Emulate Finland's winning recipe

   by Professor Dato Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim,

LETTERS: The success story of Finland has been the talk of town for some time now. Many people are impressed with its approach to education and sustainable development. 

Has it got to do with its governance or attitude to development? The latest viral news is about its young cabinet ministers, who are mainly in their 30s, including the prime minister. And most of them are women. 

In Malaysia, we are still debating whether to allow 18 year olds to vote. Are we on the right path to empowering the young to stake their claim to designing the country's future? With the world shifting to technologycentred living, the minds of the young should be harnessed more. 

What I have found after surfing the World Wide Web is that Finland has a winning recipe for education. We can learn from the Finnish experience.

Although a small country, Finland is famous for its exemplary education system, which, at sixth position, is one of the best in the world. The reasons may surprise many. 

FIRST, children in Finland do not go to school until the age of 7. I remember this was also our practice in the 1960s and 1970s.

Many among us did not attend kindergarten because there was none then. This means that children had enough time to enjoy their childhood and spend time with their families before going to school. In Finland, you will not find a child crying at the time to start school. 

SECOND, there is neither standard examination in Finland nor competition between the children, thus there is no pressure. It is good that we have started phasing out some of our standard examinations. In Finland, they do not differentiate between students who excel in studies and those who do not. There are no separate classrooms to categorise students based on their academic performance. This practice is still prevalent in Malaysia. 

THIRD, there is a strong belief in equality in Finland. They care about the children and their happiness. A surprising fact is that each newborn gets gifts from the government. Yes, you heard it right.

In Finland, students are spared from doing homework. Instead, they are free to make their own choices. School hours also vary. A week of school time in Finland is not more than 20 hours. This means that children in Finland spend no more than four hours in school a day, including lunch break. It is important to provide children time to relax and learn things outside of school. The Finnish people follow this simple rule. 

Teachers in Finland must have a postgraduate degree, which means all of them are highly qualified. As teachers are a bridge between childhood and adult life, it is important to hire professionals who know their job. Teachers in Finland are highly respected and equal in professional status to doctors and lawyers. 

All the people understand the importance of education. All go to one type of school run by the government. Every Finnish student knows at least two foreign languages, with English, German, French, Spanish and Swedish being the popular ones. It shows that the Finnish people value the importance of communication.

Perhaps it is time to pilot the Finnish education system in Malaysia. It may not be easy since our system has been around for decades despite frequent complaints. 

There is no doubt that a strong political will is needed here. The longer we delay, the worse it will be.

Reform R&D Institutions or Face Innovation Paralysis

 by Professor Dato Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim,

Institutional reform is back on the government agenda. It is about time too. The earlier attempt by the PH government never saw the light of day. The idea never even left the paper. Despite forming a special committee for institutional reform, it never really took off. Many are hoping the new reform initiative will not meet the same fate. Many are now more confident since a bipartisan committee, comprising of both government and opposition lawmakers, has been formed to drive the change. The MOU has been signed, now waiting for the real actions. It is right that parliament starts the institutional reform process rolling before moving to other government institutions. We need to empower parliament more.

I see government R&D as one sector which is in dire need of reform. As we all know, R&D is a major driver of innovation. A poor governance of R&D can paralyse innovation. Sadly, the current system of governance is not yielding the optimal outcomes. There is too much duplication and wastages in the country’s R&D endeavours. Talents in R&D are also not fully harnessed because of the poor collaboration and sharing of expertise among institutions. No wonder, we keep hearing of low R&D commercialisation, laboratory facilities not optimally utilised, poor linkages among the key stakeholders especially between industry and academia and the low image of the R&D profession, which remains unattractive to the student population. At the rate things are going, we will never fully capture that rainbow of innovation that the nation aspires. We must remember that innovation drives a country’s competitiveness. Nevertheless it is still not too late to reform. There are many working models around the world  we can emulate. They all have that common element of strengthening linkages and enhancing collaboration among stakeholders in the wider innovation landscape. 

First, all public research institutions must be merged into one central governance entity. This will not only ensure better collaboration among the relevant institutions, but also reduce duplications thus saving the costs of research. In agriculture for example, there exist opportunities for MARDI, MRB and MPOB to share expertise. In manufacturing, there is a lot of synergy between SIRIM and MIMOS. Agriculture is also going digital nowadays. If we include the R&D centres of universities, the talent resource in agriculture and manufacturing is massive. By merging the institutions, the choice of research topics will be done more objectively by the central team, without favouring any particular institution. At the moment, there have been reports of reviewing panels favouring the institutions they come from. This practice not only distorts the allocation of R&D funding, but also deprive good R&D of support.

Second, by having in place a central management of the R&D centres, the linkage with other stakeholders, especially industry can be better organised and managed. The science park concept, which brings together the parties in innovation, should be strengthened. News that the Technology Park Malaysia is under quite massive restructuring is a positive sign. This presents the opportunity for the Park to further strengthen its role in motivating  linkages with industry and academia by providing easy access to their facilities including pilot plants and other commercialisation platforms. The government must make sure that the KPI for TPM is not profit, as has been the practice in the past. Instead, the main KPI should be about the number of R&D commercialisation projects realised through academia-industry collaboration, as well the rise of start-ups graduating into full fledged businesses.

Third, the merged R&D entity should invest in centralised laboratory facilities for all R&D talents to access. The centralised laboratory can include dedicated laboratories for IR4.0, digitalisation, biotechnology, energy, water and health. Looking at the country’s spread of R&D talents, there has been a massive rise in the number residing in private universities. Most are young talents, brimming with energy to embark on meaningful R&D. Unfortunately, research laboratories in private universities are not as well equipped as in the public universities. This is quite understandable since investment in laboratories is not cheap. This is where the government can build such central laboratories under the merged R&D entity and make the facilities available to the private universities at reasonable service charges. It would be a big waste if talents in the private universities are not maximally harnessed by the country. 

There is no time to waste reforming the nation’s R&D institutions, if we want to avoid the debilitating condition of innovation paralysis.                

Satellite Imagery for Improved Sustainability Survellance

  by Professor Dato Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim,

Sustainability is no longer alien to many. Messages on sustainability appear regularly in the world media. We have been warned of the threats to global well-being posed by our unsustainable lifestyle. Climate change is one threat that drives world commitment to sustainability. Among measures to drive sustainability are those encapsulated in the UN-SDGs. Many have become familiar with the 17 Goals of the SDGs. All countries have accepted the SDGs as guide for national commitments. At UCSI university, education in sustainable development, ESD, is now incorporated, as a matter of policy, in all the university courses. Most, if not all, countries around the world are actively implementing their policies on sustainability, taking into account their unique local situation.     

As in most policies, implementation has always been the biggest challenge. A robust implementation regime which includes an effective monitoring and reporting system is critical. It is only through such monitoring and evaluation that we get feedbacks to improve. Admittedly, the accurate measurement of the policy outcomes is important. We need reliable measures to effectively monitor the progress of the sustainability goals. Only then can we better decide on the necessary interventions to improve the outcomes. The traditional approaches to measure outcomes rely on household surveys, which are often conducted infrequently.  Those prove to be less accurate. 

The rapidly growing abundance and quality of satellite imagery has emerged as a better option to measure such outcomes. Arising from the multiple satellite sensors launched in recent years, we can now access timely information on changes happening on the Earth’s surface. There are many reports on the use of satellite imagery to measure and understand various outcomes related to sustainable development. The use of artificial intelligence, AI, to decipher the images is seen as the gamechanger. A particular attention is given to recent machine learning–based approaches. The performance of these approaches have already been tested in smallholder agriculture, economic livelihoods, population, and informal settlements. The satellite-based performance in predicting these outcomes is shown to be strong and improving.  

I recently moderated a panel discussion on the subject, hosted by CONFEXHUB and The Planet company. It became clear from the experiences  shared by the panellists that the use of the latest satellite imagery technology is still in its infancy here. But the potential is substantial as we struggle to effectively monitor our initiatives on sustainability. These include the monitoring of illegal logging, river basin pollution and environmental incursions. The largest constraint to satellite based model performance is however what is called the training data for the necessary machine learning algorithm. The scarcity and frequent unreliability of ground data make both training and validation of satellite-based models difficult. Expanding the quantity and quality of such data will quickly accelerate progress in this field. 

Nevertheless, despite the current and future promise of satellite-based approaches, these approaches will amplify rather than replace existing ground-based data collection efforts. Satellite imagery of the world is collected daily and can provide many useful insights into what is happening on the ground. The UN has estimated that approximately 20% of the SDG indicators can be interpreted and measured either through direct use of geospatial data itself or through integration with statistical data. In order to derive insights from satellite imagery, we must first process the imagery into a data product that is meaningful with respect to the problems that we want to solve. This is where AI is needed.

The data obtained is useful in downstream sustainability applications, such as planning riparian buffer repair projects. However, it is also extremely costly to create manually. There are efforts to advance machine learning techniques in order to derive useful insights from satellite imagery, with the goal of tackling pressing problems in the area of computational sustainability. Currently the imagery used by agencies like NADMA in the country is a few months old. So far, only government agencies use satellite imagery as part of their monitoring and early warning activities. The vast potential of satellite imagery in the plantation sector, for example, is yet to be fully realised. Not to mention the efficient survellance of illegal border crossing.   

A Five-Minute City in Denmark- Turning Smart City Dreams Into Reality

  by Professor Dato Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim,

Most cities are reinventing to be efficient and sustainable. The costs of managing cities continue rising, while city folks demand more value. Cities account for much of global problems. In the current pandemic, the major clusters are in the urban areas. As cities grow denser, complying with social distancing is a struggle. Wastes generated by cities have emerged as a big environmental concern. Unless well managed, the implications on water and air pollution are serious. Not to mention the potential to further raise carbon emission through fossil-based city transport.    

The smart city idea came about as a way out. The main idea is to use technology such as digitalisation and automation to deliver better services.  Three years ago, we launched our own smart city framework, under the Ministry of Housing and Local Government. A review of the implementation, comparing with smart city initiatives around the world, has just been published jointly by MIGHT and CONFEXHUB. The book has highlighted the gaps in the implementation and proposed how to deal with them.   

In the meantime, Denmark has reported success in one smart city project. They have transformed a former industrial area, close to Copenhagen, into what they call a “five-minute city”. It has been more than 10 years in the making, planning for completion by 2050. By then, it will have housing for 40,000 inhabitants and workspace for another 40,000. But in the past 18 months, it has taken the form of a city, albeit small, with enough completed buildings to house almost 5,000 residents and office workers across the former shipyard. The “five-minute city,” aims to enable residents to reach shops, institutions, workplaces, cultural facilities, and public transport within five minutes’ walk from any point in the 3.6-million-square-meter district. 

A metro line connects it to Copenhagen’s city centre in 20 minutes. It has attracted popular brands, creating the beginnings of a new tourism hotspot. There are other amenities including cinemas. In the coming years, the area’s decommissioned fabrication yard will be converted into a massive cultural space spanning nearly three square miles called the Tunnel Factory. It will have among others open-air performance spaces, a sculpture park, high-design playgrounds for kids, and a spate of “climate-conscious” restaurants, all focusing on construction styles that leverage upcycled materials.

But Nordhavn isn’t just an example of innovative and highly liveable urban planning. It’s also a model for urban greening, that rival any city in the world for their sustainability ambitions. They aim for the highest certification from the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB), the standard-setter in sustainability auditing. Since breaking ground in 2009, Nordhavn has been a showcase of cutting-edge green building. One was EnergyLab Nordhavn, a “smart city energy lab” where local companies, utility providers, and government entities have collaborated to engineer everything from energy-efficient heating pumps to electric transport infrastructure. Their 28-point report on the future of green living is now the backbone for the remaining Nordhavn projects, many of which feature architectural reuse rather than new constructions. 

Some of the innovations are simple. Others are high tech, such as a citywide “energy data warehouse” that collects real-time information about wind and solar production, weather, energy costs, and how all the area’s resources are being consumed at any given moment. That allows authorities to reduce districtwide usage and efficiently manage renewables. Nordhavn may not yet be complete, but its master plan puts it in rare company as a global standard-setter for sustainability. While most rating systems certify green buildings after they’ve been completed, DGNB can help shape projects while they’re still in early design phases, offering clear guidelines for stakeholders to follow from Day One. 

Already, Nordhavn’s initiatives are getting noticed. In October 2019, Nordhavn hosted the C40 summit on sustainable development, attended by mayors from 40 of the world’s largest cities. Their shared goal was to get a master class in sustainable urban planning and to identify long-term solutions to common problems such as traffic management and overdevelopment. We should learn from Nordhavn how we can turn some of our neglected city areas into such “five-minute city”. This fits in well with Kuala Lumpur’s low carbon ambitions. 

US Policy Shift, Positive News for Climate Change

  by Professor Dato Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim,

1985, a year spent at Cornell University under the Hubert Humphrey fellowship proved a big help in my career development. Under the fellowship, mid-career professionals from about 78 countries around the world, attended several universities there. It was an opportunity to network with not only fellows from the other countries, but also American academics. We also came to appreciate the power of international collaboration. At that time, the issue of climate change was still new. But discussions about deteriorations in the environment were already commonplace. That one year stay in the US left a deep impression in me about the strong commitment the US had on the environment. So, when in 2016 the US abruptly withdrew from the Paris Agreement, it took many by surprise.     

Not everyone is convinced about climate change, despite all the evidence. It may not be such a big issue if only the common man has doubts. But a world leader calling climate change a hoax is a different matter altogether, especially when the leader is the head of a powerful economy like the USA. This was what happened in the last four years. It was a relief to the world climate community when Joe Biden announced on his first day in office that the US is rejoining the 2015 Paris Agreement. Since then, there have been many positive developments on emission pledges not only by nations but also by big multinationals. 

One court decision which sent a strong message to the world came from a hearing in the Netherlands. A court in the Hague ordered Royal Dutch Shell to cut its global carbon emissions by 45% by the end of 2030 compared with 2019 levels, in a landmark case brought by Friends of the Earth and over 17,000 co-plaintiffs. Many saw the judgement as an unprecedented ruling that will have wide implications for the energy industry. Many agree the historic ruling will influence other oil giants to revisit their carbon emission planning. The US rejoining the climate club is timely.

The mood would certainly change for the better in the coming November climate meeting in Glasgow, Scotland. President Biden wasted no time to show the US means business when 40 global leaders were invited to participate in a virtual climate summit convened by the White House. Coinciding with Earth Day, the summit was part of a push by the United States to step up its commitment to addressing the climate crisis. It was also an effort to show that the President is eager to lead on an international stage after the prior administration dropped out of the Paris Agreement. 

Biden announced a new target for the United States to cut emission by 50% to 52% from 2005 levels by 2030, nearly doubling the cuts laid out in 2015.  Other leaders also announced plans to make deeper emission cuts. Canada wants to cut emissions by 40% to 45% by 2030, up from 30% by the same year. The United Kingdom announced a new 78% cut by 2035 compared to 1990 levels. Japan announced a new goal of reducing by 46% of 2013 levels by 2030, a change from a previous goal of 26% of 2013 levels by 2030. The European Union reached a new agreement to cut carbon emission by at least 55% below 1990 levels by 2030. The E.U. also wants to become the first "climate-neutral" continent, a goal which it aims to reach by 2050. Chinese President Xi Jinping confirmed his nation’s commitment to peak carbon emissions by 2030, as well as carbon neutrality by 2060. 

Taken together, all these pledges could go a significant way towards preventing global temperature rise.  However, the pathway has yet to be laid out in most cases. It’s likely every country will need to significantly cut the amount of fossil fuel used in their power and transportation sectors, as well as take steps to conserve key carbon sinks. Yet many of those pledging emissions cuts are still heavily involved in the production of fossil fuels, including China, Canada, and the United States. Notwithstanding, the US renewed commitment is welcome. 

Plastic pollution preventing us from tapping ocean wealth

 by Professor Dato Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim,

MALAYSIA is surrounded by seas, with the major ones being the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea. As a maritime nation, we have, thus far, only harvested fish and extracted petroleum resources from the ocean.

The truth is the seas offer many more potential treasures waiting to be tapped. However, we first need to craft the right policy to sustainably harness that wealth.

An article in the New Straits Times, written by academics from Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, made a strong case for the country to formalise a National Oceans Policy (NOP). 

The call was not new, as there were attempts to do so before. That said, there is no time to waste if we are to look to the seas as another source of economic wealth. 

The situation is made more urgent as some of our traditional drivers of wealth, including palm oil, rubber and petroleum, are reaching their limits. 

Therefore, we need an inclusive and sustainable framework to profit from the ocean.

What we have now is more of a sectoral approach, which is not healthy and has led to jurisdictional and legal disputes. 

We should refer to those earlier attempts to formulate the NOP in developing a new framework. 

The NOP should be guided by principles, including the right to develop equitably with inclusiveness, deploying an integrated and holistic ecosystem approach, and giving due respect to culture and indigenous heritage. 

Public participation in the design of the NOP is important.

The polluter-pay approach has been suggested as a precaution. There is no denying the need for international cooperation since many of the issues are transboundary. 

The NOP must be clear in its goals, which encompass conserving the ocean, opening economic opportunities and practising good ocean governance while promoting participatory, responsible, and sustainable development for islands and coasts. 

It has been proposed that the NOP should have the right strategic thrusts and key actions. 

These are productive ocean economy, healthy ocean environment, good talent for marine management, constructive ocean governance and using reliable ocean data in decision making. 

Experts have also suggested that the NOP re-examine laws aimed at protecting vulnerable resources and ecosystems from pollution.

Pollution, particularly that involving plastic, will be a major obstacle to the sustainable economic development of the seas. 

They negatively impact not only the marine ecosystem, but also our food chain through the ingestion of microplastics by fish. 

UCSI University recently hosted one such symposium where Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) member economies shared their approaches and experiences.

The symposium deliberations will form part of a white paper that will be tabled for consideration for Apec countries. From the discussions held online, it was clear that answers to the dilemma were hard to come by. 

Talks about alternatives, including bioplastics, did not appear practical, though many agreed that research on them should continue. 

Recycling remains the optimal option. However, changing human behaviour is critical if recycling plastic is to work. 

How can people be motivated to segregate plastics at the source? One idea that gained momentum at the symposium was for authorities, especially in urban areas, to create and manage a transparent market mechanism where plastics, especially single- use ones, can be bought and sold.

 There is now a black market for this trade, but the prices are exploitative. 

If we are to gain from ocean wealth, resolving plastic pollution must form part of the policy equation.

Melaka Can be a Technology Powerhouse

 by Professor Dato Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim,

Political parties are making promises again. This time it is in Melaka where a state election is taking place. Since GE14, Melaka has since witnessed two changes in the state leadership. The Pakatan Harapan government, which was the people’s choice after GE14, was dethroned following the exit of parties and politicians, who were earlier part of the coalition. But what led to the current state election was another move by four ADUNs, robbing the sitting government of a majority. That decision was not taken kindly by some considering the potential health and economic risks posed by the pandemic.

The rakyat of Melaka will now have to choose. All the three major political blocs, namely Barisan Nasional, Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional are contesting in all the 28 seats. A total of 22 independent candidates are also vying for seats. Some of them may be contesting under a common platform. The fact that there are so many independents joining the contest is seen as an indication that all is not well with the current breed of leaders. Political fatigue is seeping in, Melaka included. The rakyat is increasingly disturbed by the frequent party jumping by politicians, fueling the political instability in the country.

Political instability is unhealthy for the nation. Many socio-economic plans face implementation problems. The country has launched many sound blueprints to drive development. However, no thanks to the frequent change in the political leadership, many such plans have been stalled. Many in Melaka are praying for a more stable government to help the state recover from the economic disruption brought by the pandemic. The Melaka economy has been too dependent on tourism. It is unfortunate that tourism everywhere has taken the biggest hit during the health crisis.

There is no doubt that Melaka needs to diversify its economic base. Being too dependent on just one sector, tourism, is unwise. We have seen how tourism can be easily disrupted. This time it is the pandemic. Not long ago, the disruptive factor was drought when hotels ran out of water to operate. It is unfortunate that Melaka has not been looking at technology to power the economy. With its large reserve of sea water, desalination technology would have saved the day. As a coastal city, there are many potential benefits of Melaka going sustainable. But this cannot happen without the deployment of technology, especially digital technology. There is a way how Melaka can become a major technology player.

Melaka should first venture to create an efficient ecosystem for the development of the many advanced technologies that the world is busy investing in. The Technical University of Melaka should be given the job to function as the focal point of such an ecosystem. There are models in many countries where a technical university can perform such a role. Germany, for example, has many technical universities which function as the driver of new technologies which industry needs. To do this, the technical university should create under its wing applied research centers to act as the links with industry. While the university engages in the more fundamental research, the applied research centers will develop the technologies needed by industry. In Germany, the Fraunhofer network of applied research institutes acts as the bridge linking the technical university and industry.

There are many technologies that Melaka can consider championing. Advanced composite material is one. Thanks to the pressures created by sustainability and climate change, the world now demands materials which are light, strong, and resilient. One material which has generated world interest is the carbon fiber composite. Melaka already has businesses dealing with carbon fiber composites such as CTRM which makes airplane parts for AIRBUS, and Dian Creative which makes yachts from such material. Now scientists are experimenting with natural fibers to replace carbon. Melaka can also look at AI driven waste treatment technologies. In this era of computerization and cybersecurity, quantum technology has also stood out as one of promise. With the right sighting of the emerging technologies, using the Technical University of Melaka as anchor, there is no reason why Melaka cannot diversify its economy to be a technology powerhouse.        

Immigrant Labour, Boon or Bane for the Economy

by Professor Dato Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim,

Many countries depend on immigrant labour to support their economy.  Such dependence has become an issue in many countries. When Britain decided to exit the EU, one of the contentious issue concerned the rising deployment of foreign labour in the economy. Locals were not comfortable with the influx of foreign labour, mainly from Eastern Europe, taking up low paying jobs in the UK. Many of them worked in hotels, logistics and other jobs which the locals shied away from. But recently, after brexit, it was reported that the UK felt some impact from the absence of immigrant labour. First it was the issue of milk delivery to supermarkets. The milk delivery companies faced shortage of truck drivers. Later, a similar situation rocked the petrol supply chain. There were long queues at gas stations as a result of truck driver shortage. The two incidences clearly showed the important contribution of immigrant labour to the UK economy. We have yet to see the impact on the hotel industry which also employed many workers from Eastern Europe. During the pandemic, the hotel business was badly affected. Now that a recovery of the tourism industry is on the horizon, the shortage of workers may soon be felt.   

Here at home, the issues related to foreign labour have also been intensely debated. Many locals detest the presence of immigrant labour in their midst. They argue that their presence has deprived locals of jobs. Some have even taken over the small retail business in the country. In many wet markets, the locals have rented their licences to foreigners. There is no denying the fact that the proportion of foreign labour in Malaysia has been on the rise. According to the Human Resources Ministry, Malaysia currently hosts about 2.1 million documented foreign workers, which accounts for about 14% of the domestic labour force. If we were to take into account the ones undocumented, the number is much higher. The number may even exceed 3 million. But the issue here is that much of our economic activities depend on the low cost foreign labour. Both manufacturing, construction and the plantation business are dependent on immigrant labour. So much so that during the pandemic, because of the restrictions imposed on the import of foreign labour, many such businesses suffered. The palm oil industry alone lost billions in unharvested oil palm fruits because of insufficient workers. 

As reported recently, the country’s local workforce is definitely insufficient to support local industries despite the federal government’s ambitious plans to make the nation a fully high-income economy under the New Economic Model. Malaysia faces tremendous shortage of human capital. The presence of foreign labour can be a boon to the economy. A recent 2013 study by the World Bank on the impact of immigrant labour highlights the benefits they have brought to the economy as a whole. However, a careful scrutiny of the report suggests that the positive benefits from immigrant labour were felt largely from outside manufacturing. “In sectors like agriculture and mining, construction and non-domestic services, where unskilled immigrants clearly complemented better skilled native workers by doing tasks that the latter were reluctant to do, returns to both native labour and capital had increased”. Much of the benefits from the immigrant presence accrued to native groups with medium-levels of education and not to those with poor or no education. More importantly, the findings with respect to positive gains in manufacturing were more ambiguous

Though rare, there have been reports of abuses as well in the use of foreign labour. Poor living conditions provided for workers came to light recently as some countries banned the import of products tied to such cases. Many countries pay serious attention to the poor treatment of immigrant labouur. On the flip side, cases of immigrant labour running away from the work they were recruited for have also created problems for employers. It has become clear that it is impractical for countries to be fully rid of foreign labour. What is important is how the process of bringing in such workers is managed. It has to be a win-win formula.  

National Policy to Secure Ocean Wealth Must Address Plastics Pollution

  by Professor Dato Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim,

The country is surrounded by seas. Major ones include the Straits of Melaka and the South China Sea. As a maritime nation, we have thus far only harvested marine fish and extracted petroleum resources from the seas. The marine fishes are under threat from overfishing and pollution. Whilst the petroleum reserves are slowly depleting through constant drilling. The truth is the seas do offer many more potential treasures just waiting to be tapped. But we need to craft the right policy to sustainably harness such untapped wealth. A recent letter posted by academics from University Malaysia Terengganu, UMT, made a strong case for the country to formalise the implementation of a comprehensive National Oceans Policy, NOP.

The call is not entirely new. There were attempts before. But looking at the aggressive efforts taken by many similar maritime nations, there is no time to waste if we are to look to the seas as another source of economic wealth. The situation is made more urgent knowing that some of our traditional drivers of wealth including palm oil, rubber and petroleum are slowly reaching their limits. We must strategize to develop new ones. The strategy must be inclusive and sustainable. We need a workable framework to profit from the ocean. What we have now is more sectoral approach which is not healthy. It has led to jurisdictional and legal disputes. A coordinated effort is critical to strike a balance between a sustained economic development and the need to protect the environment.

We should refer to those earlier attempts to formulate NOP as we develop a new one. No doubt the NOP should be guided by principles including the right to develop equitably with inclusiveness, deploying an integrated and holistic ecosystem approach, and giving due respect to culture and indigenous heritage. Public participation in the design of the NOP is important. The polluter pay approach has been suggested as a precaution. There is no denying the need for international cooperation since much of the issues are transboundary.

The NOP must be clear on the goals, which encompass conserving the ocean environment, opening economic opportunities, practising good ocean governance, while promoting participatory, responsible, and sustainable development for islands and coasts. It has also been proposed that the NOP will have the right strategic thrusts and key actions. These are productive ocean economy, healthy ocean environment, good talent for marine management, constructive ocean governance, and using reliable ocean data in decision making. The experts have also suggested that the NOP should consider the existing law enforcement aimed to protect vulnerable resources and ecosystems from pollution.

Pollution will prove to be a major obstacle to the sustainable economic development of the seas. The signs are already there. Plastics pollution has been flagged as one which has raised much international concern. Their negative impact not only on the marine ecosystem but also on our food chain through the ingestion of microplastics by marine fish has led to active international dialogues seeking viable solutions. UCSI university recently anchored one such symposium where APEC economies shared their different approaches and experiences. The symposium deliberations would form part of a white paper which will be tabled for consideration of the countries in the APEC grouping.

It became clear from the discussions, held through the online platform, that the answers to the dilemma are hard to come by. Talk about alternatives including bioplastics does not appear practical, though many agreed that research should continue. Plastics recycling remains the optimal option. And changing human behaviour is critical if the idea of plastics recycling is to work. But how can the population be motivated to segregate the plastics at source? One idea which gained currency during the symposium was for the authorities, especially in the urban areas, to create and manage a transparent market mechanism where plastics, especially the single use ones, can be openly bought and sold at a regularly informed pricing. At present, there is a black market for such trade, but the prices are more exploitative than conducive. If we are to gain from the ocean wealth, resolving the pollution by plastics debris must form part of the policy equation.       

 

 

Water Research Needs Beefing Up

  by Professor Dato Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim,

Klang Valley folks face water disruption again. The water supply stoppage, which keeps recurring, is not a good sign for a nation aiming to in the developed nation league. Bad smell is again the reason for the stoppage. What is disturbing is that, why are we not investing in better treatment technology to automatically remove the smell and therefore minimise disruption? We know fully well that it is almost impossible to completely remove odour contamination from our water intake point. There are many unscruplous factory operators out there who lack the civic consciousness to not discharge untreated stuff into the river. Disregard for the environment is still rampant.       

We should be mindful that water resources throughout the world are under constant threat. The World Bank has reported that water scarcity, made worse by climate change, could cost some regions up to 6% of their GDP. It could spark conflict. The combined effects of growing populations, rising incomes, and expanding cities will see demand for water rising exponentially, while supply becomes more erratic and uncertain. Unless action is taken soon, water will become scarce in regions where it is currently abundant like ours, and scarcity will greatly worsen in regions where water is already in short supply. These affected regions could see their growth rates decline by as much as 6% of GDP by 2050 due to water-related impacts on agriculture, health, and incomes. We are still in the water rich regions of the world. But we already see signs of water supply disturbance because of pollution and the poor management of our river basins.

The report further warned that water insecurity could amplify the risk of conflict in the region. Food price spikes caused by droughts can inflame otherwise dormant conflicts. Where economic growth is impacted by rainfall, episodes of droughts and floods have generated waves of migration and spikes in violence within countries. The negative impacts of climate change on water could be neutralized with better policy decisions, with some regions standing to improve their growth rates by up to 6% with better water resource management. Improved water stewardship pays high economic dividends according to the report. When governments respond to water shortages by boosting efficiency and allocating even 25% of water to more highly valued uses, such as more efficient agricultural practices, losses would decline dramatically and, in some regions, losses may even vanish.

In the world’s extremely dry regions, the report said more far-reaching policies are needed to avoid inefficient water use. Stronger policies and reforms are needed to cope with deepening climate stresses. Policies and investments that can help lead countries to more water secure and climate-resilient economies include better planning for water resource allocation, adoption of incentives to increase water efficiency, and investments in infrastructure for more secure water supplies and availability. Effective water research is a prerequisite. These would include research on water treatment systems, wastewater management, water saving technologies in manufacturing and households, governance of water resources and development of new water sources including the marine water.

In order to gain from water research the ecosystem must be robust. The linkages between government, academia, applied research entities and the water industry must be strong. Such linkages are rather weak in the country at the moment. Much of the water research are done by the academia, especially in the universities. But most such research are driven for academic publication in journals. Few reach the commercial industry sector. Government policies are also lacking in inputs from the water business. Such unhealthy disconnect warrants change. The applied research on water conducted by NAHRIM, for example, should be industry driven. NAHRIM is a powerless government department. It should be more empowered to coordinate the nation’s water research programs. Water research at the universities must also be strongly linked to NAHRIM. The board of NAHRIM must have strong industry representation, so that research topics have industry relevance. More applied water research groups should be established in the nation’s water research alliance. Failure to create such ecosystem would not augur well in safeguarding the countrys water resources. We need to beef up our water research.    

Labour Challenges of Plantation Industry Worsening

  by Professor Dato Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim,

The government has just announced a cabinet reshuffle. The Ministry of Plantation and Commodities now has a new leader, as the industry continue to struggle with issues. Few envy YB Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin in her new portfolio. The plantation industry is saddled with multiple challenges. Notwithstanding, many view this as the opportune time for her to bring positive change to the industry. Many see institutional reform to address the many structural challenges facing the plantation business as one area of priority for her. As many are aware, the last few years have witnessed some chronic problems of the industry, which unless properly addressed, may worsen in the coming years.

It is not all doom though. Many in the palm oil industry, for example, welcome the recent jump in the palm oil price, which has exceeded RM4000 per ton. For a long time, the price was at very depressive levels, dipping for a period below RM2000 per ton. Thanks to the price jump, big plantation companies now report record rise in profits. The small farmers are also celebrating after years wollowing at the low price. But is the good fortune sustainable? The price jump, experts say, is all related to the movement in supply and demand of not just palm oil but all the 17 competing oils, especially the two big ones, palm oil and soyabean oil. Market watchers would always focus on those two, to make their investment decisions. The supply side is constantly monitored. On the demand side, China, India and the EU are the three major markets always under the radar, since they form the largest net importers of oils and fats.

According to analysts, the high price we are seeing is driven more by a supply shortfall rather than a balooning demand. Demand is very much suppressed by the pandemic. This is where the palm oil industry worries a lot. There are opportunity costs on the supply shortfall. As a result of acute labour shortage, experienced for years now, billions of ringgit have been lost because of the unharvested crop. The pandemic has made the situation worse since the movement of labour is severely restricted. The industry has long been dependent on cheap immigrant labour.

There is also another side to the labour issue. Some importers now pay more attention to labour in their import decisions. They constantly monitor how workers are treated and compensated. This is becoming more common now. Any report of poor labour standard including the use of child labour is used as excuse to deny imports. There have been reports of cargoes stopped because of the negative labour report. The labour shortage issue is not new though. It was first alerted years ago. It is not that we have become addicted to such cheap foreign labour, there is just no viable alternative. Efforts to mechanise oil palm harvesting have not met with much success, especially on the prohibitive costs.

Labour is also an issue in the rubber sector. Nowadays, rubber smallholders increasingly employ immigrant labour to tap. Different from palm oil, our rubber shortfall does not affect the market very much, because many other countries produce more rubber than us. From a leading producer, we have dropped to number 8 in the world on rubber production. The labour issue is more a concern in the downstream glove manufacturing, where the operation is also labour intensive. Attempts to automate have been slow. That explains why many glove companies have ventured overseas into Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam to continue their trade. Our supply of latex concentrate, the raw material for making gloves is also small. Most have to be imported.

Admittedly the palm oil business faces more issues than rubber. The sustainability conundrum continue to haunt the palm oil business. Meeting the many certification systems is not difficult. But clearing up import restrictions on account of sustainability remains problematic. The EU market is especially complicated. Now the sustainability issue is creeping into rubber growing as well. What is worrying is that both rubber and palm oil are significant contributors to the nation’s coffers. Palm oil consistently brings in about RM80 billion a year, while rubber generates about half of that. With all such threats to the two plantation businesses, the ministry will no doubt have a lot on its plate to resolve. The industry is looking to the new leadership for answers. There is need for more aggressive R&D in digitalisation and automation to resolve the labour issue.   

       

 

Science Matters for Humanity, Right Policy Critical

by Professor Dato Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim,

We have all seen how science has helped cushion the impact of the pandemic on

global health. The development of the vaccines in record time takes the top spot. We have to thank the science of biotechnology for the fast speed in developing vaccines, now shown to be the potential weapon to tame the pandemic. Science has also helped innovation in diagnostics for covid-19, improving the testing speed to quickly isolate infected cases. Internet science and IT, on the other hand, have been the science behind the contact tracing applications. In fact, without internet science, the world would struggle much more under the pandemic. The world economy would be much worse.

Education is one which has benefitted a lot from the internet. It would have been a disaster for education if the internet is not been around. The internet has made possible the delivery of lessons online. In fact, in higher education, lessons could even be delivered to international students. Through the ingenuity of digital science, there are now algorithms available that can almost mimic the physical contact experience of the normal classroom. Online conferences and webinars have also become commonplace. They are not only cheaper to conduct but can only reach out to a bigger audience, literally the world. Speakers can also present their papers without leaving their homes. Countries that had the foresight to invest in broadband now fare better than others.

Broadband has also proven to be a big help in online commerce. Now we do not have to leave home to enjoy our favorite cuisine. They are all easily available through online ordering and delivery. Not to mention the convenience to hail a ride to reach your destination. Science has made it all possible. The science may have been done decades ago. But now thanks to such investment, we are all tasting the fruits of the technologies which have sprung up from the fundamental science that was researched years ago. That is why we need to have the right balance between basic and applied research in science.

Some say the pandemic is only a pale shadow of the even bigger threat that is looming ahead. I am talking about climate change. Scientists predict that the repercussions on the world would be much worse once global temperatures exceed two degrees Centigrade. Population living in coastal cities and the low-lying islands of the world will become what people call climate refugees. Now the refugees of the world are created by conflicts and economic hardships. Displaced people from climate disasters will add to that number, making the problem even more complex for the world. Science is again seen as the solution to reduce global warming which fuels climate change. The sciences of energy, waste management, materials, and manufacturing hold some of the answers to resolve the climate issue. It is, therefore, no surprise that countries around the world are busy devoting resources to drive research on such sciences.

Like the pandemic, where no one country can single-handedly bring an end to the problem, the same applies to climate change. They both require global cooperation. We must also be reminded that science only provides the tools to combat the problems. In order to bring science to bear on the problems, we need the right policies to guide the effective implementation of the sciences. We need policies at both the international and local levels.

On climate change, the UNFCCC has been meeting on an annual basis to get agreements from nation-states on the policies to reduce GHG emissions. Everyone always cites the 2015 Paris Agreement, which managed to iron out much of the different stands by countries, as reference. The US which pulled out of the agreement in 2016 has now rejoined, a decision which many welcome. The next crucial meeting will be held in November in Glasgow. It is encouraging to hear of pledges by many countries to cut emissions. The acid test is of course in the implementation. But what has become clear is that, while science matters a lot to the world, the right policies are critical.

Glory Days of Oil Numbered- Dealing with Climate And Health Crisis

  by Professor Dato Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim, 

The oil business is going through a troubling phase. Climate change concerns are

mounting pressure on the industry to reduce GHG emissions. A recent ruling by a court in the Hague on SHELL has raised the urgency to diversify into renewables. Unlike the oil crisis of the 70s and 80s, the current crisis is different. It is not associated with a sudden price rise accompanying a sharp supply contraction. It is to do with a sharp drop in price because of a supply glut coupled with a somber demand. The earlier crisis proved troubling for the global economy. But the current low-price crisis also spells trouble for the oil business itself. This crisis is much to blame for the recent layoffs of petroleum engineers. Will such a scenario change in the future?

Few in the oil business can forget the two major oil crises of the past. The first occurred in 1973 when Arab members of OPEC decided to quadruple the price of oil to almost $12 a barrel, a high price at that time, by cutting production and restricting exports to some countries. A steep global recession followed. The other major oil crisis occurred in 1979, a result of the Iranian Revolution (1978–79), where social unrest severely damaged the Iranian oil industry. The situation worsened following the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War (1980–88), which further added to the level of instability throughout the region. Since then, the business moved to more efficient methods of production, and the problems of the 1970s had been transformed into a relative oversupply of oil rather than a shortage.

The oversupply coupled with a declining demand is behind the current crisis.

Demand is now a bigger concern, as pressures grow for the world economy to transition into renewables. 2020 has not been kind to the petroleum industry when oil prices fell to their lowest levels in decades. The prices increased to around $40 a barrel later, because of production cuts by OPEC Plus, and some increase in oil consumption. Nevertheless, lockdowns and restrictions on transportation and travel remained in place in most parts of the world, putting demand well below normal. Only two things can change the balance; a war in the oil-producing region or the spread of COVID-19 to oil fields, as happened during the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918, resulting in supply disruption.

The demand side is not looking good. The bulk of oil demand depends on transportation fuels demand. Huge levels of oversupply have put pressure on storage space. This came to light recently when there was a panicked sell-off of WTI contracts by traders with nowhere to store their goods, sending prices for the benchmark falling to almost minus $40 per barrel – the first time the commodity had ever fallen into negative pricing. The cuts in production by OPEC+ and the slight increases in fuel demand are relieving pressure on storage. The industry is fortunate to have petrochemicals, now an important driver, responsible for half of all growth in demand.

Global attention is increasingly focused on accelerating clean energy transitions to

mitigate climate change. The oil and gas industry, with its big emission footprint, is at the heart of the matter. Demand growth for gasoline and diesel between 2019 and 2025 is set to weaken as countries around the world implement policies to improve efficiency and cut carbon emissions, and as electric vehicles increase in popularity. The global oil industry now faces challenges. On the demand side, experts caution it may not return to the pre-pandemic levels. The world is increasingly turning towards the electric transport sector, reducing the global demand for petroleum. Technologies such as carbon capture and utilization, which will make the emission problems disappear, are some options the oil business is experimenting with. The questions of cost and techno-economic feasibility loom large here. It is quite unlikely that the oil price will reach the high levels of the past. Only lower-cost producers may still have a chance. But for high price producers, the future looks bleak. The glory days of the oil business are numbered.

Perform R&D Institutions or Face Innovation Paralysis

by Professor Dato Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim,

Institutional reform is back on the government agenda. It is about time too. The earlier attempts by the PH government never saw the light of day. The idea never even left the paper. Despite forming a special committee for institutional reform, it never really took off. Many are hoping the new reform initiative will not meet the same fate. Many are now more confident since a bipartisan committee, comprising of both government and opposition lawmakers, has been formed to drive the change. The MOU has been signed, now waiting for the real actions. It is right that parliament starts the institutional reform process rolling before moving to other government institutions. We need to empower parliament more.

I see government R&D as one sector which is in dire need of reform. As we all know, R&D is a major driver of innovation. Poor governance of R&D can paralyze innovation. Sadly, the current system of governance is not yielding the optimal outcomes. There is too much duplication and wastages in the country’s R&D endeavors. Talents in R&D are also not fully harnessed because of the poor collaboration and sharing of expertise among institutions. No wonder, we keep hearing of low R&D commercialization, laboratory facilities not optimally utilized, poor linkages among the key stakeholders especially between industry and academia, and the low image of the R&D profession, which remains unattractive to the student population. At the rate things are going, we will never fully capture that rainbow of innovation that the nation aspires. We must remember that innovation drives a country’s competitiveness. Nevertheless, it is still not too late to reform. There are many working models around the world we can emulate. They all have that common element of strengthening linkages and enhancing collaboration among stakeholders in the wider innovation landscape.

First, all public research institutions must be merged into one central governance entity. This will not only ensure better collaboration among the relevant institutions but also reduce duplications thus saving the costs of research. In agriculture for example, there exist opportunities for MARDI, MRB, and MPOB to share expertise. In manufacturing, there is a lot of synergy between SIRIM and MIMOS. Agriculture is also going digital nowadays. If we include the R&D centers of universities, the talent resource in agriculture and manufacturing is massive. By merging the institutions, the choice of research topics will be done more objectively by the central team, without favoring any particular institution. At the moment, there have been reports of reviewing panels favoring the institutions they come from. This practice not only distorts the allocation of R&D funding but also deprives good R&D of support.

Second, by having in place central management of the R&D centers, the linkage with other stakeholders, especially the industry can be better organized and managed. The science park concept, which brings together the parties in innovation, should be strengthened. News that Technology Park Malaysia is under quite a massive restructuring is a positive sign. This presents the opportunity for the Park to further strengthen its role in motivating linkages with industry and academia by providing easy access to their facilities including pilot plants and other commercialization platforms. The government must make sure that the KPI for TPM is not profit, as has been the practice in the past. Instead, the main KPI should be about the number of R&D commercialization projects realized through academia-industry collaboration, as well the rise of start-ups graduating into full-fledged businesses.

Third, the merged R&D entity should invest in centralized laboratory facilities for all R&D talents to access. The centralized laboratory can include dedicated laboratories for IR4.0, digitalization, biotechnology, energy, water, and health. Looking at the country’s spread of R&D talents, there has been a massive rise in the number residing in private universities. Most are young talents, brimming with energy to embark on meaningful R&D. Unfortunately, research laboratories in private universities are not as well equipped as in public universities. This is quite understandable since investment in laboratories is not cheap. This is where the government can build such central laboratories under the merged R&D entity and make the facilities available to the private universities at reasonable service charges. It would be a big waste if talents in private universities are not maximally harnessed by the country. There is no time to waste reforming the nation’s R&D institutions if we want to avoid the debilitating condition of innovation paralysis.

Carbon farming and palm oil

by Professor Dato Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim,

THE palm oil business can no longer ignore the call to embrace sustainability more thoroughly. As the consequences of the climate crisis grow, businesses worldwide are investing in climate mitigation measures.

Tree crops like the oil palm are viewed as a natural sequester of carbon (one of the greenhouse gases responsible for global warming and, thus, climate change), especially carbon dioxide which plants absorb for photosynthesis. However, within the crop ecosystem, the potential for carbon emission also exists. Rotting vegetation and crop residues within the oil palm plantation undergo microbial degradation, emitting greenhouse gases such as methane, which is 21 times more damaging than carbon dioxide. Carbon farming, which involves minimizing the release of such greenhouse gases, is proving to be agriculture’s way to be truly green. This has attracted the attention of the palm oil business as it struggles to achieve sustainability.

No wonder there is an increased interest in carbon farming among oil palm growers. However, farmers must be sufficiently motivated to make it work. The carbon credit market, which operates on the pollution offset principle, is one platform to consider. Farmers who engage in sustainable practices can earn tradable carbon credits. Farmers must show evidence to claim the carbon credit. The measurement of the sequestered carbon must be shown as proof. This is where a reliable technique, agreed by all parties, is necessary. Satellite imagery is increasingly used as a measurement technique to provide that evidence. The data obtained is deciphered using artificial intelligence to calculate the biomass and carbon sequestration value of the palms. It is also less labor- and time-intensive than field sampling.

Planet.com, an American Earth-imaging company, conducts daily imaging of the planet so its satellite data can supply more data points to increase the effectiveness of modeling. Planet.com has participated in such projects in Europe to develop and commercially launch a platform that facilitates large-scale zero-emission aspirations by measuring and monitoring the carbon sequestration of regenerative agriculture.

There is no reason why the palm oil business in Malaysia cannot do the same to generate data for sustainability project monitoring. The data can then be used to train machine-learning models on crop health, application of fertilizers, use of pesticides, water, and tillage to monitor the impact of regenerative agriculture management practices on carbon storage. Satellite imagery can be the game-changer as the palm oil sector strives to show its commitment to sustainability.

Rubber industry needs new investment, research to thwart 'apocalypse'

 by Professor Dato Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim,

I recently saw a video predicting a rubber "apocalypse". Though the focus was on natural rubber, synthetic rubber was not spared.

There was concern about a supply shortage looming in the West as the pandemic had disrupted the world's logistics and supply chain.

Shortages of containers to transport rubber have become common. Some industrial users in the United States have raised the red flag on inventory shortfall.

This is understandable since almost 90 percent of the world's natural rubber comes from the ASEAN nations, where Thailand is the leading producer.

Malaysia, once a leading producer, is now at No. 8, behind even Africa's Ivory Coast. The industry has been poorly supported.

There are many reasons why buyers of natural rubber in the West have raised the red flag on supply. Apart from logistics difficulties, production in producing countries has also suffered setbacks.

The low prices which ran for longer than usual are partly to blame. Rubber smallholders, which comprise almost 90 percent of producers, have shunned tapping rubber.

And those who have been dependent on immigrant labor face worker shortages because of the Movement Control Order during the pandemic.

Because of the persistently low prices, farmers cut costs on fertilizers and other agronomic inputs. This not only reduced yield but also created the right conditions for the onset of diseases. In the past two years, a serious leaf disease, Pestalotiopsis, has been spreading through rubber-growing countries.

The disease had a role in bringing down rubber yield. The three issues of price, labor, and disease are to blame for the supply dry up.

Buyers are understandably worried because natural rubber is indispensable in many consumer products. Tire makers are especially jittery because almost 70 percent of natural rubber ends up in tires. The bigger the tire, the more natural rubber it has. Aviation tires use 100 percent natural rubber. This also explains why tire manufacturers are strongly behind the move to ensure the sustainability of natural rubber.

It is not just about the environment, but about the continued supply of the raw material. Tire makers are under increasing pressure to meet the growing consumer demand for green tires. Synthetic rubber has its own sustainability problems as they are made from fossil sources, a no-go for consumers worried about climate change and global warming.

The fact is, with the growing demand for green and renewable tires, the future of natural rubber looks good. But natural rubber producers have not shown the enthusiasm to capitalize on the opportunity.

There is no doubt that natural rubber countries need to invest more in research. These include research in new products, less labor-intensive production, and more disease-resistant clones. It is unfortunate that there has been less emphasis on the right research.

Here in Malaysia, researchers at the Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) are busy with other work demands. One involves resolving the disputes over properties that the board owns.

The MRB has been blessed with a string of high-value assets in Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding areas, thanks to the foresight of leaders in the early days of the Rubber Research Institute of Malaysia.

Now that these assets have assumed very high value, there appears to be a scramble to control them from many sources. Now, friends at MRB are unsure whether the assets are a blessing or a curse. The focus on research, which is badly needed during this crucial period, has been sadly neglected.

Natural rubber farmers here have long cried for help. The supply concern in the West has motivated tire manufacturers to look for alternatives. Already, we have heard reports of a new plant, dandelion, showing some promise.

If this plant becomes a market reality, it would be a repeat of the time when the world discovered synthetic rubber through research driven by a natural rubber shortage during the war years. Unless remedial steps are taken soon, the natural rubber "apocalypse" will not just be a reality for buyers in the West, but also for poor rubber farmers here!

 

Managing Nature’s Biodiversity Assets - Critical in Five Year Plan

 by Professor Dato Dr Ahmad Ibrahim

The government has just launched the 12th Malaysia Plan. The initial response has been mixed. Some laud the Plan for its alignment to the SDGs. Others say the targets and assumptions are unrealistic. Many agree the success of the Plan would depend on the commitments of stakeholders. Most important of all, the key stakeholders, including the business, community, and civil society, must own up to the Plan. There must be good buy-in from all in the execution. As has been shown in most Plans, effective implementation is the greatest challenge.

All 5-year plans have one thing in common. How can the country’s assets be managed efficiently to deliver returns sustainably? How can we sweat out maximum value from our assets? Values include those accruing to the economy and society without depleting the asset’s core value. In this age, where sustainable development is a common agenda, some key assets including nature, people, talent, and the built-up physical infrastructures must be well managed. Increasingly, nature assets have emerged as one most critical. It has always been the upset in the natural assets such as water which have been most disruptive. Managing such assets requires close monitoring and supervision, to achieve efficiency. The usual monitoring is done by physically assessing the assets. This is often time consuming and less reliable.

Because of advances in imaging technology, nowadays monitoring can be done remotely and at reasonable cost. We are talking about using satellite technology to generate the image and deploying AI algorithms to decipher the image for decision making. That way, the assessment can be fast and reliable. Take the natural asset of biodiversity for example. It is one of our prized assets because it has implications on many resources that we depend on. Water is one resource which an economy and society cannot do without. As logging increasingly encroaches into sensitive water catchment areas, disruption to water supply has been showing a disturbing trend. There is no doubt that as the population grows, increased social and economic demands will create threats to the country’s land and marine biodiversity.

In response to these threats, the Government has created the National Policy on Biological Diversity 2016-2025 which addressed the country’s biodiversity goals and aligned the country’s commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is where effective monitoring is key. Many companies offer services on deploying earth observation data for effective monitoring. The largest is Planet which provides daily, global satellite data. With Planet as a partner, the Government can leverage high-resolution imagery to make strategic and bold progress towards achieving the goals identified in the National Policy on Biological Diversity and drive the country towards a healthier and diverse ecosystem.

The earth observation technology can also support other SDG agenda including smart cities, border surveillance and early warning on climate disasters. Such investments pay as we strive to deliver sustainability to the nation.