Transformation of mangrove forest intrinsic values from traditional to contemporary

The transformation from ethnobotany uses of mangrove forests (food, medicine, and utilities) to scientific studies of mangroves, like application of Phyto-technology is looking for prospective evolution. This chapter scrutinises the inherent value of mangrove forests from another perspective, especially ethnoscience, ethnobotany, phytotechnology, and ecological aspects. Apart from rendering ecological value, like coastal safeguard, mangrove forests facilitate administration of timber as well as non-timber yields, food, aesthetic and recreational approval. Furthermore, this research work highlights the perspectives of local publics to espouse and acclimate to their surroundings as a natural means in day-to-day life, which will signify the community, ethos, and belief along with environmental circumstance. For years, conventional knowledge of mangroves has been dissected. Mangroves comprise a unique ecosystem that acts as a boundary between land and the sea; hence, mangroves have immense potential as environmental monitors by indicating the levels of certain heavy elements polluting the mangrove environment. Critical properties for environmental indicators include plants located in the community, enough abundance, and sufficient dominance to affect the habitat adequately. This natural occurrence can also be utilised to evaluate the past or to forecast prospective status of the environment. Information about ecological factors can be beneficial tools to ascertain the quality of water and soil, kinds of toxins, the existence of specific metal or mineral as well as universal climate changes. A difficulty in formulating and implementing ecological metrics is identifying the most potent agents that help monitor the required ecosystem. Presently, we use plants to evaluate environmental situations and state in order to have warning signals or act as yardsticks for determining climate trends and variations in ecological aspects. The concurrent use of such indicators with landscape ecology is presently complex yet promising. Landscape ecological aspects emphasise mutual interactions between anthropogenic activity and spatial use. Considering this factor, tight integration with ecology is expected to improve landscape functioning, approaches and create an enhanced systematic understanding of the correlations between plants, humans, patterns, and metrics or indicators. Such applications have two-sided use because anthropogenic impact on the environmental might be changed due to landscape state monitoring or evaluation to determine structural characteristics, constituents, and functions of natural or artificial environments comprising community populations, landscape trends, disturbance phenomena, and other aspects

Mitigation of the micro- and nano plastic using phycoremediation technology

Asia is the largest global plastic consumer, with about 35% of the world’s plastic consumption. Considering that Malaysia is a part of Asia, it is evident that plastic use is extensive. Unfortunately, discarding plastic causes several environmental hazards and affects human wellbeing. The environmental authorities and the government have been organising campaigns that focus on propagating the reduce, recycling, and reuse concept among the Malaysian public. Nevertheless, after considering the extensive presence of microorganisms in the environment and their affinity towards degrading plastic, the use of such microorganisms and enzymes appears an efficacious approach. Environmental degradation of plastic typically happens through five processes: photodegradation, thermo-oxidative breakdown, hydrolytic degradation, mechanical degradation, and microbial degradation. Microbial degradation comprises plastic breakdown by microorganisms, which produce enzymes that can split long-chain polymers. Microbial enzymes are interesting since they are cost-effective and require minimal maintenance; at the same time, they are easy to manipulate. Rhizopus delemar, R. arrhizus, Pseudomonas sp., Penicillium funiculosum, and Aspergillus flavus are the five microbes that have been cited extensively regarding their ability to break down specific plastics. Moreover, fungal, bacterial, cyanobacteria, and actinomycetes capabilities for plastic degradation are among the environmentally friendly techniques that can help the environment. This chapter discussed how cyanobacteria could be used to break down plastics. The projected research outcome is the identification of potent microbial agents that can rapidly degrade plastics with minimal environmental impact

Urban green park landscape design model for monitoring, predicting and calculating carbon sequestration rate

The excessive reliance on fossil fuels and carbon production from daily appliances could cause a detrimental impact on the surrounding environment. This is due to the increase in carbon emissions which is one of the major contributors to the greenhouse effect. To alleviate the carbon footprint in the urban environment context, one of the promising methods to reduce carbon dioxide emission to the atmosphere is by selecting an appropriate plant species as well as optimization of the spatial organization of plant materials. Besides the character of the plant materials, criteria such as locality, age, diameter and height are very much influenced by the carbon sequestration rate. The Malaysian government pledged to achieve up to 40% voluntary reduction in carbon emission intensity. This research evaluates the abilities of vegetation and landscape plant setting as a vital component in adjusting the carbon sequestration according to species and the area. Carbon sequestration by vegetation and planting design is a great potential greenhouse gas mitigation measure. However, there is no specific landscape modeling design that can calculate the rate of carbon sequestration in our environment. Vegetation has a vital role in helping to sequestrate carbon emissions. The significance of this study is even with limited green space areas in urban areas, the carbon sequestration rate (CSR) can be further increased with the right selection of plants, at the right place with the right design. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a carbon sequestration design model system that can monitor, calculate and predict how much carbon can be absorbed by proposed plant species at a certain period. The anticipated outcomes of this study will be the green approach to monitor and sequester carbon toxicity using plant species as well as a novel landscape design approach model system to neutralize carbon emission which is cost-effective and environmentally friendly

Ethnobotanical study of traditional Malay midwifery practices: prenatal and postnatal care treatment

In Malaysia, a majority of the programs focus more on antenatal care for ensuring safe childbirth and delivery. For this purpose, the public health service programs have implemented many steps like health education, home visits, and health screening, as a component of postpartum care. The traditional Malay midwifery practices include 13 processes that were classified into 2 categories, i.e., prenatal and postnatal care treatment. The prenatal practices that were carried out by the traditional Malay midwives included prenatal confinement and swinging the tummy ceremony; while the postnatal practices included 11 processes that were further classified into 4 stages, i.e., using traditional herbs, heat, massage and abstinence, which were implemented after childbirth (i.e., postnatal) or a miscarriage. In this study, the researchers have attempted to identify and investigate the different Malay traditional prenatal and postnatal practices that were carried out by the traditional Malay midwives from the 11 Malaysian states of Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Kuala Lumpur, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Sarawak, Selangor and Terengganu. For this purpose, they conducted a qualitative study of 31 traditional Malay midwives from 11 Malaysian states. The data was obtained by observations and conducting face-to-face semi-structured interviews. The results highlighted the distribution of knowledge possessed by the Malaysian midwives, which was based on inheritance (72%), where knowledge was transferred from the previous generation to the current generation; from dreams (16%); or both inheritance and dreams (12%). It was further noted that a majority of the traditional Malay midwives used a traditional bath (97%); while many practised the body girdle step (90%); prenatal confinement and a point massage (84%); body massage (77%); swinging the tummy ceremony or lenggang perut (74%); body spread (61%); vaginal heat and use of herbal decoctions (58%); forehead treatment (55%); postnatal confinement (45%); herbal treatments (39%) and miscarriage (32%). The midwives believed that prenatal and postnatal treatment was essential for regaining and rejuvenating the emotional and physical state of the mother and stabilising her hormonal levels. Thus, the similarities and differences that were noted in the implementation of the prenatal and postnatal treatments in the 11 Malaysian states were attributed to their beliefs, culture, taboos and local environmen

Ethnobotanical study of the rituals and plant materials used in the traditional Malay midwifery practices during the ‘lenggang perut’ ceremony

‘Lenggang perut’ ceremony or ‘swinging the tummy’ is popularly practised during prenatal care and is generally held after the woman has completed 7 months of her pregnancy (particularly first pregnancy). However, there is a long list of tips and taboos that need to be practiced, based on the customs and beliefs of the people belonging to different Malay communities, and formulated according to their practices and experiences regarding good practice. Currently, millions of traditional Malays have started using plants as a primary source of their shelter, food, clothing, medicine and fuel. However, owing to rapid urbanization, the natural resources and related traditional beliefs are being eradicated. This has led to the worry that the huge volume of unrecorded folk information and knowledge would be lost indefinitely. In this study, the researchers have aimed to identify and investigate the ritual process of ‘lenggang perut’ and the different plant materials that are used by the traditional midwives during the swinging tummy ceremony conducted in the different states of Peninsular Malaysia. For this purpose, they conducted a qualitative study of 30 traditional Malay midwives, who were selected from Peninsular Malaysia. The data was obtained by observations and conducting face-to-face semi-structured interviews. The results of the study indicated that 23 of the interviewed traditional midwives practiced the ‘lenggang perut’ as a form of prenatal care treatment. They used 14 different types of plant materials for the ceremony, which included palm, trees, shrubs, herbaceous matter, zingiber, macrophytes, aroids and climbers. This study indicated the significant differences between the localities, rituals and processes implemented during the ‘lenggang perut’ ceremony and also highlighted the composition of various plant materials that were used by the traditional midwives in Peninsular Malaysia. Hence, these findings could be used as an effective tool for understanding the culture and environment of the local people and their efforts in preserving their cultural heritage, especially the Malay customs. The researchers also aimed to discover some novel bioactive compounds by carrying out an in-depth phytochemical and pharmacological study of the resources that were used