Impacts of Oil Plam Planting in Malaysia - Biodiversity

Oil palm planting constitutes the major portion of the total agriculture activities in Malaysia. The growth of the oil palm market has directly caused more and more forests in Malaysia to be substituted by oil palm plantations. This is the point where the challenge arises. The tropical rain forests in Malaysia are arguably one of the oldest and richest in biodiversity in the world. The cost of the substitution is so high that it will lead to the chain reaction of bringing down the biodiversity and also the sustainability of the ecosystem. As a result, the extinction of rare species will take place and cause further negative impacts on biodiversity.

In the state of Sabah, the expansion of oil palm plantations has exploited the sanctuary of the highly endangered Bornean Orangutans. The problem has raised concerns from worldwide organization such as the United Nations Environment Program – World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and Friends of the Earth (FoE) about the conservation status of this species. They estimated that the orangutans will extinct in 12 years time if the expansion continues without being seized.

My blogging buddy : Serene

The Question that Matters

What are the environmental impacts caused by (large-scale) agricultural activities in Malaysia?

The Meaning of Life

What is the meaning of life? Yes. The MEANING. The answer can be just as short as a few words - the opposite of death. Otherwise, there will be thousands or millions or billions types of different responses to it. Virtually everyone has his/her own meaning of life, and perhaps that is the only reason why we live in this world.

I consider life as a process of learning. In fact, understanding the meaning of life is part of life itself. Since the day we reach this world, we have started to learn something that is new. We have learnt how to breathe, how to eat, walk, speak etc. and until today we are still learning new things to improve ourselves, and to improve our way of life.

A good way to learn and understand the meaning of life is do be good and positive in our lives. In spite of learning knowledges from schools and books (which we call it study), learning the way of life is more essential than just study. For example, a person who has knowledge can be someone who does no good deed. From the other way round, a person who does good deed is definitely a person who is learning and understanding the meaning of life, regardless of how much knowledge he/she has.

Challenges in life serve as tests that show us how well we have done. While going through the processes, we are actually gaining experience that money cannot buy. In the end, our experience will serve as our report card which we tend to share with each other, and I would say that those who have scored well are those who have a fruitful and meaningful life.

Well, this is what I can say about the meaning of life and I am still working to score well in this life. How about you?