By Geryl Ogilvy
KUCHING, Mar 5: The public should broaden its perception about the potential of hydroelectric dams in the state beyond power generation and its damaging impact on huge areas of forest.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said the people needed to look at hydropower plants from a more holistic point of view.
Apart from generating hydro power, the facility also functioned as flood control and can be utilised for irrigation, fisheries and aquaculture, water supply and as well as an attractive tourism product and destination, as well as a transportation hub to improve accessibility to the interior and remote areas.
“As the government, we are obliged to bring development to the people and in any effort to bring development, there are some trade-offs that we have to sacrifice.
“When we created industrial parks such as Samajaya and Samalaju Industrial Parks, they brought in much foreign investments and created many jobs for our people,” he said when opening the River Pollution and Conservation Seminar here today.
His text-of-speech was read by Urban Development and Resource Assistant Minister Datuk Len Talif Salleh.
Abang Johari noted that these industries also generated waste and had some negative impacts to the environment including rivers, as industries use huge quantities of water and may lead to over abstraction of water from rivers, hence causing certain disruptions in the ecosystems.
To ensure continuous water supply, the state built dams and reservoirs. While this altered the river system, aquatic ecosystems and river transportation, the state needed to cater for the industries, hence embarking on renewable energy through hydropower plants such as Bakun, Murum and Batang Ai.
“As we pushed forward for greater industrial development, we must not forget to handle the industrial waste properly.
“We have to look at water as a resource and it is important for various consumers and users. We definitely need to address the issue of pollution but we also need to be responsible consumers by eliminating wasteful ways of using clean water,” he continued.
Abang Johari said state environmental laws such as the Environmental Quality Act 1975 and Natural Resources and Environment Ordinance 1994, have provisions to safeguard Sarawak’s rivers.
The effectiveness of these laws were very much dependent on the enforcement capabilities, as well as the cooperation of all stakeholders including government agencies, industrial players, riverine communities, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the public.
Sarawak has some 22 major river systems, where some are classified as slightly polluted and some still pristine, he continued.
Abang Johari said the state government encouraged NGOs to be involved in projects that provided opportunities for all communities to participate in pollution prevention and environmental conservation particularly keeping the rivers clean and healthy.
The state was also working closely with universities in developing sustainable approaches and technologies in environmental management and conservation, with many works carried out on renewable energy, water desalination and waste management projects.
The one-day seminar, which attracted 200 participants, was jointly organised by Institut Kimia Malaysia (IKM), Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas). —DayakDaily
