5 Aug 2017: Penang at the Climate Crossroads August 24, 2017 – Posted in: Newsletters

Areca Books is happy to invite you to the Penang at the Climate Crossroads forum, co-hosted by the Penang Institute, exploring Penang’s place in the climate change timeline and the transformation required at the local level for a sustainable future. In conjunction with this forum, the Penang launch of Memoirs of a Malaysian Eco-Activist by Gurmit Singh, published by Areca Books, will be officiated by Dato’ Dr Anwar Fazal, recipient of the Right Livelihood Award. Please indicate attendance by registering at Eventbrite.

Date: Sunday, 13 August ☀ Time: 15:00–17:00
Venue: Penang Institute, 10 Brown Road, 10350 George Town, Malaysia

While incidents of climate change-related disasters are reported from across the world, Malaysia, and specifically Penang, appear to remain relatively indifferent to the threats of global warming and rising sea levels. As a signatory to the Paris Agreement, Malaysia should be taking positive steps to cut down emissions and build climate change resilience.

THE PANELISTS

Gurmit Singh is the author of Memoirs of a Malaysian Eco-Activist. He is a pioneering Malaysian environmentalist and human rights activist. Hailing from Penang, he has spent most of his working life in Kuala Lumpur. He founded two NGOs – EPSM and CETDEM – and represented Malaysia at various international environmental for. He was conferred the Langkawi Environmental Award in 1993. He represented Malaysian and Southeast Asian NGOs in numerous international meetings on climate change in the 1990s.

Dr Kam Suan Pheng holds a doctorate from Cornell University, has been an academic with Universiti Sains Malaysia, as well as a scientist with the International Rice Research Institute Philippines and the WorldFish Centre. Her research interest is in integrative approaches for natural resources assessment, planning and management through the use of geospatial technologies. With her expertise in biology, soil science and biometrics, she has developed GIS applications for coastal resources evaluation and zoning, landuse planning, agro-ecological analysis, soil erosion modelling, delineating recommendation domains for target agricultural and aquaculture technologies and assessing impacts of climate change on food production with a spatial perspective.

Clare Westwood holds an MBA and has had extensive experience in the areas of food, agriculture, biosafety, food sovereignty, and climate change resilience, mainly through working with NGOs serving poor rural communities across Asia. Clare is currently the Head of the Creation Justice Commission of the Roman Catholic Church in the Diocese of Penang. She is also a writer and researcher for Third World Network, an international NGO.

MODERATOR

Evelyn Teh is a senior analyst at Penang Institute with a Masters in Environmental Management, with expertise in environmental impact assessment, natural resources sustainability and climate change impacts (coastal vulnerability). She has been awarded a Chevening Scholarship to pursue her second masters in Urban Studies.

Memoirs of a Malaysian Eco-Activist | 112 pages | 15.23cm x 15.3cm, Softcover | ISBN: 9789675719301 | 2017, Areca Books | RM30