THE GAB Foundation in partnership with Global Environment Centre (GEC) has opened a dedicated River Care Education Centre in Desa Mentari for communities living along Sungai Way as part of its river rehabilitation project.

This RM40,000 resource centre houses a library full of reference materials on water rehabilitation and conservation, a laboratory equipped with test equipment to conduct water quality tests and a discussion room.

The centre is part of a three-year WATER (Working Actively Through Education and Rehabilitation) project, initiated to clean and rehabilitate the Sungai Way river that runs through communities living in Desa Mentari, Kampung Lindungan and Desa Ria.

These communities, which have been a part of this project over the past two years, will be able to use the centre to monitor the river water quality. It will also be open to students and members of the public who wish to use it for research.

GAB Foundation chairman Tan Sri Saw Huat Lye said, “We believe the centre will be an asset to the Sungai Way community, as there is no better place for us to start  than in our own homes, and in this case, our own backyards.”

Guinness Anchor Berhad through the GAB Foundation carries out initiatives for communities living around their area of operations; focusing on education, environmental conservations and community development.

Saw said, “We would like to encourage both residential and business communities residing in these areas to visit the centre, and learn more about river rehabilitation and how cleaning our local rivers will benefit the environment.”

“In the second year of this programme, we saw improvement to the river water quality and even an increase in biodiversity, which is a good indication that the Sungai Way river condition has improved,” he said.

To date, GAB Foundation has channelled over RM480,000 towards the project, conducting many training sessions for residents, business partners and GAB employees to educate them on recycling, composting waste, and on the set-up of rubbish and grease traps along the river.

Environment Department director-general Datuk Rosnani Ibrahim, who spoke at the launch of the centre last month, said communities and industries along rivers have important roles to play in reducing river pollution. She said the department would back the efforts of this centre by providing the necessary support.