Sustainability for One Planet

Water pollution is a serious problem in Malaysia. It reduces total water availability considerably. Cost of treating polluted waters increases and some polluted waters are not treatable for human consumption. Urbanization within our river catchments gives rise to an increase in population and urban life activities.  Land development increases run-off  within  a  catchment,  which  in  turn  affects  the  water  quality  of  receiving  waters. Rainfall in urbanized areas washes down contaminants accumulated on land surfaces into storm water facilities.  The main point sources identified are household sullage, sewage treatment plant and industrial area. Besides these, there are other point sources polluting the river basin such as market, restaurant, workshop, resi-dential area, solid waste disposal sites, soil and sand sourcing, new development area, aquaculture, com-mercial lots, petrol station, livesto...

According to many UN agency reports and research findings, the evidence is compelling that achieving the Sustainable Development Goals for water and sanitation would trigger a major leap forward in human development: Water and sanitation are essential in achieving all the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) Investment in water supply yields an average economic return of $4.4 to $1 Investment in sanitation yields an average economic return of $9.1 to $1 Human Development is more closely linked to access to water and sanitation than other development drivers UNDP has examined, including spending on health or education, and access to energy services. Availability of water is certainly a concern for some countries. It is, first and foremost, a crisis of governance and thus governance reform must be a key pillar of any strategic approach to addressing the water availability crisis. Water challenges will increase significantly in the coming years.  Continuing population...

Farmer Field School (FFS)  is an approach based on people-centred learning. Participatory methods to create an environment conducive to learning: the participants can exchange knowledge and experience in a risk free setting. Practical field exercises using direct observation, discussion and decision making encourage learning-­by­-doing. The field is the space where local knowledge and outside scientific insights are tested, validated and integrated, in the context of local ecosystem and socio-economic settings. Community-based problem analysis is the entry point for a FFS group to develop a location specific curriculum. A growing range of technical topics are being addressed through FFS: soil, crop and water management, seeds multiplication and varietal testing, IPM, agropastoralism, aquaculture, agroforestry, nutrition, value chain, and link to markets, etc. FAO and other development organizations have been promoting FFS to address a broad range of problems and technical domain...