Let’s ‘Get Serious’ about Plastic Bags

Let’s ‘Get Serious’ about Plastic Bags

Plastic bags sure can come in handy. We can pick them up freely at stores and shops, carry our goods in them, and then dispose of them without a second thought. The trouble, of course, is that they are a scourge on the environment. Discarded mounds of non-biodegradable bags add…

Turtle Landing sites are under Threat

Turtle Landing sites are under Threat

Sea turtle nesting sites in Labuan are declining. As compared to 2016 there are a third fewer such landings on Kuraman and Rusukan Besar islands by hawksbill turtles, olive-ridley turtles and green turtles. So says Anuar Deraman, director of Labuan Marine Park. “Despite [an] increase of 18% in hawksbill sea…

Fishermen in Penang protest Coastal Reclamation Projects

Fishermen in Penang protest Coastal Reclamation Projects

If there is a constant about Penang’s environmental woes, it’s this: land reclamations on the island continue to threaten its environment. At its core, it’s a clear-cut matter: developers on the island want to develop, but space is at a premium because there is only a very limited supply of…

Development can Worsen the effects of Flash Floods in Penang

Development can Worsen the effects of Flash Floods in Penang

In a tropical country like Malaysia where vast amounts of water can pour down from the sky in a few short minutes, flash floods are nothing unusual. Yet the severity of deluges can be influenced by manmade causes. These include mudslides and landslides on hillsides denuded of trees that would…

Penang Coastal Reclamation Imbroglio

Penang Coastal Reclamation Imbroglio

Penang has a problem. Being a relatively small yet populous island, it has little land left for development. Yet the island’s government and private developers want to keep on building. So they are increasingly eyeing as yet undeveloped and underdeveloped patches of seashore and hillside. That, however, poses grave environmental…