Melaka’s first turtle sanctuary?

I REFER to “Melaka to review host of sea reclamation projects” (The Star Online, June 5) and would like to share my two sen about sea reclamation, coastal development and turtle conservation in Melaka.

The new Malaysian Cabinet consisting of 13 Federal ministers from Pakatan Harapan (PH) was sworn in barely a month ago. The absence of a natural resources and environment minister, however, stirred up a certain anxiety among the local environmental nongovernmental organisations (NGOs). Although environmental protection is not one of the top 10 priorities in the first 100 days of the PH government administration, Melaka Industry, Trade and Investment Committee chairman Mohd Rafiq Naizamohideen’s decision to scrutinise sea reclamation projects in Melaka for environmental and social impacts should be applauded. It shows that PH is earnest about its promise to balance economic growth with environmental protection, as stated specifically in Promise 39 of the PH manifesto.

I would like to point out that there are 10 prime hawksbill turtle ( pic) nesting sites in Melaka that contributes 400 to 450 nests annually: Pulau Upeh, Padang Kemunting, Balik Batu, Kem Terendak, Tanjung Bidara, Pasir Gembur, Teluk Belanga, Tanjung Serai, Tanjung Dahan and Meriam Patah.

Pulau Upeh once had the highest number of turtle landings and nests. Today, Pulau Upeh is a sad sight, merely a shadow of its old self due to an oversight in balancing economic growth with environmental protection. Due to Pulau Upeh’s close proximity to the Klebang land reclamation project site, rapid coastal erosion threatens the oncepristine beaches, robbing turtles of the warm sand in which to nest and lay eggs. World Wide Fund (WWF) Malaysia, which has been monitoring hawskbill turtles in Melaka for a decade, notes that fewer turtles have landed and nested on Pulau Upeh over the years. This is a stark example of an environmental disaster in our relentless pursuit of development without regard to environmental protection and sustainability.

In March, then chief minister of Melaka Datuk Seri Idris Haron announced a RM20mil project to redevelop Pulau Upeh into another top tourism spot in Melaka. According to him, Pulau Upeh, famous for turtle landing and nesting, should be able to attract about 51,000 tourists after the completion of the redevelopment project in 2019. Given the deteriorated Pulau Upeh coastal environment, however, the current Melaka govern ment should reconsider and review the redevelopment project. This is because restoration of the beach to its pristine condition or creation of manmade beach is likely to incur a heavy financial burden with no guarantee that turtles will return to nest at Pulau Upeh.

Also, I sincerely hope that the current Melaka government will take local stakeholders’ views about environmental protection and sustainability into serious consideration and incorporate practical measures to mitigate environmental and social impacts during the review of all the coastal development projects that involve any of the prime hawskbill turtle nesting sites in Melaka.

We might have lost Pulau Upeh but it is not too late to protect the other nine prime turtle nesting beaches in Melaka, especially Padang Kemunting and Kem Terendak.

Also, I would like to urge Melaka state exco of Housing, Local Government and Environment Tek Kok Kiew to take a step further. In November 2016, Tanjung Bidara assemblyman Datuk Md Rawi Mahmud announced a proposal to gazette an 800m stretch of Padang Kemunting beach as a turtle sanctuary. Although pale in comparison to the Sabah government’s gazetting of more than 800,000ha in the northern seas of Sabah as the Tun Mustapha Marine Park in May 2016, the Melaka proposal, if approved, would have given the state its first turtle sanctuary to provide nesting turtles better protection. Almost two years have since passed but no turtle sanctuary has come into existence. Now that PH has taken over the state, why not set to work immediately to gazette Padang Kemunting as the first turtle sanctuary in Melaka as a show of PH’s commitment to environmental protection and sustainability?

Not only will it be a significant stride towards a greener future for Melaka, but it might also convince the nation that environmental protection is one of the new government’s top priorities.

As a Melakan, I am glad that the current state government has decided to review all the sea reclamation projects and look into the environmental and social impacts of those projects. For a better future for the next generation, developing without regard to environmental protection and sustainability is not an option. I eagerly look forward to a greener Melaka and its first turtle sanctuary.