LISTENING FOR HEALTH: THE POTENTIAL OF SOUNDSCAPES TO INDICATE HEALTHY ECOSYSTEMS AND SUPPORT HUMAN WELL-BEING

When you enter a forest, one of the first things you might notice is the change in soundscape. Our sense of hearing connects us to the nature around us, as we use the information we hear to navigate, remember, imagine, and create. However, this information that was once freely available to us is rapidly disappearing. As one of the three major tropical ecosystems in the world, Southeast Asia is disproportionately vulnerable to massive changes in climate and biosphere but also possesses high potential for positive change. To address these challenges, there is a growing need to understand systemic processes that govern planetary health, for which soundscapes offer a unique perspective. Acoustic monitoring is an effective tool for biodiversity assessment, particularly for vocal taxonomic groups such as amphibians, birds, mammals and insects, which rely heavily on sound for communication and survival. Anthropogenic disturbance can influence the production and propagation of these sounds, making soundscape patterns valuable for understanding ecological integrity across various spatial and temporal scales. As cities continue to expand, noise pollution has negatively impacted both wildlife and people in the form of stress, anxiety, cardiovascular problems, and even impaired cognitive function. In this chapter, we will examine the interconnectedness of people’s health and wellbeing with soundscapes, highlight the developmental milestones of soundscape research in Malaysia, and lastly provide an outlook of future directions and recommendations to protect our national acoustic heritage. The main takeaway for the reader is this: More than being a voice for nature, we need to listen, only then can we learn how to live in harmony with the only planet that keeps us alive.