Wild Bearded Pigs are taking Advantage of Oil Palm Plantations in Sabah

Wild Bearded Pigs are taking Advantage of Oil Palm Plantations in Sabah

The endless stretches of palm oil plantations may please the eye of cultivators but they have been ecological disasters in Sabah. Across much of Malaysia plantations have replaced once thriving thick forests with monotonous ranks of cultivated palms where few wild species can survive. Some species like water monitor lizards,…

How Much More Forest can Malaysia cut Down?

How Much More Forest can Malaysia cut Down?

In perhaps one of Malaysia’s biggest environmental promises to date, the country has pledged to retain 50% of its forest cover.  The commitment was made during the global climate change convention COP21 in December.  It’s a brave promise, and will be a big win for Malaysia’s beautiful, rich, and quickly…

Just how Big is Malaysia’s Palm Oil Industry?

Just how Big is Malaysia’s Palm Oil Industry?

With all the press surrounding palm oil in Malaysia – its boon to the national economy, its increasing demand worldwide, its razing and takeover of tropical forest and its reliance on migrant labor – it can be difficult to get a clear picture of the industry.  The facts are all…

US-ASEAN Summit 2015: Will Obama call Malaysia to Task on Environment?

US-ASEAN Summit 2015: Will Obama call Malaysia to Task on Environment?

– Originally published on International Policy Digest by Clean Malaysia’s Editor in Chief Brandon Taylor – President Barack Obama has just packed his bags and embarked on a trip to Kuala Lumpur.  The reason for the trip is the third US-ASEAN Summit, and the meeting will have important implications for the environment…

Malaysian Pulp Giant makes Sustainability Guidelines; Breaks Them

Malaysian Pulp Giant makes Sustainability Guidelines; Breaks Them

Indonesia’s second-largest pulp and paper producer Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) introduced a new sustainability policy in June.  The updated policy was greeted with guarded skepticism by environmental NGOs including Greenpeace, and it seems their doubt may have been well-founded. APRIL’s new policy stated that they had stopped all…

Borneo’s Massive Ecological Experiment

Borneo’s Massive Ecological Experiment

One of the largest ecological experiments in recorded history is being conducted in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.  It has to do with three hot-button issues – palm oil, deforestation, and biodiversity – and it hopes to find a way to point them all in the direction of sustainability. Launched in 2010,…

Deforestation in Malayisa Releases Fast-Acting Malaria Parasite

Deforestation in Malayisa Releases Fast-Acting Malaria Parasite

A dangerous and potentially deadly monkey-borne parasite has reared its head in Malaysia.  Once rarely seen in humans, it is now responsible for more than two-thirds of hospitalized malaria patients in Malaysian Borneo.  The cause?  Deforestation in Malaysia. Plasmodium knowlesi is a Southeast Asian malaria parasite that, in a healthy…

Wanted: Sustainable Finance in Malaysia

Wanted: Sustainable Finance in Malaysia

“Whether it is air pollution in China, haze in Singapore, or water scarcity in India, the evidence that environmental and social issues present growing risks to economic growth is mounting across Asia.” Thus begins the executive summary of a brand new World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report singling out banks in…

Indonesia and Malaysia to set new Green Standards for Palm Oil

Indonesia and Malaysia to set new Green Standards for Palm Oil

More than a month after they started burning, Indonesian forest fires that caused a crippling haze epidemic are still raging strong.  The record-breaking burn is due largely to palm oil practices that dry out, expose and otherwise make the peatland beneath them extremely susceptible to fires.  As a result of…

Deforestation in Malaysia Accelerating Faster than Anywhere in the World

Deforestation in Malaysia Accelerating Faster than Anywhere in the World

According to the United Nations, the rate of deforestation in Malaysia is accelerating faster than that of any other tropical country in the world. The statistic comes from the United Nations’ Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation initiative (UN-REDD), and it sheds light on the consequences of rapid economic…