The Golden Triangle: the Wild East of Wildlife Trafficking

Tigers, elephants, pangolins, sun bears, rhinos, serows, helmeted hornbills, gaurs, leopards, turtles. These are, according to the anti-trafficking watchdog TRAFFIC, the most commonly trafficked endangered species that pass through the so-called Golden Triangle. A small area wedged between Laos, Myanmar and Thailand, the Golden Triangle has long been notorious for…

Water Pollution remains an Acute Problem

A chicken farm making fertilizer from chicken droppings in Johor let large amounts of ammonia leach into the Johor River sporadically. As a result, much of the river’s water became badly polluted, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without clean tap water. A local waterworks also had to close down…

Let’s have Environmental Education in Schools

The sooner young Malaysians become aware of environmental issues, the better. And we can’t just expect children to develop a passion for the environment on their own. We have to teach them to appreciate the natural bounty of Malaysia and we have to teach them how to be good stewards…

Here come Transparent Solar Panels

Solar power is a truly great power source. It’s cheap, green, highly efficient and inexhaustible. But it isn’t without some drawbacks. For one thing, solar panels tend to be bulky and unsightly, occupying plenty of space. But they no longer have to be. Ladies and gentlemen (drum roll please!), here…

Deadly Landslide is a Sign of What’s Wrong on Penang

On a relatively small and already overdeveloped island like Penang, any further development may have negative environmental repercussions. That is why it is important that no decisions are made on such new developments without proper environmental assessment and public consultation. The dangers of ill-advised and haphazard developments have come into…

British Academic: Toughen Wildlife Law Enforcement in Borneo

Many poachers do not go about killing wild animals out of fun. Nor do many farmers take revenge on wild animals just because they feel like it. Rather, there are routinely economic reasons behind both wildlife poaching and revenge attacks against animals, like elephants, that destroy crops, thereby unwittingly inviting…

Dozens of new Rangers ‘will be on Patrol’ in Sabah

Across Malaysia’s wildlife reserves and national parks rangers and officers are invariably undermanned and underfunded. Yet in the Danum Valley, Maliau Basin and Imbak Canyon this will change. Teams of 50 wildlife rangers, armed and alert, will be taking turns to hunt down poachers in the areas falling within the…

Thieves of Songbirds are now Jailbirds

For many Indonesians, songbirds aren’t just pretty little things that gladden the heart with their joyful chirps. They are invaluable parts of their culture and very identity. Many of these hobbyists will go to great lengths to acquire prized birds. Those lengths include poaching rare songbirds relentlessly from forests. And…

Recharging Malaysia’s EV Plans

Many people remain wary of transitioning to electric cars for a variety of reasons. One reason is that electric vehicles still tend to cost considerably more than comparable models with internal combustion engines. Another reason is so-called range anxiety. Namely: people are concerned that on longer drives their car batteries…