New Straits Times 29 Aug 09;
AS one of 12 hot spots for biodiversity, Malaysia needs more people to take up taxonomy, or the science of naming plants and animals.
This message from the Malaysian Nature Society comes in the trail of global environmental problems linked to loss of biodiversity, climate change and population growth.
Its president, Tan Sri Dr Salleh Mohd Noor, said there were many species that were not named, although taxonomy as an area of study started more than 500 years ago.
"Until we name all the plants and animals that we have in Malaysia, we cannot study them in greater detail. It's a boring subject but it is important.
"For example, a forester must know about the different species (that exist) in the forest. Our rainforests are rich in biodiversity, but species are endangered because of human activities.
"Loss of biodiversity means a loss of ecosystem. This ecosystem is the home that we live in, so ultimately, it is the loss of life itself when we start to lose plants and animals."
Salleh said this at a talk entitled "Sharing the Environment: Global Problems, Local Solutions" as part of the Merdeka Award lecture series at Universiti Malaysia Sabah in Kota Kinabalu recently.
MNS received last year's Merdeka Award for the environment category for its work at the Belum-Temenggor forests in northern Perak.
Salleh said Malaysians must understand that environmental problems facing the world were real and that it was time to stop taking for granted resources like water and fossil fuels.
"We don't have a conscious effort to conserve energy, and we must stress on effective development to safeguard nature.
"The people must also understand why we need to recycle, reuse and reduce, and how to get rid of items like handphones and computers.
"Environmental problems are on a global scale but we must offer local solutions."
Salleh also touched on nuclear energy, saying that he was in favour of it if there were regulatory safeguards.
"I was against nuclear energy but I changed my mind because other resources like petrol are limited. yet.
"In the long run, we may have to turn to nuclear energy but we must put in place laws first as safety is important."
