No abstract

This study attempts to estimate the potential impacts of climate change on the rice production in Malaysia. The crop model ORYZA2000 was used to simulate rice yield of MR 219 variety in eight granary areas of Malaysia from 1999-2007. The model predicted a reduction in rice yield of 0.36 t ha-1 under the scenario of an increase in temperature by 2°C and at the current CO 2 level of 383 ppm. With the reduction in rice yield, the economic loss to the Malaysian rice industry was estimated at RM162.531 million per year. Under the scenario of increase of CO 2 concentration from 383 to 574 ppm and with 2°C rise in temperature, it can be predicted that there will also be a decline in rice yield by 0.69 t ha-1 and consequently the economic loss will be at RM299.145 million per year for the rice industry. With the above potential impacts, some adaptation and mitigation strategies to overcome the adverse effects of climate change on rice production were recommended.

At the present time, coastal changes are having a major impact in many regions of the world. Relative sea-level rise would significantly contribute to physical changes in coastal cities. Predicting the magnitude of coastal changes such as erosion and land loss is essential for a better understanding of the impacts on environment and coastal communities, as well as for management, planning and protection in coastal areas. An increase in the rate of sea-level rise and range of potential impacts, including flood and coastal erosion, will likely affect the wide East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia and would cause serious disturbance for sandy beaches, particularly in Kuala Terengganu. This study attempts to predict the future erosion in the coastal area of Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia. The shoreline erosion as a result of sea-level rise was predicted using the Bruun Rule. This is the best known model that provides a rate of shoreline erosion under sea-level rise for sandy beaches. The result of Bruun Model is analysed and presented in a Geographic Information System (GIS). Results indicate an upward trend in the future for erosion in this coastal area. The highest erosion rate is 3.20 m/year and the most sensitive zones are expected to be around Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) and left bank of Kuala Terengganu from 2015 to 2020. It also can provide the basic information that decision makers need when they are planning any new activity within the coastal area.

Land-use suitability is the ability of a given type of land to support a defined use. GIS is known as a powerful tool for handling spatial data in land-use analysis. Application of this tool alone cannot overcome the lack of consistency in opinions given by experts when trying to assign relative importance to each of the several criteria considered in a suitability analysis. The combination of GIS and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) is a powerful approach used to assess land suitability. To address this issue, the Analytical Hierarchy Process method is used in combination with the GIS tool. The aim of this study is to demonstrate how GIS tools and AHP model can be used for integrated coastal resource planning and management. Based on the information from final map/suitability map, we can define the best area. The findings indicate that the area 1 (2111 m) from class 3 is the most appropriate one because it has good facilities and wide open areas. This study indicates how the integrated tool is handled effectively in a land use suitability analysis for building hotels in the coastal areas of Terengganu in Malaysia. This research develops a framework for integrating GIS and AHP to incorporate the decision maker's preferences on a range of factors in finding land areas suitable for coastal development.

Sustainability has become an important concept in economic growth and development in the world. Malaysia, as a rapidly developing economy in Asia, has been able to achieve a positive economic growth; however, there is a big question: is it on a sustainable growth path? Due to weaknesses of traditional GDP in reflecting sustainability path, Green GDP as an indicator of sustainability could be implemented with adjustments in calculations. This paper aims to calculate the Green GDP for Malaysia. This measure will almost give policy makers a more arguable estimate for the area of environmental challenges. This paper highlights the role of natural resources depletion and environmental damages in sustainable development of the country. Green GDP is associated with some uncertainties such as lack of comprehensive calculations in estimating data and difficulties in setting the price of natural resources. These uncertainties and how Malaysia would be able to implement more accurate Green GDP in future were also discussed.