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