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Indoor environment is the less studied environ-ment in the context of its ecosystem services. But, in this unprecedented time of urbanization and Covid-19, people spend most of their times at indoor environment. This study conducted a systematic review of studies that aim: a) to provide a systematic review on ecosystem services provided by indoor environment towards livable human environment; b) to analyze the research gap; and c) to develop a framework of Livable Human Indoor Environment. The results show that indoor ecosystem services play a very significant roles towards human well-being especially in term of psychology, health and emotion. This review also identifies some limitations such as method used in the analyze papers was only focus on the review study, plus most the papers were from developed country (UK, USA, China, etc.). This study de-veloped a framework that can guide in policymaking, urban planning, and indoor built strategy, that can improve the livability of human indoor environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Palm oil cultivation since the 1990s has re-formed the soil and water properties to comply with cultivation to serve as an important commodity in Malaysia, which contributes significantly to the growth of the economy. Hence, the purpose of this study is to identify the status of peat soil fertility and its characteristics and to measure the water parameters and quality level at selected sampling sites at the district of Mukah, Sarawak. A total of twelve sampling sites were selected based on its suitability to gain the information needed. The highest soil pH value was (4.2 - SI) The maximum soil humidity is (90.1%-S2), and most of the soil texture is silt loam. The highest nutrient concentration in soil fertility is K (43.48 ppm - S8). The peat soil was infused with fertilizers to enhance the fertility rate of peat soil for the better growth of palm oil to make it more fertile and maximizing the yields. The presence of these heavy metal's elements is shown to be in the right amount of concentration that can comply with a considerate water quality that can avoid pollution and damage to the crops. In short, palm oil cultivation can make peat bogs become one of the functional soils, which can bring great benefits to building better agricultural development in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaysian government has introduceda commercial palm oil agriculture programme to enhance personal, family and at the same time increase national income. The programme aims to increase of smallholders not only with the economic growth of families and communities, but also promote the physical. The basic prerequisite about oil palm cultivation is good land for cultivation. Apart from access to farms which also pay an important role in facilitating farm management. The impact of the development will build more employment opportunities with good basic services, growth of various types of growth of various types of industry, housing, school facilities and other basic facilities. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to identify the challenges to improve the well-being of smallholder's palm oil communities in Malaysia. Discussions on the challenges to palm oil smallholders focus on land shortages, lack of access to credit and loans, lack of improved planting materials, lack of training and skills, lack of processing facilities, high fertilizer prices, technological expertise and soil fertility challenges. Meanwhile, discussions on community well-being focus on the economic, social and environmental aspects of smallholder palm oils. This discussion of challenges and well-being is also linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for future planning of the palm oil smallholder community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perbincangan berkaitan kearifan tempatan dalam kalangan akademia dan masyarakat awam telah lama diperkatakan memandangkan ianya mempunyai keunikannya tersendiri. Keunikan ini termasuklah kepelbagaian makna dan takrifan kearifan tempatan yang tidak lari dari konsep asasnya merangkumi elemen persekitaran fizikal, budaya dan tradisi serta warisan. Kearifan tempatan yang wujud dalam pelbagai situasi membentuk keupayaannya tersendiri mendepani persekitarannnya. Pengaruh kearifan tempatan turut wujud dalam aktiviti pertanian sara diri. Sehubungan itu, artikel ini membincangkan sorotan berkaitan kearifan tempatan, pengetahuan tersirat dan pertanian sara diri dalam komuniti Melayu. Bagi mencapai objektif dan tujuan tersebut, kajian ini mengaplikasikan sorotan kepustakaan melalui jurnal, buku dan log catatan di seminar dengan rujukan terhadap kearifan tempatan dan pertanian sara diri. Data dikumpulkan termasuklah berkaitan konsep asas, pengkelasan dan pengaruh kearifan tempatan dan pengetahuan tersirat serta kedinamikan pertanian sara diri dalam pelbagai ruang. Hasil dapatan menunjukkan pengaruh kearifan tempatan wujud dalam pertanian sara diri melalui alam persekitarannya. Diharapkan artikel ini dapat menyumbangkan ilmu berkaitan kearifan tempatan sekaligus membantu para pengkaji lain membuat perancangan dalam melestarikan dan meletakkan nilai kearifan tempatan di tempat seadilnya. Discussions relating to local wisdom amongst academia and public societies have long been featured because of its uniqueness. This uniqueness includes the diversity of meanings and definitions of local wisdom, which does not steer away from its basic concept that covers the elements of a physical environment, culture and tradition as well as heritage. Local wisdom that exists in various situations forms their ability in dealing with the environment. The influence of local wisdom is also evident in the subsistence agriculture activities. As such, this article discusses the reviews concerning local wisdom, implicit knowledge and subsistence agriculture in the Malay community. In order to achieve its objective and purpose, the study conducted a literature review concerning local wisdom and subsistence agriculture through journals, books and written logs of seminars. The data collected includes those related to the basic concept, classification and influence of local wisdom towards the dynamism of subsistence agriculture in various areas. The study findings indicated that the influence of local wisdom exists in subsistence agriculture through its environment. It is envisioned that this article will be able to impart knowledge regarding local wisdom as well as assisting other [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Palm oil has been recognized as large world trade of vegetable oil around the globe. The vast improvement of planting palm trees and the numbers of oil palm export shown that these agricultural has huge potential for the farmers. The Objective of this paper is to evaluate the wellbeing and quality of life among oil palm smallholders. Since this is a review paper, a secondary data through various past researches has been collected and the data were extracted, and thematic analysis was used to organize the data. There is no denying that oil palm smallholders have received many benefits through their participation in palm plantations. Their economic wellbeing concludes having enough enough salary and job opportunities whereas psychology wellbeing includes being diligence, enthusiasm, not giving up, confident and honesty in the work done. They are also willing to take a risk in their plantation activity. The ssocial wellbeing of smallholders is the provision of roads, bridges, community centers, health and education services and communication infrastructure. All these aspects of wellbeing will lead to the enhancement the quality of life among the smallholders. Although there are several type of researches that has been conducted on social benefits from oil plantation but the numbers of researches still not adequate. Therefore, more research on the wellbeing and quality of life of oil palm smallholders need to be conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecotourism ecosystem services can rarely been identified specifically in detail. Hence, little is known about interactions and relationship between ecotourism and its services. We have chosen South-East Asia (ASEAN) as our case studies because of its multi-diverse ecotourism ecosystem. We conducted a systematic review of studies that aim to understand the relationship and interaction between the ecotourism ecosystem and its services to summarize research from this emerging topic and to identify the patterns for ecotourism ecosystem services in ASEAN from different case studies. The results show that 7 out 10 ASEAN countries have studied on ecotourism ecosystem services. Most studies indicated the importance of the services provided by the ecotourism sector as cultural (aesthetic, scientific research and recreational) and supporting (habitat conservation). Our review also found some limitations of this study: first, no data gathered from 3 countries (Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam and Myanmar) and second, the study only focused on monetary methods (WTP etc.) and third, calls for more studies and comparative studies to identify services provided by ecotourism sector in ASEAN. Finally, we discuss how our review fits into the Pakse Declaration 2016 and policy development to address climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of science is the main aspect of the scientific literacy culture. However, the application of science within the urban poor community is not holistically practiced. The study investigates the relationship between scientific literacy and environmental management that focuses on sustainable community b40. It also seeks a significant connection between the level of interest, exposure on science, awareness towards environmental management and the practices to preserve it. This study has analyzed previous studies to explore the way to cultivate the scientific literacy and environmental management towards a sustainable urban poor community. With the world facing critical environmental problems, an interdisciplinary approach to teaching science and environmental issues may help the people to regulate their learning, foster curiosity, and stimulate their motivation to learn, all of which would influence their overall knowledge on science and environment as well. The B40 Community holds the majority number in The Income Classifications of Malaysia so it is vital to educate this community on this issue. The urban poor community has an awareness of the culture of scientific literacy and environmental management, but the practices of managing it in daily life is at a low stage. To ensure that the goals of sustainable development are achieved, the application of science is vital to be practiced by the community, especially the urban poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decreasing of firefly population is due to the alteration of habitats such as pollution, physical changes, and human activities that are voraciously destroying the environment. This study aims to determine the abundance of the firefly population, to measure the river water quality level and to analyse the relationship between the firefly population and the river water quality. Six sampling stations were set up along Cherating River. The photo visual method was used for the firefly sampling and was conducted on three different nights. The water sampling was conducted at two different times of day and night. A total of 243 individual fireflies were counted from each sampling station, with Pteroptyx bearni was the dominant species in the area. Based on Water Quality Index (WQI) and Interim National Water Quality Standards (INWQS), the water quality of Cherating River was in Class III (medium contaminated). The Pearson correlation result showed that there was a strong positive correlation between dissolved oxygen (DO) and the firefly population, but strongly negatively correlated with temperature, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and ammonia nitrogen. The parameters of pH, total suspended solid (TSS) and Escherichia coli did not show any correlation with firefly populations. Therefore, only temperature, DO, BOD, COD and ammonia nitrogen seem to influence the population abundance of fireflies in Cherating River. To agitate the abundance of firefly populations, organic pollutants should be removed from the water body to prevent DO from decreasing while increasing BOD, COD, and Ammonia-nitrogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The knowledge and awareness of the risks of pesticides use among farmers is crucial in obtaining relevant information to reduce the pesticide risks on the environment and human health. Evaluation of knowledge and awareness about the risks of pesticides use on the environment and human health have been carried out on 360 farmers in Penang using questionnaires through purposive sampling. The objectives of this study were to find out the level of knowledge about pesticide risks on the environment and health, the level of awareness of pesticide use and the relationship between sociodemographic factors and knowledge with awareness. Descriptive analysis showed that the level of awareness of pesticides use was moderate (score 2.35 ± 1.03) although their level of knowledge about pesticide risk on environment and health was high (3.63 ± 1.55). Awareness about prohibition and harmful pesticides was high (score 3.29 ± 2.38) while about the pesticide disposal containers was low (score 1.59 ± 2.34). This was driven by their moderate knowledge of the availability of pesticide residues in the environment (score 2.43 ± 2.50). In conclusion, government needs to emphasize on continuing education programs, management of training in safe pesticides handling and incentives should be given to the less educated and less experience farmers especially youth farmers while the reduction environment taxes should be given to the large scale cultivation farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inappropriate food handling is the main contributing factor often associated with the food borne diseases. Thousands of millions of people around the globe fall ill and many die as a result of eating unsafe foodThe status of food handling is closely related to the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices of food handlers. This study aimed to study the level of hygiene in the food premises; assessing the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices of food handlers regarding food safety and identifying the relationship between knowledge, attitudes and practices. This study was conducted in Tanjung Lumpur Kuantan, Pahang using questionnaire form. Respondents consist of a total of 61 food handlers from 61 licensed food premises with the Kuantan Municipal Council. The results showed that respondents had good knowledge of food safety. However, respondents lack of knowledge related to reheating of cooked food (74.3%) and the safe temperature of cooked food (72.5%). The results of the study also found that respondents had positive attitude about food safety. In terms of respondents' practices in food safety, was found that the respondents had good practice. The findings also show that there is no significant relationship between knowledge, attitudes and practices. However, there was a significant relationship between experience as food handler and respondents' knowledge (r = 0.253, p = 0.049). In summary, this study suggests that food workers in Tanjung Lumpur displayed good knowledge, a positive attitude and an excellent practice on food safety. Yet results showed that food handlers are still lacking in basic knowledge on food safety, particularly on reheating and safe temperature of cooked food. As a conclusion, This study can serve as a guide to the relevant authorities to develop a more effective strategy towards improving the hygiene aspect of their area in ensuring that food sold at the premises is not only clean but more importantly has no foodborne diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Malaysia, air pollution still measured using instrumental approach. Hence, this study used lichen as biological indicator to assess air pollution. Study has been conducted in four different locations which are Rumah Tumbuhan, UKM (Control station), Section 51 Industrial Area, Petaling Jaya, Spring Crest Industrial Area, Batu Caves and Nilai Industrial Area, Negeri Sembilan. This study used lichen Dirinaria sp.; an endemic species of tropical country; as the biological indicator. Heavy metal concentrations in lichen samples been analyzed using ICP-OES and number of motor vehicles were recorded for every sampling location. One way ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation used to test the relationship between heavy metals and sampling locations also relationship between heavy metals and motor vehicles. Result shows that heavy metals such as Cr, Fe, Cu, Ni, Zn and Pb have been recorded. One way ANOVA test shows there is significant relationship between heavy metals and sampling locations where F is 2.7728 and P value is 0.0001 (99% significant level). Pearson’s correlation also shows the relationships between all recorded heavy metals with number of motor vehicles where all the P value is < 0.05. This study found that lichen can be used as the alternative approach in determining the heavy metals content in the environment and it also cheaper and time saving rather than using instrumental approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban traffic noise pollution is inevitable for developing areas. Hence, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the level of traffic noise pollution in the rapidly developing urban area, Bandar Batu Pahat, Johor. The tools used to observe the data of traffic noise was RS-232 Integrating Sound Level Meter. Average noise value and number of vehicles were also recorded for all nine (9) sampling stations at Batu Pahat that was selected by convenient sampling method on weekdays and weekends, in the morning, noon, evening and night. The results showed that the highest average overall rating for the city center area on weekends was 74.0 dBA which is higher than the average of the working day which was 73.0 dBA. Overall, the average noise of traffic at this study location exceeded the standard set by the DOE which was more than 65 dBA. Therefore, legislation relating to sound and noise pollution should be enforced more strictly in addition to non-legislative measures. Meanwhile, the community should be aware of the dangers of this noise to humans in order to help in improving human's quality of life and a systematic environmental management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]