Slash and burn agriculture is a crime against nature. Yet it remains an all too common practice in Indonesia and parts of Malaysia. In nearby Sumatra vast swathes of forest are routinely torched so that ever more palm oil plantations can take the place of jungles. The environmental damage from…
Palm oil cultivation has been a scourge on Malaysia’s environment, but if a small company has its way, the industry will become rather more sustainable. The director of Aqua Ecotech Sdn Bhd (AquaEco), Andrew Liew, says the company has invented a “green tech” palm oil system, which is the “first proven and…
Can peatlands be converted into palm oil plantations in an environmentally friendly way? Some scientists say “yes,” some scientists say “no way.” The debate has erupted after several scientists from the state government-sponsored think tank Tropical Peat Research Laboratory in Sarawak presented their views at a conference – organized by…
Many banks treat forests as exploitable resources; so much so that they are behind massive deforestation across Indonesia and Malaysia. By financing companies that cut down forests for profit, the banks are key drivers of forest loss in these two countries, and farther afield. This is according to the US-based…
Malaysian will be able to breathe easy this year – literally so. The country will experience a less severe case of the annual transboundary haze that has been a periodic blight on air quality across much of Malaysia. That’s because Indonesia, where the haze originates, is making sure to rein…