Press Articles

Title: EARTH MATTERS: A boost for the environment?
Date: 13-Apr-2004
Source/Author: NST: Sarah Sabaratnam
Description: Can a balance be struck between conserving and exploiting natural resources, now under the purview of the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry? SARAH SABARATNAM writes.

FOR years, environmentalists have lamented the lack of integration between the functions, duties and responsibilities of the various authorities with jurisdiction over natural resources.

While some agencies were in charge of protecting the environment, others were in charge of enforcement. There was little integration or co-ordination and the environment consequently suffered. It is with a sigh of relief then that environmentalists welcome the newly-created Natural Resources and Environment Ministry.

"When I heard about the new ministry, I had in mind which authorities should be in it," says Ibrahim Komoo, professor of engineering and geology, and director of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's Institute of Environment and Development (Lestari). "It turned out that almost all the ones I thought of are in the new setup.

It shows that this has been well thought out." The new ministry incorporates the various authorities dealing with natural resources such as the Land and Mines Department from the abolished Land and Co-operative Development Ministry; the Forestry Department, Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) and the Geoscience and Minerals Department from the former Primary Industries Ministry; the Wildlife and National Parks Department and the Department of Environment from the former Science, Technology and Environment Ministry; and the Drainage and Irrigation and Marine Parks departments from the Agriculture Ministry.

Two other departments that Ibrahim would have liked to see in the ministry are the Malaysian Meteorological Service and the Malaysian Centre for Remote Sensing (MACRES).

"The Meteorological Service is important as it deals with haze, climatic changes which cause prolonged rain and which in turn causes erosion. MACRES, on the other hand, is necessary for studying data for agricultural purposes but it can also be used to look out for land degradation and flood-prone areas," he said.

He says it is nevertheless "an almost perfect Ministry" and it means that conservation and utilisation of natural resources can now be better managed. Take, for instance, he says, the Geoscience and Minerals Department, previously under the purview of the Primary Industries Ministry.

"Before, its policy was to exploit rocks and minerals, and there was no thought for conservation," says Ibrahim. Now, the department can look at the heritage value of some rocks and minerals and preserve them instead of exploiting them fully.

"If you look at the limestone hills in Ipoh, the Geoscience and Minerals Department provided all the information about the potential of those hills for construction material. Its policy was only to exploit and nothing else. Now it can say that since only five per cent of the limestone in the area is visible, while 95 per cent is underground, the department can choose to preserve the visible part for its heritage value and mine the rest — even though it may be more difficult and expensive to reach the 95 per cent," he explained.

Dr Loh Chi Leong, executive director of the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS), applauds the creation of the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry. "Only in this way can our natural resources be managed holistically and sustainably."

"The creation of this Ministry can result in the better integration and better management of peat swamp forests", says Dr Faizal Parish, director of the Global Environment Centre, Malaysia.

Wetlands International director for the Malaysia office Dr Sundari Ramakrishna, says: "In terms of wetlands, it means there will be better or more holistically managed forested wetlands such as mangroves, peat swamp and freshwater swamp forests.

"The national Report for the Convention of Wetlands (Ramsar) will contain updated information on the status of these forested wetland types since one ministry coordinates the information," she says. The next step is in the execution of the functions of this ministry, and all eyes are on its new minister, Datuk Adenan Satem.

So far, he has made some positive statements. For instance, he hopes to meet environmentalists to get their feedback and look into how they can work together. He also said that it was important to look for the right balance between exploiting Malaysia's biological riches and environmental protection.

The NGOs welcome this endeavour and have offered to help the Minister find the "right" balance. Says Loh: "The MNS offers its assistance and hopes that we (and other NGOs) will be given an opportunity to participate in these consultations. "Natural resources are an important asset of the country and part of the nation's wealth. This new Ministry has the important primary task of ensuring that these resources are utilised and managed in a sustainable manner and not exploited or sacrificed for short-term gain." Loh said the guiding principle should be sustainability — which must include a system of protected areas as well as conservation and resource management plans.

Sundari hopes that the creation of this new Ministry also means that there are more environmentally-savvy people in it who understand ecological functions. Ibrahim says that the functions and the policies of each of the authorities mentioned need to be looked at again to ensure that they are in line with the policies of conservation, and sustainable use.

"This is the most important thing the ministry must do now." Environmentalists also see the creation of this new ministry as a new beginning, a chance to do things right. "The approach so far towards environmental protection and management has been wrong. Every year, more and more forests are being depleted. Our focus now should be on protecting what is left, not just exploiting them," says Sundari.

But is it possible to strike this "balance" Adenan is talking about — where the environment is protected but also "exploited"? "Exploit" is a wrong word to use, says Sundari. "Instead, more needs to be done to protect the environment. It is possible to strike a balance but, like I said, the approach so far has been wrong."

Ibrahim cautions that finding the right balance is not a straightforward matter. "You need to start with the bigger picture. If we have the right policies in place — for instance, if we decide that no matter what, we must maintain 30 per cent of forests as permanent forest reserves for conservation — then everything else falls into place. All other development strategies and policies will be made to ensure that the 30 per cent is maintained." "Or, if we look at certain construction materials such as sand that is mined, and we acknowledge that it is an irreplaceable material, then we will think twice about exporting it.

"One day we are going to wake up and find we have no more sand and there is no way to replace it. We need sound policies to find this balance of sustainable use," says Ibrahim.

Academics and environmentalists, however, are a little concerned by a statement the minister made two weeks ago. "Our target is to create more wealth. Land and forests are our national assets which we must not leave dormant..." he said. He also said the ministry would look into the development of peat swamp land in Sarawak, where large tracts of the water-logged land were unsuitable for agriculture and other projects.

In contrast, the authorities have in the last five years admitted that peat swamp forests in the past were drained due to ignorance. The country currently receives foreign aid to help restore and protect large tracts of peat swamp forests in Malaysia — in at least three states. Environmentalists are urging the minister to reconsider.

"Most of the environmental degradation issues are related to natural resources utilisation such as quarrying, agriculture, logging and mining. The Government has realised the need to put all these under one ministry... hopefully to reduce environmental degradation, and not to make it easier to exploit our natural resources," says Ibrahim.

"We urge the Government to reconsider any large- scale development of peat swamps as they serve many important ecological functions as water reservoir, carbon sinks and support unique species," says Loh. The clearing and draining of peat swamps in other parts of the country have had undesirable results and caused environmental degradation, he says.

"On this issue too, we would offer to share information and work alongside the ministry." Parish says there are many uses for peat swamp forests, other than draining then for agriculture. "They are an important source for managing water, they control floods and they contain important species, like the valuable ramin timber." He says draining more peat swamps will just lead to more problems and they are the No.1 cause of peat fires and haze in Southeast Asia. He offers an alternative: better management or reuse of those areas that were previously peat swamps but have been drained and abandoned.

Another environmentalist, who preferred to remain anonymous, cautions that any development of peat swamps needs to be based on realistic studies. Drawing on Indonesia's experience, he says that draining large tracts of peat swamp forests was found to be unsuccessful.

The Drainage and Irrigation Department estimates the annual flood damage at RM100 million (as at 1980) and this is expected to increase. Draining peat swamps is not going to help but exacerbate the problem. The new ministry is indeed a double-edged sword. That all the important authorities are finally under one roof should make environmental protection more co-ordinated. But there is also the danger that it is now easier and faster to eliminate all checks and balances in exploiting our natural resources.

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