Environment

Building a greener home for future generations

A river within the Central Forest Spine (CFS), which is also a common route for elephant crossings.

Overview

From lush rainforests to clear waters, for our natural heritage to live on, we need to do our part to prevent further degradation. Through environmental education, active conservation programmes, and the promotion of greener policies, we aim to strengthen Malaysia’s ability to move towards a climate-resilient, low-carbon future. Beyond ensuring sustainability, we believe a greener environment will allow for the enhanced livelihood of our local communities, improving our national economy.

Our Priorities

Promoting green practices such as Payment for Ecosystem Services is one of the ways to support Malaysia’s green growth agenda in creating an innovative economic mechanism for the conservation of natural resources.
Mantanani, a small island mainly inhabited by the Bajau Laut people, is a popular holiday destination, but its delicate marine environment is under threat by unsustainable fishing practices and tourism.

Strengthening Capacity and Capability in Conservation

Our aim is to protect our nation’s rainforest, freshwater, and marine ecosystems, ensuring they can survive and thrive in the years to come. The Central Forest Spine (CFS), for example, is a biologically diverse region in Peninsular Malaysia, providing ecosystem services to 80% of the nation’s people, including water supply and carbon absorption. With efforts to stop further degradation, we work with several partners to build knowledge, advocacy, and engagement within communities. This includes the Tropical Rainforest Conservation & Research Centre in preserving our endangered tropical rainforest plants, and the Global Environment Centre in promoting protection, restoration, and sustainable use of our rivers.  To ensure successful conservation of our coral reefs, we support Reef Check Malaysia in engaging local communities to protect these underwater ecosystems through education and rehabilitation programmes.

In addition, beyond conserving natural resources, the Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) programme is an innovative economic mechanism for local communities to build a sustainable livelihood. In partnership with LEAP Spiral and Forever Sabah, villagers in the Babagon water catchment area were trained on water quality monitoring, ecotourism livelihood, as well as best practices for advocacy and engagement with government representatives. Equipped with these new skills, the communities are now working towards various collaborative efforts with Sabah government agencies to develop a PES mechanism for managing water services. The successful development of the PES programme will ensure a win-win situation, allowing for the protection of the Babagon water catchment, enhanced livelihood for the Babagon villagers, and a sustainable water supply for downstream users. Collectively, our efforts are to balance our nation’s rapid development with conservation of our natural ecosystems.

Changing behaviour is a long-term challenge and environmental education is one of the most powerful approaches in building environmental consciousness.

Building Environmental Consciousness

As with any long-term change, for environmental sustainability to be possible, we need to start with our next generation.

Understanding this, PINTAR Foundation, in collaboration with Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, developed the iG-Home Module Programme to cultivate students’ interest in environmental conservation through science and technology.

From learning about waste management and rainwater harvesting to experimenting with turning food waste and cow faeces into cooking gas, the programme fostered greater environmental awareness.

Students also have opportunities for hands-on experience in building environmental systems in schools and at home, encouraging them to switch to sustainable environmental practices.

The programme also extends to teachers from diverse disciplines, as they attend training workshops aimed at equipping them with the skills to more effectively guide students and oversee projects.

Our Environment Partners

Environment Stories

Sabah’s Hidden Gem

Far away from Kota Kinabalu across the ocean is an island blessed with sandy white beaches, surrounded by expansive blue waters glimmering all day. As

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