Exercise 1: Research_Fatin Afiqah Binti Abdullah 0139053

 

Global Environment Centre (GEC)

Introduction

Question 1: When was the Global Environment Centre established?

The Global Environment Centre (GEC) was established in 1988, and has been around for 27 years, founded and directed by Faizal Parish to work on environmental issues of global importance. GEC is a non-profit organisation that operates both regionally and internationally. GEC focuses on environmental issues of global importance with a strong focus on river basins, wetlands, biodiversity and climate change, where they formed a partnership with aligned goals organisations worldwide (Global Environment Centre, n.d).

 

Question 2: What are the mission of GEC?

The mission of GEC is to protect the environment and promote sustainable management of resources to meet the local, regional, national and global needs through partnerships with aligned goals organisations worldwide (Global Environment Centre, n.d).

 

Question 3: What are the vision of GEC?

The vision of GEC is to aim for a world where the environment is protected and natural resources are conserved where it is used sustainably for the better good of people and the planet through partnerships (Global Environment Centre, n.d).

 

Question 4: What makes GEC different from other environmental NGOs in the country?

GEC is different from other environmental NGOs in the country because GEC strives to build partnerships with other organisations worldwide. Furthermore, GEC works extend more than just Malaysia, they operate in 20 countries particularly in Southeast Asia and developing countries. Next, GEC emphasises on environmental education where they have incorporated civic science approach to raise awareness, gain knowledge, and skills towards environmental issues for nearly 3 decades now (Global Environment Centre, n.d).

 

Question 5: What are the main environmental issues that GEC focuses on?

The main environmental issues that GEC focuses on are:

·       River care for river rehabilitation and water conservation.

·       Forests and coastal areas which focus on sustainable management, rehabilitation and biodiversity protection.

·       Peatland for the sustainable management of peatlands, climate change reduction and haze prevention.

(Global Water Partnership, 2020).

 

Question 6: How does GEC fund its projects?

GEC funds its projects by donations where they actively encourage people to support their projects and the donations are tax-deductible. Other than that, GEC receives grants by the United Nations Development Programme to focus on the indigenous communities in peatland landscapes. Furthermore, GEC also receives grants from National River care fund for community led conservation activities and Zainudin Ismail community impact grant to honour the late Haji Zainudin Ismail the late chairman of GEC which aims to support medium and long term community based sustainable natural resources and environment management (Global Environment Centre, n.d).

 

Question 7: How can we know more and get in contact with GEC?

We can contact them via their email outreach@gec.org.my, phone number +60379572007, office address 2nd Floor, Wisma Hing, No.78 Jalan SS2/72 47300 Petaling Jaya Selangor and they’re on socials such as Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Instagram and YouTube (Global Environment Centre, n.d).

 

Global Environment Centre (GEC) evolution journey

Question 8: What were some of the earliest projects GEC worked on?

Some of the earliest projects GEC worked on were developing a guideline for wetland conservation into river basin management which was formally practiced by 140 countries in 1999. Next, GEC established the River Open Classroom at Bukit Kiara to educate people on the importance of waterways and how to protect rivers in 2004. Furthermore, GEC developed the RIVER Ranger Programme to educate Malaysians on all aspects of the freshwater ecosystem (Global Environment Centre, n.d).

 

Question 9: What major achievements mark GEC’s growth journey?

Major achievements mark GEC’s growth journey are when receiving the Role Model Award for Mangrove Planting (NGO Category) from the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources in 2020 and the Merdeka Award (Environment Category) from the Merdeka Award Trust in 2023 (Global Environment Centre, n.d).

 

Question 10: What kind of impact has GEC made on river management and peatland preservation in Malaysia?

GEC has made an impact on river management and peatland preservation in Malaysia through river clean up and rehabilitation of 27 river basins, planting over 400,00 mangrove trees on more than 130 hectares of degraded mangrove habitats in Malaysia and they partnered with the Selangor State government to protect and rehabilitate peat swamp forest (Merdeka Award, 2022).

 

Question 11: What’s GEC's plan for the future?

GEC’s plan for the future is to promote community-based natural resource management through sustainable livelihood models and adopt a planetary health approach where the health of human beings and natural ecosystems are recognised as co-dependent (Global Environment Centre, n.d).

 

Question 12: What are the latest programmes that GEC have organised?

Some of the latest programmes that GEC have organised are the Mangrove Forest Ranger (MFR) Programme, ASEAN Raja Musa Forest Reserve (RMFR) and River Care Programme (Global Environment Centre, n.d).

 

Global Environment Centre (GEC) core cause

Question 13: How does GEC’s work contribute to solving environmental issues?

GEC’s works contribute to solving environmental issues in Malaysia and globally by providing funds through the National River Care Fund (NRCF) to encourage society on river care and developing the Peatland Fire Prevention in the southeast Pahang Peatland Landscape (SEPPL) to reduce the happening of fire due to land opening (National River Care Fund, n.d).

 

Question 14: How does GEC support Sustainable Development Goals, SDG 13 Climate Action?

GEC supports Sustainable Development Goals, SDG 13 Climate Action by promoting mangrove restoration to raise awareness about the importance of mangrove forest and coastal ecosystems (Aramco Malaysia & Global Environment Centre, 2023).

 

Question 15: How does GEC promote Sustainable Development Goals, SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation?

GEC promote Sustainable Development Goals, SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation via the River Care Programme, where community-based activities such as river monitoring and cleaning up the river improve the quality of the water. GEC also engage in promoting responsibility to students and local communities on water resources such as the Sungai Penchala River Education Programme (Global Environment Centre, n.d)

 

Question 16: What impact has GEC made in achieving the SDGs over the years?

GEC has made an impact in achieving the SDGs over the years by making the water clean and sanitation accessible to Malaysians through the River Care Programme which is based on SDG 6 (Wiki Impact, 2022). Next, GEC has also restored the swamp forest in the Raja Muda Forest Reserve to reduce haze risk. Other than that, GEC also supports fire prevention and water level monitoring in protecting peatlands based on SDG 13.

 

Question 17: Which Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) does GEC focus on?

GEC focuses on SDG 6 for clean water and sanitation, SDG 13 for climate action, SDG 14 for life below water, SDG 15 for life on land and SDG 17 for partnerships for the goals (Global Environment, n.d).

 

 

Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats faced by GEC

Question 18: What are GEC’s strengths as an environmental NGO?

Some of GEC’s strengths as an environmental NGO are that GEC are able to operate through multiple programmes which showcase their expertise in the respective programmes. Next, GEC proves success on engaging with local communities to work together on the programmes. GEC also works with both regional and international organisations (Global Environment Centre, n.d).

 

Question 19: What are GEC’s weaknesses as an environmental NGO?

Some of GEC’s weaknesses as an environmental NGO are that GEC relies on funds and grants which could affect the planning of a programmes, lack of collective effort by governments, private sector and communities which would affect the progress of targeted programmes (Global Environment Centre, 2024).

Question 20: What threats could affect GEC’s mission?

Threats that could affect GEC’s mission are the exploitation of natural resources, pollution towards the environment and instability of political aspects in the countries where GEC is working. Although any pandemic such as COVID-19 may risk GEC’s missions, they believe that they are able to overcome and adapt to the situation (Global Environment Centre, n.d).

 

Question 21: What are future opportunities for GEC to expand its work?

Future opportunities for GEC to expand its work are building on its collaboration regionally and internationally to scale up its activities and strengthening the capacity in certain areas such as economics and investment by developing partnerships with relevant expertise organisations. GEC can also make better use of new financing opportunities to expand on other programmes and to promote existing activities (Global Environment Centre, n.d).

Individual Reflection

Through this research, I learned more about the importance of peatland, working together as a community to help the planet and ourselves better and clean water and sanitation. It also inspired me to think about how to contribute to the NGOs.

References:

Global Environment Centre. (2025, June 27). Gec. https://gec.org.my/

 

Global Environment Centre - 2022. (n.d.). The Award. https://www.merdekaaward.my/past-   recipients/for-the-awards/2022/global-environment-centre#:~:text=To%20help%20the%20environment%20and,of%20water%20

 

National River Care Fund - Small Grant programme in Malaysia. (n.d.). Nrcf. https://www.nationalrivercarefund.org.my/

 

Saudi Aramco. (2023, November 29). Saudi Aramco. https://malaysia.aramco.com/en/news-media/news/2023/aramco-malaysia-and-global-environment-centre-join-forces-to-empower-mangrove-conservation

 

Team, W. I. (2022, March 17). 6 Organisations making clean water and sanitation accessible to Malaysia’s vulnerable. Wiki Impact. https://www.wikiimpact.com/6-organisations-making-clean-water-and-sanitation-accessible-to-malaysias-vulnerable/

 

Water Project - about Global Environment Centre. (n.d.). https://www.waterproject.net.my/index.cfm?&menuid=9


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

  FIRST MEETING MINUTE (WIP 1) Group 2 Creative Studies project Date: 19 th June 2025 Time: 10am – 12pm Group Members 1.        0139028 Dihrran Chong Yun Siong 2.        0138684 Jolene Tan Zhe Yi 3.        0138450 Fedor Demenov 4.        0138594 Teoh Yu Chen 5.        0139166 Ivy Mae Elizabeth Roland 6.        0139004 Vernyss Chan Sze Wen 7.        0139053 Fatin Afiqah binti Abdullah 8.        0139291 Rihanna Maleeka Arriana Dharan Agenda    Creating blog website    Assigning Roles    Brainstorm research plan   Outcome: 1.        Roles Leader: Dihrran Secretary: Ivy Treasurer: Vernyss Visual and Factual Research Team: Dihrran, Fedor, Fati...
Read more

Exercise 1: Research_Jolene Tan 0138684

Q: What is the name of the NGO you have selected? A: The Pink Triangle Foundation.   Q: What is the Pink Triangle Foundation? A: The Pink Triangle Foundation (PT Foundation) is a community-based, voluntary non-profit organisation dedicated to helping prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and enhancing the lives of those living with the disease ( PT Foundation , 2012).   Q: What services does the foundation provide? A: Their services include telephone and face-to-face counselling, anonymous HIV and STI screening, outreach programmes, and support for key affected populations (“PT Foundation,” 2024). They also manage the CHCC, a community-based clinic that provides STI and HIV testing, treatment and prevention, and counselling, as well as general health screenings.   Q: Who leads the foundation? A: The founder and chairman of the foundation is Hisham Hussein, honorary secretary for the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC) for over two decades (Edwards, 2018), as well as...
Read more

Exercise 1: Research_VernyssChan 0139004

WWF MALAYSIA – World-Wide Fund Malaysia 1.       1.  What is WWF? WWF, or World Wide Fund for Nature, is a globally recognized organization that strives towards conservation, working to sustain the natural world for the benefit of both people and wildlife (WWF Malaysia, n.d.).   2.       2.  When and why was WWF Malaysia started? By 1972, WWF had since been branched to Malaysia due to its huge biodiversity of wildlife and environments. The growing demand for palm oil, which has resulted in widespread deforestation in Malaysia, is one example. WWF is currently working to make palm oil more sustainable (Ong, 2020).   3.       3.  Who was the first president of WWF Malaysia? Tan Sri Khir Johari became the very first president of WWF-Malaysia, and following suit was the organization’s first ever conservation project: the survey of Pulau Gaya, in which both WWF-Malaysia and Sabah parks had worked together o...
Read more