The End of all Bananas? Possibly

The End of all Bananas? Possibly

Bananas. Don’t we just love them? Not only are the elongated yellow fruits very tasty and nutritious; they are also an invaluable part of many people’s and animals’ diet. But here’s something that should give us pause: bananas are endangered plants. That may seem like a silly statement to make, sure….

Let’s Shame the Charlatans who Peddle Exotic Animal ‘Remedies’

Let’s Shame the Charlatans who Peddle Exotic Animal ‘Remedies’

Tigers and other critically endangered “exotic” animals are routinely poached for the silliest of reasons. That reason is that many people continue to believe that potions made from tiger bones or whiskers or other body parts possess magical curative properties. And they also continue to believe that talismans made from…

Three Cheers to the new 1 Million Hectare Undersea Haven in Sabah

Three Cheers to the new 1 Million Hectare Undersea Haven in Sabah

It’s official: Malaysia’s largest marine conservation area, the Tun Mustapha Park, is now in operation. Sabah’s Chief Minister Musa Aman officially unveiled the park at a ceremony on July 25. And with that, sharks and a myriad of other marine species will now enjoy much better protection, according to Musa….

We destroy Biodiversity at our own Peril

We destroy Biodiversity at our own Peril

For most people, especially those living in urban areas, “biodiversity” is an abstract concept. It’s a term they may hear used by biologists and environmentalists but one that does not seem to have any relevance for their own lives. How wrong they are. The loss of biodiversity affects us all….

Another Zoo in Sabah? Perish the Thought!

Another Zoo in Sabah? Perish the Thought!

Sabah may well get a new wildlife park. The state’s Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Panglima Masidi Manjun has announced that talks are underway to create a new zoo (euphemistically called a “wildlife park”) in Penampang, although the details of it have yet to be worked out. Good news? That…

A Culture of Impunity is a Threat to Malaysia’s Natural Environment

A Culture of Impunity is a Threat to Malaysia’s Natural Environment

Despoiled soil. Poisoned water. Polluted air. The bauxite mining fiasco in Pahang triggered a massive environmental disaster in Kuantan last year. Yet if you were to have asked local officials about who had been responsible, you would have received the usual response: “Not us!” Earlier this year a couple of…

Palm Oil Politics Strike Again

Palm Oil Politics Strike Again

As legislative reversals go, this one was a biggie. French legislators planned to impose a punitive tax on palm oil products from leading producers like Malaysia and Indonesia as part of a new biodiversity law. The planned tax – dubbed the Nutella Tax (after the famous chocolate spread, which contains plenty of…

Traditional Medicine is a Total Menace

Traditional Medicine is a Total Menace

Traditional Chinese medicine – or most of it at any rate – is utter tosh. Rhino horns, whether consumed in powered form or any other, do not cure gout or rheumatism, much less cancer. Ground tiger bones or whiskers do nothing to alleviate meningitis or malaria, nor does the consumption…

We must ‘show Zero Tolerance’ for Wildlife Crimes

We must ‘show Zero Tolerance’ for Wildlife Crimes

Wildlife crimes remain woefully widespread in Malaysia. What to do? The answer is for authorities to adopt and pursue a zero tolerance policy towards such crimes and the people who perpetrate them. “Although the wildlife laws in Peninsular Malaysia have been strengthened through the implementation of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 six…

An Unlikely Hero for Malaysia’s Environment

An Unlikely Hero for Malaysia’s Environment

Negligence. Incompetence. Corruption. Impunity – long is the usual litany of complaints about Malaysian government officials. And not without cause, either. But then, there’s Natural Resources and Environment minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar. The elderly politician, who was appointed to the post a year and a half ago, has emerged…

Save the Sun Bears from the Miri Crocodile Farm

Save the Sun Bears from the Miri Crocodile Farm

Our friends at FOTO (Friends of the Orangutans) have been fighting hard to uncover the truth about Malaysia’s environment.  Good or bad, they are digging in and sharing what they find so that we can all more effectively fight for a greener future in Malaysia. This special dispatch, and the photos…

Could Horn Farming save wild Rhinos?

Could Horn Farming save wild Rhinos?

Rhinoceroses are generally docile herbivores which want nothing more than left to their own devices in the wild, or whatever is left of it. Unfortunately for the animals, whose very Greek name means “nose-horn,” rhinoceroses sport a conical growth of keratin on the tops of their noses, which they employ…

Saving Malaysia’s Coral Reefs

Saving Malaysia’s Coral Reefs

Even with the parlous state of wildlife preservation, it is rare to witness the slow but seemingly inexorable death of entire ecosystems in real time right before your eyes. Yet that’s what’s happening to the region’s coral reefs far and wide. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, a wonder of the planet’s…

The Wages of Bauxite Mining

The Wages of Bauxite Mining

A basic principle of economics is supply and demand. When there is demand for a product, someone will be willing to supply it. At what cost to the environment that demand is met, however, is another matter altogether. And so it has proved with the mining of bauxite in Pahang….