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Despite being highly threatened, only a few langur populations have been studied in detail, owing to their elusive nature, arboreality and the challenging terrains where they inhabit. As a result, conservation of these species has been challenging.
Over 85 per cent of Asian langurs are threatened with extinction, making them one of the continent’s most threatened primate groups.
A new landmark Asian langurs (Presbytis) Conservation Action Plan 2024-2034, combining the efforts of international primate experts and conservationists, has just been launched, in a bid to galvanise conservation for Asian langurs across Southeast Asia.
On this episode of Climate Connections, lead of the initiative, Dr Andie Ang, Head, Primate Conservation & Singapore Programmes, Mandai Nature shares her first-hand insights on putting together the conservation plan and her experience out in the field.
Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting ([email protected])
Voiced by: Emaad Akhtar
Photo credits: Andie Ang
Music/Sound credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors, Ecology Asia| Sophia Sak BakerSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Platinum group metals (PGM) - a group of precious metals - such as platinum, palladium and rhodium, are traditionally recovered through underground and open pit mining within a linear economy, where the ore is mined, transformed into products and then disposed of as waste at the end of their lives. These metals are often used in catalytic converters for cars, buses, trucks, and other industrial processes.
However, the process of mining for these precious metals could directly or indirectly lead to environmental impacts including deforestation, water pollution, and habitat destruction.
With the aim of creating a circular economy while fulfilling the high demand for these finite precious resources in a sustainable way - one company called BR Metals is recovering these metals from metal scraps and reintroducing them into the supply chain.
On this episode of Climate Connections, Frank Chen, Founder & Managing Director, BR Metals shares more about how his company is recovering precious metals from car scraps and his latest ventures into the gold and silver space. BR Metals was also crowned Champion in the Business For Good category at this year’s Brands for Good Awards.
Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting ([email protected])
Voiced by: Audrey Siek
Photo credits: BR Metals
Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributorsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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To keep global warming to no more than 1.5°C - as called for in the Paris Agreement - emissions need to be reduced by 45% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.
But as the days pass, the world is staring at a growing emissions gap.
Back in 2021, Speed & Scale - a global initiative aimed at pushing leaders to act on the climate crisis - built a plan based on 10 objectives, each with its own set of milestones, or “key results” - to zero out the world’s 59 gigatons of annual greenhouse gas emissions, before it’s too late.
And just recently, Speed & Scale released a global progress report, tracking where the world is making good headway on the road to net zero and where it’s lagging. Most importantly, it points to where we need to go from here in the transition to clean energy, in scaling renewables and cleantech and also in phasing out fossil fuels.
On this episode of Climate Connections, Anjali Grover, Managing Director, Speed & Scale shares more about their blueprint, challenges in tracking some key areas and strategies that can be undertaken to push the world ahead.
Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting ([email protected])
Voiced by: Emaad Akhtar
Photo credits: Speed & Scale
Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributorsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Singapore could be at risk of a tsunami, if an undersea volcano in its neighbouring region erupts.
Globally, tens of thousands of submerged volcanoes lurk beneath the ocean's surface, often going unnoticed and are vastly understudied.
With the help of published data sets and sea-floor topography information, new research has revealed that there are some 466 submarine volcanoes in the waters of Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Scientists say in the event of an undersea volcanic eruption, volcanic ash can blow towards Singapore, blanketing the surface with fine ash, similar to an eruption of a land-based volcano. Additionally, lava flows and volcanic rock avalanches can damage undersea cables in the region, causing internet outages and disrupting financial transactions.
On this episode of Climate Connections, Dr Andrea Verolino, Research Fellow from the Earth Observatory of Singapore at NTU elaborates on his study aimed at uncovering the secrets these submarine volcanoes hold within.
Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting ([email protected])
Voiced by: Audrey Siek
Photo credits: NTU
Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors & news.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Like other sea turtles, hawksbill turtles are critically endangered due to the loss of nesting and feeding habitats, excessive egg collection, fishery-related mortality, pollution and coastal development.
Currently, hawksbill turtles are protected by international agreements like the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Convention on Migratory Species. This level of international cooperation is essential to the conservation of hawksbills given their wide geographic range.
In Singapore, a small few hawksbill turtles return to the shores during the nesting season between May and October every year. After hatching, these turtles essentially run as quickly as they can to the ocean before a predator can eat them, and then, they are “lost”. Lost, that is, as most would not see them again until they return as juveniles and subadults to their birth shores several years later. That gap of time is called the lost years and has proven to be a challenging life stage to study.
On this episode of Climate Connections, hawksbill turtles researchers Assistant Professor Kim Hie Lim from NTU’s Asian School of the Environment and Regine Tiong, PhD student at NTU share more about their DNA study that’s set to uncover some of the secrets behind lineages of hawksbill turtles that visit Singapore's shores and where they go to nest and forage after hatching.
Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting ([email protected])
Voiced by: Emaad Akhtar
Photo credits: Asian Geographic / NTU
Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors & Smithsonian Channel YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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A new environmental movement is gathering pace: “Nature Positive”.
The concept of "Nature Positive" envisages a planet where the current rapid loss of biodiversity is halted and reversed, and nature is restored. Since the term was coined in 2020 amid negotiations for the Global Biodiversity Framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity, world leaders, businesses and civil society have rallied behind the ambition.
With calls for action growing stronger, there’s an increasing recognition that reversing biodiversity is critical for combating the global climate crisis, preventing future pandemics of zoonotic origin, addressing water and food insecurity, as well as supporting sustainable and equitable development. In December 2022, the goal of halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030 was codified in the mission of the landmark Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Its adoption under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity has been described as the ‘Paris moment’ for nature.
However, experts warn that vigilance is needed to prevent the concept of a Nature Positive world being threatened by greenwashing, with some pledges lacking the rigorous scientific framework needed to achieve real impacts.
On this episode of Climate Connections, Professor Lawrence Loh, Director of the Centre for Governance and Sustainability at NUS Business School shares his insights on nature positivity and what companies should consider in order to avoid falling into the greenwashing trap.
Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting ([email protected])
Voiced by: Emaad Akhtar
Photo credits: Nature Positive Initiative
Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributorsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Can Singapore meet its “30 by 30” food sustainability goal?
With the passing of the five-year mark since that goal was set - this question has been cast into the spotlight, following a series of delays, failures or re-configurations of high-tech farms of late.
It hasn’t been easy for local producers, with indoor vegetable farm I.F.F.I shutting down, and VertiVegies abandoning plans to build a mega vertical vegetable farm - both of which had been awarded funding under the government’s 30 by 30 express grant. Other agri-food casualties include aquaculture, with the Barramundi Group ceasing sea bass farming, and novel protein, in particular with the cultivated meat industry seemingly in limbo.
Despite those shake-ups, farmers and relevant stakeholders are still hard at work in pushing the little red dot towards its goal of producing 30% of its nutritional needs locally by 2030.
On this episode of Climate Connections, we explore the issue with a range of stakeholders, including:
- Ma Chin Chew, CEO of N&N Agriculture, a local egg farm that has successfully tapped on technology to scale up its productions, and improve its yield and sustainability.
- Ken Cheong, CEO of Singapore Agro-Food Enterprises Federation (SAFEF), who dives into consumer demand trends, and how SAFEF is working hand-in-hand with local farmers to get their produce on the shelves and stay competitive.
- Andy Chang, Director, Fresh and Frozen, FairPrice Group, who sheds light on what drives consumer choices in today's context, and what local farmers need in order to stay ahead of the game from a retail perspective.
Special thanks to the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment
Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting ([email protected])
Voiced by: Audrey Siek
Photo credits: SFA website
Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributorsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Back in historical times, volcanoes played a crucial role in the evolution of the planet and early life, and are constantly reshaping the morphology of Planet Earth.
Today, about 500 active volcanoes presently exist on the Earth’s surface, with some 50 erupting each year, and more than 800 million people living within 100 kilometres (60 miles) of an active volcano. As populations continue to grow around volcanoes, these impact events will likely continue to affect communities.
With modern society heading into uncharted territory as the world grapples with unprecedented climate change effects, many concepts adopted by policymakers and scientists to deal with volcano-related hazards will quickly become outdated, and hence making ongoing research so crucial.
While extensive research has been done on explosive eruptions, there has been limited studies on how lava flows are impacting communities. These streams of molten rock are one of the most common volcanic hazards and can be disastrous for communities.
On this episode of Climate Connections, Dr Elinor Meredith, Research Fellow in Volcanic Risk, University of Twente and Susanna Jenkins, Associate Professor, Earth Observatory of Singapore, NTU share insights from their extensive study on the frequency and severity of these lava flow impact events, and whether they are an increasing threat to communities.
Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting ([email protected])
Voiced by: Audrey Siek
Assistant Producer: Simone Chuah
Photo credits: Iceland Review
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“It's about sowing the right seeds. Seeds which will sprout, which will take root. And so how do we do that? We can't have change overnight, but we need to create a pipeline of the next generation of inventors, thinkers. Though we’re a little dot in this globe, we have that opportunity to nurture them. Many times, I go back to Lee Kuan Yew. He dreamt big. We’ve enjoyed the bounty, how do we take it forward?”
Inspired by Singapore’s Founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s love for nature, environmentalist Kirtida Mekani mooted the country’s Plant-A-Tree programme back in the day. It’s an initiative where organisations and individuals can, for a donation of $300, plant a tree in the green spaces managed by the National Parks Board, or NParks.
Fast forward to today, she’s an ardent advocate of biomimicry adoption. With the urgency to tackle climate change growing, she strongly believes that biomimicry is the path forward for science and engineering
On this episode of Climate Connections, Kirtida Mekani, Environmentalist & 2024 Inductee, Singapore Women's Hall of Fame shares insights from her decades-long commitment to environmental causes, and the eureka moment that got her on this green journey.
Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting ([email protected])
Voiced by: Audrey Siek
Photo credits: NParks
Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributorsFind out more on how to take part in the Plant-A-Tree Programme below: https://www.gardencityfund.gov.sg/our-programmes/plant-a-tree/howtotakepart/
You can also join the OneMillionTrees movement here: https://www.nparks.gov.sg/treessg/one-million-trees-movement/upcoming-activities
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Imagine experiencing climate change effects first-hand right under the hole in the ozone layer.
That's something that most people would not be able to fathom, but celebrated British polar explorer Robert Swan, the first person to have walked to both the North and South Poles unassisted, experienced just that.
On his very first expedition to the South Pole in the 1980s, the prolonged exposure to ultraviolet light during parts of the trip which were directly under that ozone layer hole - permanently altered his eye colour from dark blue to light blue. Some years on, his team nearly drowned at the North Pole due to the premature melting of glaciers in the Arctic. Robert later founded the 2041 Foundation, an initiative dedicated to the preservation of Antarctica.
Fast forward decades later, Robert's son, Barney Swan is following in his father's footsteps. In 2017, Barney became the first person to walk the South Pole powered only by renewable energy.
Today, Barney himself is on a mission to combat climate change through his non-profit, ClimateForce, with a seven-year mission to reduce 360 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions before 2025.
On this episode of Climate Connections, Barney Swan, CEO of ClimateForce shares his personal insights walking on this green journey with his father.
Robert Swan was a speaker at Ecosperity Week 2024, aimed at being a metaphoric springboard to accelerate climate and nature-positive action, seeking to deepen the collective ownership and commitment needed across all stakeholders, with a focus on radical yet regenerative solutions, to restore the one planet we call home.
Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting ([email protected])
Voiced by: Emaad Akhtar
Photo credits: Barney & Robert Swan
Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributorsSpecial thanks to Temasek for making this possible.
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India is currently thought to have around 29,000 wild elephants, especially in the biodiverse Western Ghats region, including Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. It’s also the country home to more than half of the global population.
Although poaching, trafficking and trading of elephants and ivory in India is prohibited according to 1972’s Wildlife Protection Act, poaching has remained a constant threat.
Today, around 20-25 elephants are lost to poaching each year.
On this episode of Climate Connections, Emmy-award winning Canadian filmmaker Richie Mehta, who’s the director of Poacher - shares more about his dramatisation of the largest ever elephant poaching case in India.
The eight-episode series was based on the real-life events of Operation Shikar, a sprawling investigation that took place between 2015 and 2017 into elephant poaching in the southern state of Kerala, which led to 72 arrests across India, including elephant poachers, government officials, carvers and high-end ivory art dealers.
Also on this episode, Rohit Singh, Director of Wildlife Enforcement and Zero Poaching, WWF-Singapore , who has first-hand experience coordinating law enforcement activities in India, weighs in on the challenges behind wildlife crime law enforcement.
Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting ([email protected])
Voiced by: Audrey Siek
Photo credits: WWF-Singapore / Richie MehtaDrama sound effect credits: Richie Mehta / Amazon Prime
Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributorsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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The world is in an era of dire warnings from many scientists and increasing natural disasters, record-breaking temperatures and rising tides. Time is running out to solve the climate crisis, and catastrophe looms.
By now, you're probably used to seeing such headlines. But how can that doom-induced uncertainty be spiralled into meaningful change?
On this episode of Climate Connections, Hannah Jones, CEO, The Earthshot Prize shares her insights on why these messages must be used wisely and how a spark of optimism goes a long way in this fight against climate change. As they continue to support the scale-up of innovations with a potential to repair our planet, she also delves into what she and The Earthshot Prize has been up to as they prepare to hold this year's award ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa.
Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting ([email protected])
Voiced by: Audrey Siek
Photo credits: The Earthshot Prize
Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributorsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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One insect species you probably never knew you needed - dung beetles!
Dung beetles are found worldwide, on every continent except Antarctica. They live in habitats ranging from desert to forest and are classified into three basic groups: rollers, tunnelers, and dwellers. Those words describe how these beetles use the dung they find.
They may seem like unlikely environmental heroes, but these little creatures might just be a weapon in the battle against global warming and other biodiversity issues.
On this episode of Climate Connections, Eleanor Slade, Associate Professor, Asian School of the Environment, NTU, and Zann Teo, PHD Student from NTU, who is currently putting together a species checklist for dung beetles in Singapore, which are understudied to date, especially in the tropics - explain why dung beetles are so important to our wider ecosystem and what they are doing to chart a better future for these beetles.
Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting ([email protected])
Voiced by: Audrey Siek
Photo credits: Marx Yim, Tropical Ecology and Entomology Lab / NTU
Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors, Kamaboko Sachiko, NoruSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Lions are the apex predators of the African savanna, or what ecologists call - a keystone species.
They play the critical role of managing large herbivore populations of impalas, zebras, buffalos, and even elephants and giraffes. In a balanced ecosystem, the number of herbivores needs to be kept in check because if you have too many herbivores, vegetation will be overgrazed and habitats will inevitably degrade.
As an umbrella species, lions also help maintain a healthy and resilient herbivore population and regulate disease transmissions because they typically hunt and kill those that may be afflicted with parasites, disease or are feeble from a hereditary defect.
Without lions, disease spread is more likely across species, and vast savanna grassland ecosystems would disintegrate into dysfunctional, barren landscapes impacting all other species, including humans.
However, African lion populations are declining - due in large part to habitat loss due to development and human-wildlife conflict. With humans now living closer to predators like lions, having mitigation measures to reduce that conflict is growing in importance as these predators also pose a threat to the local communities and their livestock.
On this episode of Climate Connections, Dr Jess Isden, Coexistence Coordinator, WildCRU - who is working very closely with the local communities through the Trans-Kalahari Predator Programme - shares her insights on how effective human-lion conflict mitigation strategies in Botswana, Africa, can contribute to sustainable development.
Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting ([email protected])
Voiced by: Audrey Siek
Photo credits: Yeo Kai Ting
Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors, Hayashi Yu, MakootoSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Farmers in India are contending with the impact of climate change every day as their crops are often subject to weather conditions, which are evolving as climate change becomes more deeply entrenched.
Every year, about 30% of agricultural produce is wasted before it leaves the farms. And did you know this food waste contributes to greenhouse gases?
On this episode of Climate Connections, Nidhi Pant, Co-Founder of S4S Technologies, who has seen how deeply intertwined challenges of food waste, rural poverty and gender inequality are, shares the journey she embarked on together with five other university friends, to help smallholder female farmers preserve and market surplus produce.
Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting ([email protected])
Voiced by: Emaad Akhtar
Photo credits: The Earthshot Prize
Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors
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At the COP28 Summit, for the first time since nations began meeting some three decades ago, nearly 200 countries convened by the United Nations approved a milestone plan to ramp up renewable energy and transition away from coal, oil and gas.
With all eyes on the new deal - that is not legally binding and can’t, on its own, force any country to act - “transition finance” is shaping up to be one of this year’s most important topics in the climate space but how just is this transition?
On this episode of Climate Connections, Sharan Burrow, Former General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation and Global Board of Director, World Resources Institute shares her insights on why a just transition is so important and why people must be at the center of this green transition.
Sharan recently spoke at the 2024 Ecosperity Week spearheaded by Temasek.
Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting ([email protected])
Voiced by: Emaad Akhtar
Photo credits: The Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action
Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors
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Did you know that in just Singapore alone, an average person can eat nearly 390 eggs in a year?
Every stage of egg production contributes to greenhouse gases and other harmful emissions. Scientists from the University of Oviedo in Spain found that the carbon footprint of eggs is similar to that of other basic foods of animal origin, like milk.
So, is there a way to be more environmentally friendly with our eggs?
On this episode of Climate Connections, Vinita Choolani, Founder and CEO of Float Foods lets us in on why she embarked on that journey to create a plant-based egg that can hopefully substitute our love affair with chicken eggs, and where the business is at right now.
Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting ([email protected])
Voiced by: Audrey Siek
Photo credits: Float Foods
Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Climate change is caused by the rise in anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Such gases include carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, which are long-lived compounds that can remain in the atmosphere for several years.
But you might be wondering if climate change in turn impacts the quality of the air we breathe.
On this episode of Climate Connections, NTU Professor Stephan Schuster, Research Director of the Meta-o’mics & Microbiomes cluster at the Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering reviews the connection between air pollution and climate change, as well as the tell-tale signs that scientists look out for when measuring air quality.
Professor Schuster also reveals some potential solutions that actually already exist in Singapore!
Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting ([email protected])
Voiced by: Emaad Akhtar
Photo credits: NTU
Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors
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Calling out to plant parents, as well as those thinking of getting succulents to spruce up your homes!
Increasingly, many popular ornamental plants are plucked from their natural habitats instead of being grown in nurseries. The consequences of this go beyond our living rooms, impacting entire landscapes and the livelihoods of communities that depend on them.
The highest number of native succulent species - drought resistant plants which are slow growing, long lived, and occur in arid areas - are found in Africa. It might not occur to you that your plant purchase is fueling plant poaching - but since 2019, more than 600,000 illegally harvested succulents, representing 450 different species have been seized by authorities as they transit Southern Africa to overseas markets.
On this episode of Climate Connections, Dominique Prinsloo, Project Manager from TRAFFIC - who’s done quite a bit of research into the succulent plant poaching crisis - explains what's driving the trade and how you can differentiate between a wild harvested succulent versus a nursery-grown one.
Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting ([email protected])
Voiced by: Audrey Siek
Photo credits: TRAFFIC
Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors
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Have you been to Phillip Island Nature Parks in Australia?
It’s home to the largest little penguin population - better known as fairy penguins - globally. They’re the smallest penguin species in the world.
But today’s focus is on another seabird - short-tailed shearwaters that use Phillip Island as their breeding grounds! From this week, four-month old fledglings are starting their migration and the Phillip Island Nature Parks is calling for individuals and businesses on the island to switch off their lights at night.
Short-tailed shearwaters are mid-sized migratory birds that travel from the Southern to Northern Hemisphere each year, migrating from Australia towards Japan, then across to the Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea to the north of Alaska. They manage this massive 16,000km journey in under four weeks, all before returning to the shores of Phillip Island (Millowl).
Among the most vulnerable are seabirds, with shearwaters facing the greatest risk. In a series of studies by Phillip Island Nature Parks exploring the negative effect of artificial lights on shearwaters, light pollution is now at the forefront of negative factors disrupting the delicate balance of ecosystems.
On this episode of Climate Connections, Dr Duncan Sutherland, Senior Scientist, Phillip Island Nature Parks why the night lights are so detrimental to the short-tailed shearwaters during migration season, conservation efforts under the "Dark Sky So Shearwaters Fly" campaign and how you can do your part.
Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting ([email protected])
Voiced by: Audrey Siek
Photo/Sound credits: Phillip Island Nature Parks
Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors
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- Visa fler
