AGENDA FOR A SUSTAINABLE 1MALAYSIA

ByHashim bin Abdul Wahab, Ph.D; DSDK

Vice-President, Malaysian Nature Society

TALK DELIVERED AT ASTRO OSHE WEEK MONDAY, JULY 26, 2010

Sustainability“Meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs”

Recognizing the equal importance of economic growth, environmental conservation and social improvement

Gro Harlem Brundtland

CRITICAL CHALLENGESGLOBAL WARMING/CLIMATIC CHANGE due to excessive emission of: CO2 –transportation, industries Methane – livestock industries, dump sites Nitrous oxide - industries

CONTRIBUTED BY 3 KEY FACTORS:

• 1. INCREASE IN POPULATION PUTS PRESSURE ON NON-RENEWABLE RESOURCES – FOOD, LAND, FORESTS, FOSSIL FUEL, MARINE RESOURCES; POLLUTION OF LAND, RIVERS, LAKES, SEAS; WASTE MANAGEMENT; DEPLETED RESOURCES SUCH AS WATER, BIODIVERSITY, AIR

• 2. INDISCRIMINATE DEFORESTATION• 3. SOLAR RADIATION

PEOPLE & POPULATION INCREASE

• Malthusian concerns on geometrical population increase which means more mouths to feed; from 26.6 million (now) to probably 37 million Malaysians by 2020, or exceed 70 million people by 2050. Study the birthrate and the changing demography, changing food & dietary habits must be deciphered in addressing future trends in eating habits and food preference; and also food services sector growth. The challenge is finding the comprehensive solution to feed the people in the future NEXT

• FOOD - Feeding the World’s Population

Now 6.7 billion but 8.3 billion by 2025

•DEFORESTATION

• ENDANGERED WILDLIFE

• 42 species of mammals

• 34 species of birds

• 14 species reptiles

• 14 species of fish

ENDANGERED PLANT SPECIES

WILDLIFE TRADE

POLLUTION OF ENVIRONMENT

PENGURUSAN SAMPAH SARAP

CO2 AND SEA LEVEL RISES - Technology Review

250,000 200,000 150,000300,000 100,000 50,000350,000400,000Years ago

present

1 10 20 30 40 50

1 10 20 30 40 50

1 10 20 30 40 50

GLOBAL WARMING

Polar caps melting

Size reduced by 2.5 times the size of Malaysia

1 10 20 30 40 50

1 10 20 30 40 50

GLOBAL WARMING effecting CLIMATE CHANGE !

Violent weathers are coming

1 10 20 30 40 50

• Depletion of Non-Renewable, fossil fuels (petroleum) to cause price increase; hence petroleum-based FERTILISERS & PESTICIDES become costly.

Global Warming / Climate Change

ii. Changing Rains and bring both Floods and Droughts (Droughts – Crop failure; Floods – to coastal lands rendering to increased salinity

iii. Delayed Monsoons by 10 -15 days. It will then affect the blooming periods. That in turn affect the fruit set and behaviour of the pollinators (honeybees, bats, birds, etc.). Delayed monsoons means delayed fruiting season and harvesting time. That also means delayed mating season and flora-fauna abundance and distribution !!The whole fauna-flora ecosystem is definitely altered/shifted!

Climate Change affect Agriculture by:

GOALS: To have an economic system that

will harmonise the creation of wealth with environmental

protection and social considera- tion which ultimately promote

the creation of a united, healthy and happy Malaysians

SPECIFIC GOALS• 1. Manage pop. growth and physical dev.• 2. Restore, conserve and protect

biodiversity• 3. Food and fibre security through S.

Agric.• 4. Sustainable business & economics,

policies & laws• 5. Develop clean power and energy

efficient technologies• 6. Promote social equity & high spiritual

achievement• 7. Restore & improve clean, healthy

ecosystems

Strategy 1. Manage Population Growth and Physical Development • Review policies and formulate

strategies to encourage family planning

• Encourage pop. Distribution away from high density areas such as Klang Valley, Penang-Seberang Prai, Johor Baru to low density areas such as the East Coast of PM and the eastern Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah

• Promote the development of small towns and rural communities

Strategy 2 – Restore, Conserve and Protect Biodiversity

• Establish nature and marine parks & manage them sustainably, guided by integrated management plans

• Manage sustainably forests that have been assigned for commercial logging

• Encourage tree planting with appropriate preferably indigenous spp. In schools, cities & rural communities

• Impose severe penalties for illegal logging and trading in rare, endangered and protected spp

• Conserve heritage trees• Establish natural history

museums with botanical gardens in each state

one or world’s oldest Rainforest

approximately 200 million years

old

one of the 12 Mega-Biodiversity

countries in the world(75% of

world’s species)©VJ/Malaysian Nature Society 2001

• 86 2spp of mammals

• 736 spp of birds

• 268 spp of reptiles

• 158 spp of amphibians

• 4,000 spp of marine fishes

• 449 spp of freshwater fishes

• 15,000 spp of flowering plants

• 2,700 spp of orchids

• 536 spp of palms

• 350 spp of corals

15,000 flowering

plant species

©VJ/Malaysian Nature Society 2001

736 species

resident birds

©VJ/Malaysian Nature Society 2001

4,000 species marine fishes

449 species fresh-water

fish©VJ/Malaysian Nature Society 2001

150,000 species

invertebrates

©VJ/Malaysian Nature Society 2001

1.4 million species (20% of estimated total) in the

planet may have yet to be discovered.

©VJ/Malaysian Nature Society 2001

UTILIZATION OF AGROBIODIVERSITY

• Estimated 2 to 100 million sp. – 30 millions – 2 millions named

• around 7000 sp. utilised as food• 20 species supply 90 percent of

world’s food – rice, wheat, maize• Millions of species not studied

and potential not known

•

WHY CONSERVE AGROBIODIVERSITY

• FOOD SECURITY• HEALTH• FISH• FORESTRY• TOURISM• ECOSYSTEM SERVICES• INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE• BIOTECHNOLOGY

Strategy 3 – Food and Fibre Security through Sustainable Agriculture

• Farming systems – rotational cropping, mixed farming, intercropping

• Organic farming• Soil amelioration and

conservation• Agriculture waste management• Integrated pest management• Development of biochemicals

Strategy 4 – Sustainable Business & Economics, Policies & Laws

• Low pollution economy • Promote corporate social responsibility• Sustainable trade practices• Introduce carbon emission trading

scheme• Promote parks and wildlife sanctuaries

as ecotourism destinations• Promote sustainable harvesting of

forest products for non-traditional uses in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries

Strategy 5 – Develop Clean Power & Energy Efficient Technologies

• Set an annual cap in amount of gas emission

• Improve public transport system and encourage people to use it

• Research into systems for clean power and energy efficiency

• Alternative energy sources

Strategy 6 - Promote Social Equity and High Spirituality

• Working with communities in sustainability issues

• Developing curricula on sustainable dev. For specific communities

• Creating better places to live, work and play

• Encourage people to be more active and lead a healthier lifestyle

Strategy 7 – Restore & Improve Clean, Healthy Ecosystems

• Ban the development of mangrove areas & steep hill slopes

• Proper management of agricultural wastes

• Enforce the law on no bomb and chemicals in the harvesting of fish

• Install efficient waste management systems

Malaysian Nature Society To promote the study, appreciation, conservation

and protection of Malaysia’s natural heritage •Established 1940•Oldest environmental NGO •Membership based•Community based, education and scientific body, nature centres and publications

MISSION OF MNS

TO PROMOTE THE STUDY, APPRECIATION, CONSERVATION AND PROTECTION OF MALAYSIA’S NATURAL HERITAGE FOCUSSING ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

1976-80 Blueprint for conservation in Malaysia

1987 Kuala Selangor Nature Park

1985-89 Endau-Rompin Heritage Expedition

1990 50th ann. Int. Conference on Conservation of Tropical Biodiversity

1991 UNEP Global 500 Award

1993 Efforts culminate in Endau-Rompin National Park

1994 Belum Scientific and Heritage Expedition

1996 Framework for NERC in Endau-Rompin National Park (Johor)

1997 Milky Stork Project in KSNP

1998 2nd Belum Expedition

1999 BirdLIfe International World Conference

2000 Millenium Tree Planting - A Gift to the Nation - 100,000 trees in 1 minute

2001 Raptor Watch Week - To save West Coast’s only Coastal Forest; Tanjung Tuan

2003 Langkawi Scientific and Heritage Expedition

2006 MNS Belum-Temenggor Campaign 2006

HELP save OUR Natural Heritage

©VJ/Malaysian Nature Society 2001

N a o

u

RIMBA ILMU ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PROGRAMME

University Malaya & MNS

Kuala Selangor Nature Park

MNS-BOH Field Study Center Cameron Highlands

Dark Cave at Batu Caves

FRIM-MNS-SHELLNature Education Center

Projek Pemuliharaan Hutan Paya Bakau Sg. Kertih dan Pusat Pendidikan Alam Sekitar

Nature Camp Activities• Forest ecology sessions• Canopy walk• Night walk & Blind trail• Scavenger hunt• Nature craft & Paper recycling• Bird watching• Stream ecology session• Environmental game• Role play• Astronomy/ star gazing

MNS

Documentation of natural history of Malaysia

Malayan Nature JournalMalaysian NaturalistSelected titles on nature

NEC Publication & Modules

• Keruing Newsletter• Modules:

– Introduction to Tropical Rainforest– Freshwater ecology– Animals – Plants– Recycling– Global issues– etc

©Malaysian Nature Society 2003

What Kind of WorldAre We Leaving our Children?

What Kind of WorldAre We Leaving our Children?

Stop ravaging Nature,

Lest we perish,

She’s ours to revere,

Ours to cherish

Alam usah dimusnah,

Kelak kita binasa,

Alam satu amanah,

Disanjung dipelihara.

- Damaihat i -

MNS

Hashim Abdul Wahab (Dato’ Dr)

• Educational Background: Dip. Agric (Serdang – 1959), B.S. M.S (ISUniversity - 1968), Ph.D (N. C. State University - 1971)

• Affliations: Member of POP and ULAMA• Working Experience: Dy DG MARDI, DG

MCB, Executive Chairman & Member of Board of a few companies

• Hobbies: reading, writing, outdoor activities, community work

• Awards/Recognitions: JSM, DSDK, Member MECC 1, Paul Harris Fellow, Cert of Participation SIT ‘97, Langkawi Award, UPM Alumni AwardBeijing Olympic 2008 Torch Bearer

THANK YOU