Malaysia: Understanding environment terminology

OLIVIA MIWIL New Straits Times 17 Oct 17;

KOTA KINABALU: World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Malaysia has published a reference book which will enable the public to understand the environment in a layman’s terminology.

Its executive director and chief executive officer Datuk Dr Dionysius Sharma said the book was a direct outcome of WWF Malaysia’s 2015 Environmental Writing Workshop held in Kinabatangan for the media.

The book provides clear and concise definitions of conservation terms, besides introducing readers to the players in the conservation scene. It defines protected areas and forest reserve classes.

“A participant at the workshop had suggested that we create a list of environmental terms. People will only want to conserve something that they understand, and they can only understand what they know,” he said.

Dionysius, a former wildlife biologist, added that he had observed that scientists usually publish research in scientific journals, using technical terms that are not layman-friendly.

He said he hoped the book would make it easier for everyone to digest conservation issues and, in so doing, empower them to protect the environment.

The book is free for students, educators and media practitioners, while others can get it for a token donation of RM10.

It can be collected at WWF-Malaysia’s office at Centre Point Complex by contacting Brian Richard at brian.richard