Press Articles

Title: Protecting the Planet We Call Home
Date: 04-Jun-2016
Category: General
Source/Author: The Star Online

What do Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Stella McCartney and Gisele Bundchen have in common with Ruth Yeoh, Yasmin Rasyid, Serina Hijjas, Aishah Sinclair, Gurmit Singh, Faizal Parish and Christine Das?

Well, they are all warriors for Mother Nature. And while the first four are global celebrities, the rest enjoy a comparatively more low-key name recognition.

Nevertheless they are respected individuals in their fields and acknowledged in the Malaysian environment conservation scene.

Today, we get to know a little more about these greenies in Malaysia.

Faizal Parish

Director, Global Environment Centre; Ecologist

“At university in Durham, UK, I got into peatland and wetland issues. When I first came to Malaysia in 1983, peat fire and transboundary haze were a problem and it still is. There is a greater understanding now of what causes the haze. A key achievement is governments recognising the importance of peatland management and an integrated approach to battling fires and haze. We now engage the local community in managing peat restoration and fire prevention. The burning peat will lead to runaway global warming. The global temperature rise is reportedly 4°C, it should be limited to under 2°C. In Malaysia, we can see the dry season getting longer. The next 10 years will be a critical time, if we do not reverse the trend, then everything may be lost.”

INFLUENCERS: The first was the Zoological Society which visited my school and encouraged the children to join as members. When I was about 15, I joined a conservation group that held a peatland campaign. In university, it was Prof David Bellamy, who was the one who suggested to me the desert-crossing expedition in North Australia, which I did in 1981. But the one that probably changed the course of my life was a staff named Dawn Taylor at the MAS office in London who told me about the deal, which for additional £10 I could stop in Kuala Lumpur for a week and it included accommodation at the Merlin hotel. That was in 1983. So I made the trip here as part of my waterbird migration research project.

PRIORITY: The Asean peat management initiative was formulated, working with governments and providing technical support. In Malaysia, various agencies are now integrated and there is cooperation for peat management between all agencies as well as the community. The next level is tackling the challenge of SMIs and smallholdings.

OF NOTE: The extent of fire in Selangor this year was reduced by 90%. Before, 5,000 to 7,000ha of peatland were burnt every year.

LASTLY: We have only one world, so we need to treat it properly. Floods and peat fires are caused by us, our choices and demands. I believe that if we look after the world, the world will look after us.

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