India is currently thought to have around 29,000 wild elephants, especially in the biodiverse Western Ghats region, including Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. It’s also the country home to more than half of the global population.

Although poaching, trafficking and trading of elephants and ivory in India is prohibited according to 1972’s Wildlife Protection Act, poaching has remained a constant threat.

Today, around 20-25 elephants are lost to poaching each year.

On this episode of Climate Connections, Emmy-award winning Canadian filmmaker Richie Mehta, who’s the director of Poacher - shares more about his dramatisation of the largest ever elephant poaching case in India.

The eight-episode series was based on the real-life events of Operation Shikar, a sprawling investigation that took place between 2015 and 2017 into elephant poaching in the southern state of Kerala, which led to 72 arrests across India, including elephant poachers, government officials, carvers and high-end ivory art dealers.

Also on this episode, Rohit Singh, Director of Wildlife Enforcement and Zero Poaching, WWF-Singapore , who has first-hand experience coordinating law enforcement activities in India, weighs in on the challenges behind wildlife crime law enforcement.

Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)
Voiced by: Audrey Siek
Photo credits: WWF-Singapore / Richie MehtaDrama sound effect credits: Richie Mehta / Amazon Prime
Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors

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The world is in an era of dire warnings from many scientists and increasing natural disasters, record-breaking temperatures and rising tides. Time is running out to solve the climate crisis, and catastrophe looms.

By now, you're probably used to seeing such headlines. But how can that doom-induced uncertainty be spiralled into meaningful change?

On this episode of Climate Connections, Hannah Jones, CEO, The Earthshot Prize shares her insights on why these messages must be used wisely and how a spark of optimism goes a long way in this fight against climate change. As they continue to support the scale-up of innovations with a potential to repair our planet, she also delves into what she and The Earthshot Prize has been up to as they prepare to hold this year's award ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa.

Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)
Voiced by: Audrey Siek
Photo credits: The Earthshot Prize
Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors

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One insect species you probably never knew you needed - dung beetles!

Dung beetles are found worldwide, on every continent except Antarctica. They live in habitats ranging from desert to forest and are classified into three basic groups: rollers, tunnelers, and dwellers. Those words describe how these beetles use the dung they find.

They may seem like unlikely environmental heroes, but these little creatures might just be a weapon in the battle against global warming and other biodiversity issues.

On this episode of Climate Connections, Eleanor Slade, Associate Professor, Asian School of the Environment, NTU, and Zann Teo, PHD Student from NTU, who is currently putting together a species checklist for dung beetles in Singapore, which are understudied to date, especially in the tropics - explain why dung beetles are so important to our wider ecosystem and what they are doing to chart a better future for these beetles.

Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)
Voiced by: Audrey Siek
Photo credits: Marx Yim, Tropical Ecology and Entomology Lab / NTU
Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors, Kamaboko Sachiko, Noru

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