Democratizing Malaysian Forest Geospatial Data: Journalist and Harvard Nieman Fellow Yao Hua Law

In Malaysia, the federal government has pledged to keep forest and tree cover at 50% or more. However, the documents that describe forest reserve changes are kept behind paywall and largely unseen. As a result, the media and the public are unable to establish stable baselines, monitor changes, or know much beyond what the government chooses to show.

Yao Hua Law is a journalist from Malaysia who blends field reporting with data and maps to examine sustainable use of natural resources. He co-founded Macaranga Media in 2019, Malaysia's only environmental newsroom. His stories have exposed and stopped illegal deforestation and led to court trials on indigenous land-rights. He has received international and national awards for data journalism, investigative reporting, and narrative writing. Yao Hua is a Nieman Fellow 2026 at Harvard University.

Yao Hua's project fills the data gap and connects the public with primary documents on forest reserve changes. Leveraging AI-assisted coding, library GIS services, and lots of archival research, his tool tracks forest reserve changes in Peninsular Malaysia. This new website opens access to paywalled government documents, GIS data, and Harvard Map Collections materials. Join us in person April 3rd from 1:30-2:30 to hear about Yao Hua’s methodology and findings, and how working with Harvard Library made this research possible.