Carbon stock and sequestration potential of an agroforestry system in Sabah, Malaysia

Total aboveground carbon (TAC) and total soil carbon stock in the agroforestry system at the Balung River Plantation, Sabah, Malaysia were investigated to scientifically support the sustaining of natural forest for mitigating global warming via reducing carbon in the atmosphere. Agroforestry, monoculture, and natural tropical forests were investigated to calculate the carbon stock and sequestration based on three different combinations of oil palm and agarwood in agroforestry systems from 2014 to 2018. These combinations were oil palm (27 years) and agarwood (seven years), oil palm (20 years) and agarwood (seven years), and oil palm (17 years) and agarwood (five years). Monoculture oil palm (16 years), oil palm (six years), and natural tropical forest were set as the control. Three randomly selected plots for agroforestry and monoculture plantation were 0.25 ha (50 × 50 m), respectively, whereas for the natural tropical forest it was 0.09 ha (30 × 30 m). A nondestructive sampling method followed by the allometric equation determined the standing biomass. Organic and shrub layers collected in a square frame (1 × 1 m) were analyzed using the CHN628 series (LECO Corp., MI, USA) for carbon content. Soil bulk density of randomly selected points within the three different layers, that is, 0 to 5, 5 to 10, and 10 to 30 cm were used to determine the total ecosystem carbon (TEC) stock in each agroforestry system which was 79.13, 85.40, and 78.28 Mg C ha−1 , respectively. The TEC in the monoculture oil palm was 76.44 and 60.30 Mg C ha−1 , whereas natural tropical forest had the highest TEC of 287.29 Mg C ha−1 . The forest stand had the highest TEC capacity as compared with the agroforestry and monoculture systems. The impact of planting systems on the TEC showed a statistically significant difference at a 95% confidence interval for the various carbon pools among the agroforestry, monoculture, and natural tropical forests. Therefore, the forest must be sustained because of its higher capacity to store carbon in mitigating global warming

Persepsi masyarakat bandar mengenai vaksin Covid-19 di daerah Melaka Tengah, Malaysia

Penularan wabak Covid-19 yang semakin membimbangkan telah menyebabkan masyarakat mengalami panik dan kerisauan terhadap penyakit pandemik Covid-19 yang mula menular pada tahun 2020. Inisiatif yang dilakukan oleh pihak kerajaan dalam membendung gejala Covid-19 adalah dengan mengesyorkan vaksin Covid-19 seperti Pfizer, Sinovac, Astrazeneca dan lain-lain dalam mencegah demi kebaikan seluruh masyarakat. Pengambilan vaksin Covid-19 telah menimbulkan pelbagai keraguan dan persepsi negatif. Oleh itu, pengambilan vaksin Covid-19telah menjadi satu isu besar kepada masyarakat kini yang mana terdapat golongan yang tidak mahu menerima vaksin atau dikenali sebagai anti vaksin. Tujuan kajian ini dilakukan untuk menganalisis persepsi, dan penerimaan masyarakat bandar daerah Melaka Tengah di kawasan Duyung mengenai vaksin Covid-19. Kajian menggunakan kaedah kuantitatif untuk pengumpulan data. Kajian ini menggunakan pensampelan secara rawak bagi mendapatkan responden dengan lebih ramai. Soal selidik telah dijalankan kepada 100 orang responden dianalisis dan menggunakan perisian SPSS. Pengkaji akan memfokuskan kepada responden yang berumur 18 hingga 60 tahun bagi melihat perbezaan persepsi dengan lebih jelas mengikut faktor usia. Hasil kajian bagi ujian korelasi menunjukkan hampir semua hubungan antara faktor sosiodemografi dengan faktor persepsi memiliki korelasi negatif. Hubungan antara peringkat umur dengan persepsi masyarakat iaitu (r = -.119 P <0.01). Manakala, bagi hubungan penerimaan vaksin dengan faktor jantina iaitu (r=0.48 P<0.05) turut menunjukkan korelasi negatif. Persepsi yang wujud hanya sebuah tanggapan kosong kerana majoriti menerima vaksin dengan baik. Penerimaan vaksin Covid-19 juga adalah untuk keselamatan dan kesejahteraan hidup bersama bagi membendung wabak pandemik ini bagi kelestarian masyarakat. Oleh itu, diharapkan kajian ini dapat mencapai salah satu senarai dalam matlamat pembangunan lestari ataupun dikenali sebagai Sustainable Development Goals-2030 Agenda supaya dapat memberikan manfaat dan sedikit pencerahan terhadap vaksin Covid-19 kepada masyarakat

Achieving sustainable coastal environment in Langkawi, Malaysia

Despite many good policies and institutions, the coastal environment of Langkawi continues to deteriorate. This could be due to lack of effective governance as well as unregulated waste discharge. Evidences collected from the literature during 1996 to 2013 also revealed a significant increase in the concentrations of Zn (R2 = 0.78) and Pb (R2 = 0.12) in the sediment. This appears to be the result of large volume of terrestrial runoff that brings these metals originating from extensive anthropogenic activities. It is a vital indicator of coastal pollution. It is a matter of concern that in many cases Pb concentration in the sediment exceeded the world average value 20 µg/g as well as Canadian Interim Sediment Quality Standard of 35 µg/g for the coastal areas. Similarly, the metal pollution index (MPI) measured over a period of 2007 to 2009 in fish also indicated an increasing trend of pollution in Langkawi. The maximum MPI value (4.87) was recorded in Spanish mackerel. Since pollution of coastal environment has serious implications for marine biodiversity and health of seafood consumers, measures are required to address this problem. Use of constructed wetland might be effective in reducing the coastal pollution as this will filter the effluent and waste before their mixing with the coastal water. Furthermore, enabling the stakeholders to play the environmental stewardship role will ensure better governance of coastal ecosystem and effective implementation of policies, envisaging an improved monitoring of waste/effluent discharge into the coastal marine environment. These measures are among the actions necessary for achieving a sustainable coastal environment of Langkawi

Assessing Cadmium and Chromium Concentrations in Drinking Water to Predict Health Risk in Malaysia

Although toxic Cd (cadmium) and Cr (chromium) in the aquatic environment are mainly from natural sources, human activities have increased their concentrations. Several studies have reported higher concentrations of Cd and Cr in the aquatic environment of Malaysia; however, the association between metal ingestion via drinking water and human health risk has not been established. This study collected water samples from four stages of the drinking water supply chain at Langat River Basin, Malaysia in 2015 to analyze the samples by inductivity coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Mean concentrations of Cd and Cr and the time-series river data (2004&ndash;2014) of these metals were significantly within the safe limit of drinking water quality standard proposed by the Ministry of Health Malaysia and the World Health Organization. Hazard quotient (HQ) and lifetime cancer risk (LCR) values of Cd and Cr in 2015 and 2020 also indicate no significant human health risk of its ingestion via drinking water. Additionally, management of pollution sources in the Langat Basin from 2004 to 2015 decreased Cr concentration in 2020 on the basis of autoregression moving average. Although Cd and Cr concentrations were found to be within the safe limits at Langat Basin, high concentrations of these metals have been found in household tap water, especially due to the contamination in the water distribution pipeline. Therefore, a two-layer water filtration system should be introduced in the basin to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 agenda of a better and more sustainable future for all, especially via SDG 6 of supplying safe drinking water at the household level

Household Water Filtration Technology to Ensure Safe Drinking Water Supply in the Langat River Basin, Malaysia

Populations in the Langat River Basin, Malaysia, frequently experience water supply disruption due to the shutdown of water treatment plants (WTPs) mainly from the chemical pollution as well as point and non-point sources of pollution. Therefore, this study investigated the aluminium (Al), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), and lead (Pb) concentrations in the drinking water supply chain at the basin because of its prolonged persistence and toxic characteristics in the aquatic environment. Three replicates of water samples were collected from the river, outlets of WTPs, household tap and filtered water, respectively, in 2015, for analysis by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. Higher concentration of these metals was found in household tap water than in the treated water at the WTPs; however, the concentration of these metals at the four stages of the drinking water supply chain conformed to the drinking water quality standard set by the World Health Organization. The Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests also found that metal concentration removal significantly varied among the eight WTPs as well as the five types of household water filtration systems. With regards to the investigated household filtered water, the distilled filtration system was found to be more effective in removing metal concentration because of better management. Therefore, a two-layer water filtration system could be introduced in the Langat River Basin to obtain safe drinking water supply at the household level

Conservation of Culture Heritage Tourism: A Case Study in Langkawi Kubang Badak Remnant Charcoal Kilns

Remnants of old charcoal kilns found at Siam Village in Kubang Badak are about 100 years old, from approximately the same time as World War I. However, little research has been conducted into promoting the antiquity of remnant charcoal kilns as a representation of the historical inheritance of the Siamese community and their early settlement on Langkawi Island. This paper reveals the great potential of the abandoned charcoal kilns as a tourist site and shows the role of heritage conservation through reviewing the conditions. Following the methodology, firstly, charcoal kilns in Malaysia are investigated in term of their natural, cultural, and social history. Secondly, interviews were conducted to examine empirically the community life of that heritage area and the impacts of the charcoal kiln as tourist product. The segmentation of the narration into preservation means, sustainable activities, and historical knowledge is exemplified by extracting important data for taxonomic derivation of heritage conservation, economic, and community development. Finally, a set of guidelines including conservation approaches is proposed to support sustainable tourism development. The findings from the interviews conclude that the conservation of remnant charcoal kilns is vital for the long-term sustainability of cultural heritage tourism

Identification of Water Pollution Sources for Better Langat River Basin Management in Malaysia

The shutdown of drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) at the Langat River Basin, Malaysia, which provides drinking water to almost one-third population in the basin, is very frequent, especially due to chemical pollution in the river. This study explored the pollution sources in the Langat River based on eight specific water intake points of the respective DWTPs to suggest an integrated river basin management (IRBM). Analysis of Al (250.26 &plusmn; 189.24 &micro;g/L), As (1.65 &plusmn; 0.93 &micro;g/L), Cd (1.22 &plusmn; 0.88 &micro;g/L), Cr (0.47 &plusmn; 0.27 &micro;g/L), and Pb (9.99 &plusmn; 5.38 &micro;g/L) by ICP-MS following the Chelex&reg; 100 column resin ion exchange method found that the mean concentrations except Al were within the water quality standard of the Ministry of Health (MOH) as well as the Dept. of Environment (DOE) Malaysia. However, the determined water quality index based on physicochemical parameters (2005&ndash;2015) at the midstream of Langat River was Class III, which needs substantial treatment before drinking. The linear regression model of Al, As, Cd, and Pb suggests that water quality parameters are significantly influencing the increase or decrease in these metal concentrations. Moreover, the principal component analysis (PCA) and the hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) also support the regression models that the sources of pollution are both natural and man-made activities, and these pollution sources can be clustered into two categories, i.e., upstream (category 1) and mid to downstream (category 2) in the Langat River. The degraded water quality in the midstream compared to up and downstream of the river is mainly due to human activities apart from the natural weathering of minerals. Therefore, the implementation of policies should be effective at the local level for pollution management, especially via the proactive leadership roles of local government for this transboundary Langat River to benefit from IRBM

Health Risk of Polonium 210 Ingestion via Drinking Water: An Experience of Malaysia

The presence of toxic polonium-210 (Po-210) in the environment is due to the decay of primordial uranium-238. Meanwhile, several studies have reported elevated Po-210 radioactivity in the rivers around the world due to both natural and anthropogenic factors. However, the primary source of Po-210 in Langat River, Malaysia might be the natural weathering of granite rock along with mining, agriculture and industrial activities. Hence, this is the first study to determine the Po-210 activity in the drinking water supply chain in the Langat River Basin to simultaneously predict the human health risks of Po-210 ingestion. Therefore, water samples were collected in 2015&ndash;2016 from the four stages of the water supply chain to analyze by Alpha Spectrometry. Determined Po-210 activity, along with the influence of environmental parameters such as time-series rainfall, flood incidents and water flow data (2005&ndash;2015), was well within the maximum limit for drinking water quality standard proposed by the Ministry of Health Malaysia and World Health Organization. Moreover, the annual effective dose of Po-210 ingestion via drinking water supply chain indicates an acceptable carcinogenic risk for the populations in the Langat Basin at 95% confidence level; however, the estimated annual effective dose at the basin is higher than in many countries. Although several studies assume the carcinogenic risk of Po-210 ingestion to humans for a long time even at low activity, however, there is no significant causal study which links Po-210 ingestion via drinking water and cancer risk of the human. Since the conventional coagulation method is unable to remove Po-210 entirely from the treated water, introducing a two-layer water filtration system at the basin can be useful to achieve SDG target 6.1 of achieving safe drinking water supplies well before 2030, which might also be significant for other countries

Virtual Reality Usability and Accessibility for Cultural Heritage Practices: Challenges Mapping and Recommendations

In recent years, virtual reality (VR) is at its maturity level for real practical exercises amongst many fields of studies, especially in the virtual walkthrough exploration system of cultural heritage (CH). However, this study remains scattered and limited. This work presents a systematic review that maps out the usability and accessibility issues that are challenging in using VR in CH. We identified 45 challenges that are mapped into five problem groups: system design, development process, technology, assessment process and knowledge transfer. This mapping is then used to propose 58 recommendations to improve the usability and accessibility of VR in CH that are categorized in three different recommendation groups namely, discovery and planning, design and development, and finally the assessment factors. This analysis identified the persistence in certain accessibility and usability problems such as there is a limit in navigating the view and space that constraint the users’ free movement and the navigation control is not ideal with the keyboard arrow button. This work is important because it provides an overview of usability and accessibility based challenges that are faced in applying, developing, deploying and assessing VR in the usage of digitalizing CH and proposed a great number of constructive recommendations to guide future studies. The main contribution of this paper is the mapping of usability and accessibility challenges into categories and the development of recommendations based on the identified problems