Profile

Background

Chemicals are being manufactured and produced to serve different purposes, these include the use of chemicals in pharmaceutical products, cosmetics, pesticides, and cleaning agents. While chemicals are enhancing our activities for a better quality of life, chemicals also pose risks that could harm human health and the environment. Hence, chemicals must be managed in an integrated and holistic manner at local, national, regional, and international levels.

While realizing the importance of chemicals management as well as support and technical inputs needed from the academic, the MyNICHE® (Malaysian Network for Integrated Management of Chemicals and Hazardous Substances for Environment and Development)  was initiated by Prof. Dr. Mazlin Bin Mokhtar in LESTARI and UKM, and it was officially established on 16 June 2005, in conjunction with the Round Table Dialogue of MyNICHE® (RTD-MyNICHE) that was jointly organized by Institute for Environment and Development (LESTARI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and the Environmental Management and Climate Change Division (formally known as Conservation and Environmental Management Division), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE).

The growth of the MyNICHE® as a network on the topic of chemical management and the constant need for research activities has led to the establishment of the Chemical Management Research Group (CMRG) within the structure of UKM. CMRG is indeed a unique research group that focuses on policy and management to establish an integrated and holistic chemicals management system. CMRG also adopted the multi- and inter- disciplinary research approaches and thus it is different when compared to conventional laboratory-based research. CMRG is currently in various research activities and has built strong collaborations with various entities from the public, private, academia, and NGOs in exploring and further empowering the structure of chemicals management in Malaysia.

Vision & Objectives

Vision:

Chemical Management Research Group become the centre of excellence in chemicals management in Malaysia and Southeast Asia

Objectives:

  • To conduct multi-, inter-, or trans- disciplinary research in the field of chemicals management
  • To provide expertise and technical inputs for stakeholders in the field of chemicals management.
  • To provide training and consultation services in the field of chemicals management.

 

MyNICHE® Logo

Logo MyNICHE

The design of the MyNICHE® logo is based on the Benzene structural formula, where Benzene is one of the well-known hazardous substances. There are six components in the context of MyNICHE®, i.e.

  • Policy and Institutional;
  • Transport, Movement & Storage;
  • Trade and Economy of Chemical and hazardous substances;
  • Chemical Risk Management;
  • Integrated Chemical Information System & Inventories; and
  • Cleaner Technology, Wastes Recovery and Remediation