A tainted year for environment
THREATS: Forest degradation, illegal logging and river, odour pollution grab the spotlight
THIS year saw the environment being challenged, with river pollution and forest degradation taking the spotlight.
In April, river pollution marred the popular Batu Ferringhi beachfront in Penang with murky water.
The murky water that emitted a foul stench originated from Sungai Mas, which is the location of a hotel and hawker centre. It flowed through a 100m-stretch of the seaside.
Department of Environment director Norhayati Yahya was quoted as saying illegal structures situated along the river had been identified as the source of the pollution.
Also in April, water quality expert Dr Zaki Zainudin said Sungai Pahang was in danger of drying up.
Overzealous logging there, which has been going on for years, particularly in Hulu Tembeling, was one of the reasons the river was drying up.
The logging caused soil erosion that polluted the river and made it shallower. It also destroyed aquatic life and its habitat.
He said the unrestricted logging, agricultural activities and construction of dams were expected to cause serious damage to Sungai Pahang.
In October, the Sungai Langat and Cheras water treatment plants in Selangor were temporarily shut down because of odour pollution, suspected to have come from Sungai Semantan in Pahang. Both plants received raw water supply from the river.
Three factories operating along Sungai Semantan were identified as the possible source of the pollution, which forced the closure of the Semenyih Water Treatment Plant.
Following this, the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry and the Selangor government agreed to form a joint task force to tackle river pollution.
Its minister, Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, said the task force was needed following several cases of river pollution, such as Sungai Semenyih, which affected 1.6 million residents.
The task force comprised representatives of federal and state government agencies, including the Department of Environment, Selangor Water Management Authority, Pengurusan Aset Air Selangor and local authorities.
There was a series forest degradation and illegal logging cases, especially in Terengganu.
On March 17, a Forestry Department enforcement unit arrested three men, including two identified as sons of an illegal logging mastermind, and seized more than RM200,000 worth of equipment and timber logged illegally in the Durian Mas forest reserve in Dungun.
On March 29, illegal loggers in Rasau tried to sell timber to sawmills, to reap as much profit as possible, before an enforcement unit of the Forestry Department arrested them.
Their haste was detected by the department’s informers following a raid on a licensed sawmill, which processed logs logged illegally from the Rasau forest reserve.
Logging in Terengganu was monitored by certified integrity officers of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to ensure standard operating procedures were adhered to and corruption prevented.
The move involved the stationing
of officers at the state Forestry Department to identify weaknesses and plug leakages in operations against illegal logging.
Drones fitted with infra-red cameras were the latest technology used by the Forestry Department to protect logs from being stolen and forests from being destroyed by land encroachment.
The annual haze and air pollution that plague Malaysia and neighbouring countries, however, was not as bad this year compared with previous years.