2013

It’s the beginning of another new year, and with it brings fresh, new chapters in the lives of each and every one of us. For me, 2012 was a rollercoaster year of major ups and downs, and ups again. But be they good or bad, I can honestly say that I am forever grateful for all that has happened to me. I successfully completed the Masters programme with my fellow colleagues (and friends for life) at EOI in Madrid, returned to Malaysia and spent the Eid holidays with family in Kuala Lumpur, and moved to my new homecity, London, where I had been accepted to pursue my Ph.D studies at Imperial College. All that within the span of 6-8 months! Since then, I have absorbed a good amount of new knowledge, discovered new networks of friends and professional contacts, introduced myself to new areas of personal and academic interest, and feel that I have grown a bit as a result of getting that wonderful opportunity to spread my wings in a different part of the world.

Overall, it was an amazingly great year with many lessons learnt and memories cherished! :) 

The Big Ben and I

For 2013, I am looking forward to exploring in greater depths the areas of my Ph.D research and what I might further discover in the process. I also hope to achieve more in my life, and in more ways than one. There’s no telling what will happen, but that is part of life’s mysteries, which I think is what makes us appreciate it even more. My mother always told me when I was growing up that if life were smooth sailing, where would the thrill and excitement be? And what stories of adventure could we share with our future grandchildren if everything was achieved without much challenge?

Indeed, I am extremely happy to be where I am today, and I thank God, my family, and everyone in my life who has provided me with love, care, guidance, encouragement, and a shoulder to lean (and sometimes cry) on.

I wish everyone a very Happy New Year and may you all continue to pursue your passions and dreams until you find yourselves living them!

I now leave you with this poem from Rumi, one of my favourite poets, which I think is greatly aligned with my own thoughts and approach on life's lessons (both good and bad): 

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

- Rumi

  

Best wishes for 2013!

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Impact Conference 2012

On Tuesday evening, I attended the Impact Conference on Policy, Politics and Science, which was hosted by A Global Village. The event opened with a keynote address delivered by MP Adam Afriyie, who was Shadow Minister for Science and Innovation and is currently Chair of the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST). Mr. Afriyie’s speech revolved around the theme of science and policy, with an overview of its threats and opportunities. An interesting argument was made on the scientific approach to policymaking as Mr. Afriyie opined that it could ensure decisions are made by well-informed politicians who have been provided with information on the science behind a given issue, and thus prevent decision-makers from creating policies based solely on ideologies. He also touched on the existing innovation gap caused by the disconnect between research and its application and commercialisation, the importance of maintaining research funding, and how to make government data sets freely available for science, business and academic research. 

The event was then followed by multiple workshops on topics ranging from poverty, climate change, and global health, to innovative technology for development, cyber-security, leadership and conflict resolution in war-torn countries. 

I jumped at the opportunity of attending this event as it addressed international issues that are related to sustainable development, and the ways in which policymakers, scientists, and engineers could contribute in making a positive and effective impact on societies around the world. 

The discussions from the event addressed the importance of information, education, citizen participation, their influence in political decision-making as well their roles in social and environmental movements that we have seen in recent times. In addition, the event’s central theme, which emphasises on the collaboration between policymakers, scientists and engineers relates to the elements of good governance that indeed calls for the involvement of all actors that is essential in the concepts of democracy, human rights, and sustainability. I also found the idea of taking a scientific approach to policymaking as an interesting notion that could be further explored. 

All in all, the keynote address and the workshops were informative, interactive, and thought-provoking, and the conference certainly exposed participants to discussions on global issues from the political, scientific and technological dimensions. However, I would have also liked to see a business leader or representative present on the role of the private sector and social enterprises in policymaking, and how they could create that global impact in a way that brings sustainable benefits to the world.

Green Courts

I just read this news article from the New Straits Times on the launching of "green courts" in Malaysia and would like to share it with you. They were established to handle cases related to environmental issues and crimes. 

To me, this is exciting development as it shows progress in addressing environmental problems in the country, such as pollution, wildlife trafficking, and illegal logging, and to better enforce national environmental laws and regulations. It is also relevant to the topic of my research, so I'm really interested in seeing how these green courts will play out and the cases that will be tried. 

Congratulations! I look forward to following the developments of our newly established "green courts".  :)

The Global Race towards the Emerging Bioeconomy

The recent US presidential race and the re-election of Barack Obama to a second term brought a sigh of relief for many in the United States and around the world, especially after Mitt Romney’s disturbing jokes on Obama’s plans to “slow the rise of the oceans” and “heal the planet” that took place at the GOP Convention before Hurricane Sandy wreaked devastation in New York City. With Obama's return to the White House, activists are continuing to put pressure on him to openly address issues on climate change, clean energy, and other environmental concerns.

Meanwhile, I have been noticing the development of another hot topic, which is the bioeconomy. Back in April, the US published its National BioEconomy Blueprint which according to the White House, has two main purposes – “to lay out strategic objectives that will help realize the full potential of the U.S. bioeconomy and to highlight early achievements toward those objectives”.

In Brussels, the European Commission proposed its Bioeconomy Strategy – Innovating for Sustainable Growth: a Bioeconomy for Europe, which emphasizes the need for Europe to transition to a post-petroleum society. Its aim is to “pave the way to a more innovative, resource efficient and competitive society that reconciles food security with the sustainable use of renewable resources for industrial purposes, while ensuring environmental protection”.

In China, the country has placed bioeconomy as one of its key development priorities and in its 12th Five-Year Plan, biotechnology has been included as one of China’s seven strategic emerging industries.

And in Malaysia, we have what’s called the Bioeconomy Initiative Malaysia (BIM), which is expected to produce new ideas and methods of utilizing renewable energy under the support of the National Biotech Policy.

It seems that the world is all abuzz over this emerging engine of growth and countries are racing to become the global leader in biotechnology.

So what is the bioeconomy and why is it given so much attention these days?

According to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development’s (UNCSD) Rio +20 event on Bio-economy and Development, “the functioning of today’s economic system essentially depends on non-renewable resources, and cannot be therefore sustained forever, it cannot be eternal…”

There is a steady realization that the conventional model of unlimited growth cannot be sustainable because it does not take into account that the energy and natural resources we are currently dependent on are finite. Continuing to intensely exploit these resources could lead to what is described as “an alteration of the biological balances, up to ecologic and economic rejection".

Source: The European Bioeconomy in 2030:
Delivering Sustainable Growth byAddressing the Grand Societal Challenges

In this regard, the bioeconomy presents an alternative solution that could harness innovation, contribute to economic growth and most importantly produce beneficial outcomes for society and the environment. 

Also referred to as the “green economy” or “biotechonomy”, the bioeconomy has been defined and described in several different ways. The OECD stated:

“From a broad economic perspective, the bioeconomy refers to the set of economic activities relating to the invention, development, production and use of biological products and processes”. 

In the US, the emphasis on the bioeconomy is on “harnessing biological research innovations to meet national challenges in health, food, energy, and the environment”, whereas in the EU a bioeconomy “encompasses the production of renewable biological resources and the conversion of these resources and waste streams into value added products, such as food, feed, bio-based products and bioenergy”.

The UNCSD explains that “Bio-economy is an environmental and economic theory and practice by which you can proceed towards a new ecological and social development.” Thus, it is understood that the basic concept of the bioeconomy is to turn biomass into marketable goods and services such as biofuels, bioplastics, bioenergy, and so on. 

According to Dato’ Dr Mohd Nazlee Kamal, CEO of the Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation (BiotechCorp), the biotechnology industry contributes roughly 2.2% towards Malaysia’s GDP and about $5.4bn in investments for private and public spending. The Chairman of BiotechCorp, Dato’ Dr Zakri Abdul Hamid, explained “instead of an economy dependent on the planet's limited supply of non-renewable resources such as petroleum and coal, we could convert plant material, municipal and livestock waste and biomass into electricity, fuels, plastics and the basic components of chemical processes”.

Source: New Straits Times

However, there are also concerns that have been raised in the global debate. It has been argued that biomass will presumably be produced using the techniques of industrial agriculture, which may not necessarily be biofriendly, and would cause the destruction of biodiversity, erosion, pollution, deforestation, land-grabbing, and increased GHG emissions.

Skepticism were expressed by the Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration (ETC), in The New Biomassters - Synthetic Biology and The Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods, as it argues that “what’s behind the dash to biomass is not high ideals but the calculated interest of the corporate bottom line. Far from changing to a new economy, the biomass transition describes the retooling of the same old economy of production, consumption, capital accumulation, and exploitation – only now a new source of carbon is being plundered to keep the industrial machines going". 

The International Food Policy Research Institute (in their paper on Water and Food in the Bio-economy: Challenges and Opportunities for Development) also stated concerns with regard to the impact of the bioeconomy on water and land resources in relation to biofuel production, reporting that "the water requirement for energy derived from biomass is quite large—about 70 to 400 times greater than other energy carriers such as fossil fuels, wind and solar (Gerben-Leenes et al. 2008 as quoted in DeFraiture and Berndes 2009)". 

Hence, while it appears that the bioeconomy could contribute to major socio-economic developments, such as improving health outcomes, boosting the productivity of agriculture and industrial processes, and enhancing environmental sustainability, harnessing its potential will require coordinated policy action by governments, collaborative business models for knowledge-sharing, strategic investments in research, active citizen participation, and effective dialogue between all actors involved in the transition. Without proper regulation and implementation, the bioeconomy could bring future risks and further exacerbate social and environmental problems. 

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Keep Calm & Carry On

The past 2 months have been a total whirlwind for me as I encountered major changes in my life, which have been primarily linked to my academic pursuits. After going through all kinds of application processes, I am happy to announce that I am now pursuing a Ph.D at the Centre for Environmental Policy in Imperial College London! 

The Queen's Tower at Imperial College London

I will keep you updated on topics related to my research area on Environmental Governance, and will try my best to write on current sustainability issues whenever I am able to. In the meantime, I intend to make the most out of my study here in London. 

With the long and challenging road that now lies ahead of me, I look forward to experiencing the journey of a doctoral researcher and in the process of this endeavour, I do hope to gain some valuable insights and experience that may help me grow personally, academically, and professionally as well.

As the Rector mentioned in his welcoming speech during our first week at IC, in which he quoted Sir Gareth Roberts:

“The product that the PhD researcher creates is not the thesis – vital though that is to their subject area through the creation of original knowledge – no, the product of their study is the development of themselves.”

So here goes a new chapter in London...

Wish me luck! :)