“Undertake something that is difficult; it will do you good. Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow,”
– independent scholar, Ronald E Osborn.
DID you know that you are made of carbon? That was the first thing Dr Waseem Razzaq Khan asked me before we began our interview session.
I was puzzled by the question at first then a sense of panic and intimidation came over me.
It had to do with the realisation that I was about to interview one of the experts on carbon, it finally sank in.
I remember thinking to myself, “oh no, what have you got yourself into Sarah?”
Waseem is a senior lecturer in the Department of Forestry Science, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Bintulu campus.
His research interest revolves around blue carbon, mangrove ecology and REDD+.
REDD+ is an abbreviation for the reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, additional forest-related activities that protect the climate namely sustainable management of forests, the conservation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.
Since covering last year’s State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting when the Bills to amend the Forests Ordinance and Land Code were tabled, I have always been intrigued about carbon trading, carbon credit, carbon market as well as its mechanism and ecosystem.
However, I never had the courage to explore my curiosity until just recently when I was encouraged to pursue this subject matter by my supervisors.
With Sarawak set to commence its participation in carbon trading next year, I have been following developments on this closely and would grab the opportunity to cover Premier Datuk Abang Johari Tun Openg’s functions whenever I can in hopes he would touch on this matter in his speeches.
Honestly, this is a tough subject, but I was competing against time to get it completed for the Kenyalang Journalism Award submission.
Although I was a science stream student in high school, science subjects were not my thing.
As much as I found additional mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology fascinating, I was not blessed with the ability to excel in these subjects.
After the interview session with Waseem, I got in touch with Southridge Malaysia Sdn Bhd director Dr Jane Koh.
Koh is a sustainability scientist who holds a postgraduate degree from UPM on the political ecology of forestry carbon credit.
She also specialises in forest, mangrove, and peatland carbon credit project development as well as carbon offset and carbon pricing at the policy level.
Within a span of 72 hours, I had to rack my brain as well as the internet to search for additional information on the things that were divulged to me by Waseem and Koh.
I was burning the midnight oil to complete the published articles entitled ‘Striking gold in the carbon market’, ‘Sarawak eyeing slice of carbon trading pie’, and ‘Realising Sarawak’s carbon trading potential’ on top of attending to other daily duties and hitting the gym.
The special report was originally planned to be a three-part series. However, circumstances changed so I have written numerous supplementary articles and I still have two separate articles in the pipeline.
What started out as something that I was scared to undertake became a life-changing experience.
I have been receiving phone calls from representatives of organisations and agencies in Peninsular Malaysia who have read my articles.
One of the phone calls was from the Head of Sustainability at a giant timber company, she praised me for doing a great job in putting the words together to explain the mechanisms and technicalities behind carbon trading.
Apparently, articles to shed light on the subject matter in a way that the public can understand have been long overdue and yet to be eloquently reported until now.
A representative from a big corporation called my office to look for me and he extended a personal invitation for me to join the upcoming East Malaysia Palm & Lauric Oil Price Outlook Conference & Exhibition (POC 2023) in Kuching as well as to meet their Head of Carbon Market.
I am honestly still lost for words, in disbelief and feeling positively overwhelmed that my special report on carbon caught the attention of so many people.
In a way, I think it shows that everyone is watching Sarawak and they are definitely on the lookout to know more about what Abang Johari, and his Cabinet are going to do next.
Given the exposure that I obtained throughout my stint as a I journalist, seeing the progress in both Sarawak’s economic development as well as inroads in environmental sustainability approaches under Abang Johari as well the achievements, it is a definite source of pride.
I believe all Sarawakians should feel the same way.
