Malaysian Journal of Tropical Geography (MJTG)

A CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE IMPACTS OF MALAYSIAN OIL PALM INTERESTS ON INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES IN EAST AND NORTH KALIMANTAN

Helena Varkkey — 2024-12-31

Resource peripheries are areas that are physically distant from national cores and difficult to access, often found along international borders. The provinces of East and North Kalimantan, situated within the Sulu Sulawesi Zone, share both land and maritime borders with Malaysia. Trade exchanges and commodities have been an important factor in the development of these provinces, which owe much of their recent economic development to land-use based sectors, particularly the agribusiness sector, fueled mainly by palm oil. This oil palm boom has made this region one of the largest economies in Indonesia, experiencing consistent growth over the recent decades. However, this has led to significant socio-economic and environmental challenges for the indigenous communities in East and North Kalimantan, raising concerns about sustainability and cultural preservation. This study aims to critically analyze the socio-economic and environmental effects of the palm oil boom and globalization on the indigenous communities of East and North Kalimantan. Using content analysis of primary and secondary sources consisting of publicly available documents, this critical review examines the effect of these new relationships on the indigenous communities here, as well as the impact of globalization and capitalism on these two peripheral provinces. It finds that cross-border investments by Malaysian plantation companies in these provinces have brought more negative than positive impacts upon the indigenous communities residing there.

ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF VERTEBRATE PEST-INDUCED ON-FARM MAIZE LOSSES ON YIELDS, INCOME, FOOD SECURITY AND FARMERS’ LIVELIHOOD IN IFELODUN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, KWARA STATE, NIGERIA

Olurotimi Joseph Aboyeji — 2024-12-31

In developing countries, pests’ damage to fields and stored crops substantially contributes to losses in farm yields and income. Studies have investigated the impact of insect pests on maize production, with inadequate attention on the impact of on-farm losses of maize from vertebrates. Consequently, this study examined types, stages, intensity, effects, and control of vertebrate pest-induced on-farm losses of maize as well as assess its effects on maize’s yields and income and its impact on food security and farmers’ livelihood in Ifelodun LGA, Kwara State, Nigeria. 500 Maize farmers were selected through convenient sampling from 14 randomly selected settlements in the study area. Responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics (percentages), while inferential statistics (ANOVA) was used to assess the degree of spatial variations and hypothesis testing; because of its suitability for analysis of differences among the means of more than two groups. The result shows that the majority; identified grass cutter as the vertebrate pest largely responsible for on-farm losses (38.6%), sustained on-farm losses at the fruiting stage (60.0%), described the intensity of on-farm losses as very high (58.4%), affirmed negative impact of on-farm losses from vertebrate pests on Maize’s yield and income (70.8%) and upheld the negative impact of On-farm losses of Maize from vertebrate pest on food security and farmers’ livelihood (75.4%). The result shows no significant variations in the perception of respondents on the negative impact of vertebrate pest-induced on-farm losses of maize on food security and farmers’ livelihood across the settlements (F (3,483) =0.755, P> 0.05). The study concluded and consequently recommended improvement in the control mechanisms of vertebrate pests to reduce on-farm losses to increase maize yields and income as well as improve farmer’s livelihood and food security.

LEBUH RAYA PANTAI BARAT, WCE: CORAK PEMBANGUNAN DAN PERKEMBANGAN AGROPOLITAN DI DAERAH SABAK BERNAM, SELANGOR

Nisfariza Mohd Noor — 2024-12-31

Lebuh raya merupakan antara faktor berlakunya proses penyerakan dan pembangunan sesuatu kawasan. Lebuh raya merupakan infrastruktur awam yang dibina bertujuan untuk menyuraikan masalah kesesakan, mengurangkan jarak perjalanan serta masa perjalanan serta struktur dan perkhidmatan yang lebih baik berbanding dengan jalan negeri atau jalan kampung. Pembinaan infrastruktur pengangkutan seperti jalan raya, lapangan terbang, pelabuhan dan laluan kereta api bertindak secara tidak langsung dalam menentukan kawasan tumpuan pembangunan. Infrastruktur pengangkutan ini berperanan sebagai pemangkin dan pemacu kepada peningkatan aktiviti ekonomi di samping meningkatkan keupayaan untuk menghidupkan kawasan berhampiran yang terlibat. Fenomena pertumbuhan ekonomi ini membawa kepada penyerakan bandar yang memberi kesan kepada guna tanah di kawasan sekitarnya kesan peningkatan aktiviti pembangunan kawasan ekonomi, kemudahan awam, penempatan dan industri yang dijalankan bagi memenuhi permintaan ekonomi dan sosial. Impak dari pembinaan lebuh raya dapat dilihat melalui masa perjalanan yang semakin singkat dan kos pengangkutan yang lebih menjimatkan. Kajian ini menggunakan pendekatan spatial bagi menganalisis kesan pembinaan lebuh raya WCE terhadap pembangunan yang dicadangkan di dalam Draf Rancangan Tempatan Daerah Sabak Bernam bagi tahun 2010-2025.

PEMETAAN GANGGUAN BEKALAN AIR BERSIH DI KAMPUS UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SABAH BERASASKAN GIS

Afiqah Hanan Muhamad Adnan — 2024-12-31

Kegawatan dalam bekalan air bersih terhadap sesuatu kawasan setempat boleh memberi kesan kepada manusia dalam pelbagai aspek. Oleh itu, kajian ini dijalankan dengan memfokuskan kepada pemetaan gangguan bekalan air bersih yang berlaku di kampus Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) menggunakan GIS. Kajian ini menggunakan kaedah kuantitatif dengan pengaplikasian ‘Geographic Information System (GIS)’ melalui teknik interpolasi ‘Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW)’ dalam perolehan dapatan kajian ini. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa gangguan bekalan air bersih di UMS boleh berlaku berpunca daripada beberapa faktor, antaranya ialah bekalan air terhenti (dengan nilai skor min paling tinggi), diikuti oleh tekanan air rendah, kecurian air, kerja penyelenggaran, catuan air, cuaca panas berpanjangan dan bekalan air tercemar. Secara keseluruhannya, ketersediaan bekalan air bersih di UMS pada masa ini memerlukan kerjasama daripada pelbagai pihak dalam usaha mengekalkan kualiti dan kuantiti air bersih di UMS. Sebagai contohnya, penggunaan air bersih secara jimat-cermat, kurangkan pembaziran air, dan kesedaran tentang kepentingan air bersih di UMS.