I was selected among five other Champions of Clean Air as part of Greenpeace’s awareness campaign in conjunction with the International Day for Clean Air 2023. The International Day for Clean Air is especially poignant for me as it is also the birthday of my first son. The full campaign can be viewed here.
I was invited to discuss my views as a woman in academia working on environmental politics and governance, with DJ Anil and Producer Rose on Traxx FM Momentum, during their W(omen) Talk segment on 18 August 2023. We had the opportunity to not only discuss the position of Malaysia as a country in haze governance, but also the role that Malaysians can play in climate action and palm oil sustainability. The recording can be viewed here.
I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Dr Maggie Ooi, atmospheric scientist at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia on “Palm oil politics and transboundary haze in Southeast Asia”, as part of the Atmospheric Tales podcast series, produced by Dr Shahzad Gani at IIT Delhi. The full podcast is available to listen here.
SOGCE2023 was held on 8-9 June 2023 and featured representatives of oil, gas & energy companies, supply industries and technology experts as well as policymakers to review and discuss the way forward for the oil, gas & energy industry, share innovative strategies, best practices in catalysing regional growth for economic efficiencies and any potentials for intensified development going forward with emphasis on Energy Security and Sustainability in Oil, Gas & Energy Industry in Sabah. I was invited to present the findings of our UM-CERAH-EDF project on the Opportunities for Methane Reduction in the O&G Sector in Support of Malaysia’s Climate Goals. Dr Matthew Ashfold, our project partner from University of Nottingham Malaysia, also attended.
I was interviewed by Astro AWANI journalist, Tehmina Kaoosji on “Haze and the Malaysian Economy” on the AWANI Niaga Spotlight segment on 9 June 2023. The recording can be accessed here.
I wrote an opinion piece in Australian Outlook, the Australian Institute of International Affairs blog, on sustainability transitions in the Indonesian palm oil sector. The full article can be accessed here.
I collaborated with Apichai Sunchindah, an independent development specialist and formerly the Head of the Environmental Division at the ASEAN Secretariat and the Executive Director of the ASEAN Foundation, and Larry Maramis, consultant for international development agencies, and previously served as Director for Cross-Sectoral Cooperation at the ASEAN Secretariat and was the Project Manager for ASEAN’s first Regional Technical Assistance on Transboundary Haze Pollution on a commentary article in Bangkok Post in conjunction with the upcoming 20th anniversary of the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. The complete article can be assessed here.
Southeast Asia has been known for its rapid urbanisation. Nevertheless, such urbanisation has been uneven across the region, having a differentiated impact on places and people. Rapid urbanisation has meant surging demand for natural resources, thus calling for the rise of extractive industries that rewrite the landscape of nature. The expansion of the urban built environment called for the conversion of rural land into urban construction land and the reclamation of swamps, lakes and seas, the impact of which is particularly felt vividly in urban peripheries and coastal areas. One of the emergent critical urban questions that call for urgent attention in Southeast Asia is how cities are planned and governed in climate emergencies and if the current pace of urbanisation can be sustained without endangering the lives of urban inhabitants.
Against this backdrop, the LSE Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre hosted an online panel on Urban Futures. The panel brought together diverse perspectives to consider the urban futures of Southeast Asia, especially concerning the urban-nature nexus in light of the mounting pressure of climate change-induced urban challenges. The recording can be accessed here.
I was invited to be a member of a webinar panel organised by Earth System Governance and the Indo Pacific Circle on Climate Governance in Southeast Asia, as part of the ESG’s South-South Series of webinars.
Southeast Asia is one of the most climate-vulnerable regions of the world. At the same time, the region’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) have grown in recent years – attributed to land use change and fossil fuel-dependent economies. Yet it is important to acknowledge that the countries of the region are at different levels of development with varying climate vulnerabilities; and have differentiated requirements when it comes to climate mitigation and adaptation. Countries in the region have been focusing on promoting context-specific adaptation and climate-resilient development strategies to deal with the adverse climate impacts (including on water security) and simultaneously reducing carbon emissions. They have also been cooperating with each other through regional organizations such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and with international, multilateral climate governance and policy mechanisms. However, the region faces several challenges in climate governance – ranging from financial and capacity to institutional and policy.
Against this background, this webinar offered an analysis of climate change-related governance architectures and case study-based insights in Southeast Asia. It also covered issues of justice and equity in the context of regional and global climate governance. I spoke on regional governance on peatlands in Southeast Asia, while the other panelists spoke on sustainability transitions in Indonesia (Dr Shofwan) and water governance in Singapore (Dr Maitreyee). The discussion was moderated by Dr Dhanasree Jayaram.
As a follow-up to the FairFrontiers research and science symposium I attended in Kyoto earlier this year, the project team met in Penampang for hands-on methods training for the livelihoods and well-being study to be carried out in Pitas, Sabah. The workshop was hosted by PACOS (Partners of Community Organisations in Sabah) Trust and ran from 10-14 April, followed by a field trip. The work in Pitas connects directly to a consultancy project that I am heading, funded by the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, on “A FairFrontiers Telecoupling Study of Pitas, Sabah.
The Forests for the Palms 