that has been engineered to tolerate glyphosate, as well as resist certain bacterial and fungal diseases. But 61 organisations representing farmers, consumers and environmental groups are objecting to the trial, citing concerns about the increased use of herbicides, possible genetic contamination of conventional and wild rice, and the lack of clear legal protection for farmers if their crops are contaminated. They also point to concerns about potential impacts on soil and paddy biodiversity, as well as the fact that some toxicological data for this particular GM rice is still unavailable. So, how serious are these concerns, and what could this field trial mean for Malaysia's farmers, food system and food sovereignty? We get Nurfitri Amir Muhammad, a trained microbiologist who is doing his own rice farming, and who is also the coordinator of the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://web.facebook.com/foodsovereignty.malaysia">Malaysia Food Sovereignty Forum</a>, to help break it down for us.&nbsp;Image Credit: Shutterstock

Malaysia’s Genetically Modified Rice Trial: What’s at Stake? 

We marked International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on the 9th of August, a day to recognise Indigenous cultures, communities and their ongoing struggles for rights and recognition. In Sarawak, few issues are more fundamental to those struggles than land. The documentary Long Moh takes us to the Kenyah Lepu Tau community in Ulu Baram, where people are defending their ancestral forest from logging while creating their own community-led approach to conservation. But aside from one village's story and struggle, it's also about who gets to decide what happens to ancestral land, and what Indigenous-led conservation and development can look like. We catch up with filmmaker Albert Bansa to discuss his own story and roots in Sarawak, what led him to tell stories about Indigenous communities and their relationship with the land, and also to dissect his film “Long Moh” and the bigger questions behind it.

We marked International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on the 9th of August, a day to recognise Indigenous cultures, communities and their ongoing struggles for rights and recognition. In Sarawak, few issues are more fundamental to those struggles than land. The documentary Long Moh takes us to the Kenyah Lepu Tau community in Ulu Baram, where people are defending their ancestral forest from logging while creating their own community-led approach to conservation. But aside from one village's story and struggle, it's also about who gets to decide what happens to ancestral land, and what Indigenous-led conservation and development can look like. We catch up with filmmaker <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://linktr.ee/a.bansa">Albert Bansa</a> to discuss his own story and roots in Sarawak, what led him to tell stories about Indigenous communities and their relationship with the land, and also to dissect his film “Long Moh” and the bigger questions behind it.

Long Moh: Defending Land, Culture and Community 

Eight years ago, two neglected riverside dumpsites along the Klang River became the starting point for an ambitious experiment. The idea was simple: if people came together consistently to care for these places, could nature recover? Today, those spaces have become thriving community parks teeming with biodiversity, and what started as a grassroots restoration effort has grown into GREduAction!, a weekly initiative that combines ecological restoration, environmental education and community action. Spearheaded by Alliance of River Three or ART! we speak to co-founders Kennedy Michael and Syuen Toh, to explore what eight years of working alongside nature has taught them, and to share the challenges of sustaining a grassroots environmental movement over the long term.

Eight years ago, two neglected riverside dumpsites along the Klang River became the starting point for an ambitious experiment. The idea was simple: if people came together consistently to care for these places, could nature recover? Today, those spaces have become thriving community parks teeming with biodiversity, and what started as a grassroots restoration effort has grown into GREduAction!, a weekly initiative that combines ecological restoration, environmental education and community action. Spearheaded by <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://riverthree.wixsite.com/riverthree">Alliance of River Three</a> or ART! we speak to co-founders Kennedy Michael and Syuen Toh, to explore what eight years of working alongside nature has taught them, and to share the challenges of sustaining a grassroots environmental movement over the long term.

Sustainable Finance: Protecting Forests or Greenwashing?

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