Author: waterwatchpenang

No comments

Stop The Drip,Save The Drop

  By ,

Global Environment Centre (GEC) runs River Care Programme which works towards protection, restoration and sustainable use of rivers; the MOST IMPORTANT SOURCE of our drinking water!

From 2004 to June 2014, GEC had trained 3000 River Rangers around Malaysia through various projects like the “1 State 1 River” programme, Community Engagement, Environment Education Programmes among schools and Corporate Capacity Building and CSR approach. We crucially need to reach out to more people and spread a greater awareness of our cause.

– See more at here.

No comments

The human factor in floods

  By

KELANTAN has always been a flood-prone state and Malaysia, a flood-prone country.

We will never be free from floods in much the same way that Ethiopia will never be free from the drought. It is in the nature of our climate. However, the current floods appear to be one of the worst in recent decades.

Climate change is a likely cause as greater temperature extremes generate greater storms, stronger monsoons and heavier rains.

Yet, we also need to remember that humans have completely changed the face of the earth from natural (water absorbent and retentive) surfaces such as forests to urban (water impermeable and non-absorbent) surfaces (concrete, cement etc).

Studies have shown that if we change the land use from forest to urban, the runoff will increase more than 10 times (forest runoff averages 10% to 20% of total rainfall but urban runoff averages 80% to 90%) rendering rivers unable to cope with the huge amount of runoff entering them.

These result in much of the rain flowing on land surfaces as runoff, leading to floods.

This is the reason why Kuala Lumpur experiences flash floods every time it rains heavily although similar rainfall in surrounding areas (with forest and vegetation) do not flood.

Rivers’ drainage capacities are also significantly reduced due to sedimentation.

Studies have shown that when humans change forest to open and exposed areas (e.g. logging areas, construction areas and open agriculture areas), the rate of sediments washed into rivers (due to soil erosion) increases more than 100 times!

All the sediments are washed into rivers making them shallow. Hence, reducing the volume of water, the rivers can drain leading to frequent flooding when heavy rains occur.

Worse of all, buildings and other structures are erected right on river banks, restricting the rivers’ s ability to manoeuvre. In the deltas, sedimentation restricts flow of river water into the seas leading to backlogging of water which floods riverine areas.

In Denmark and many developed countries, governments are buying back agricultural lands from farmers to allow rivers to follow their natural course.

This will reduce flooding as rivers are able to manouevre and redistribute their energy and water in a wider environment.

Rainforests and wetlands that absorb a huge amount of rain water have been carelessly logged and totally drained for agriculture and other human land uses.

Recently, in Cameron Highlands, severe floods occurred. The main cause was due to deforestation and sedimentation of the Ringlet Lake which significantly reduced the lake’s storage capacity.

Overall, humans are the “real” cause of the current floods.

One can say that global warming and current climate change which cause more intense storms and rains (as well as stronger monsoons) are the main cause of floods now.

This may be true but global warming is largely caused by humans when we use fossil fuels and produce greenhouse gases that trap solar radiation which warms the earth and atmospheric temperatures.

So, again the root cause is human activities. To reduce flooding in the near future, we need to address the human causes of flooding.

Flood management in Malaysia is still largely dependent on structural measures (e.g. building SMART Tunnel, dams, embankments, retention ponds etc). These do not solve the root causes of flooding which are humans and their activities.

We need to put more emphasis on non-structural measures (e.g. legislation/regulation and enforcement, land use control, awareness and education, flood disaster management, flood warning etc).

A more comprehensive strategy comprising both structural and non-structural measures (in a 50-50 ratio) will go a long way to reduce floods in Kelantan and other parts of Malaysia.

Otherwise, we may yet see more flooding of greater frequency and magnitude in future. Don’t blame floods on God or Nature! Blame it on humans!

PROF DR CHAN NGAI WENG

Professor in Physical Geography

Universiti Sains Malaysia

(Source: The Star)

No comments

Don’t blame God! Humans the ‘real’ cause of severe floods, says professor

  By

I was feeling puzzled about the extreme floods in many parts of the country. We have always had floods in the East Coast, but why has the flooding been so bad and widespread this time around? To get some answers, I asked Dr Chan Ngai Weng, a professor of physical geography at USM, what he thought were the real causes of the severe floods.

This was Prof Chan’s response:

Kelantan has always been a flood-prone state and Malaysia a flood-prone country. We will never be free from floods in much the same way that Ethiopia will never be free from drought. It is in the nature of our climate.

The current floods, however, appear to be one of the worst in recent decades. Climate change is a likely cause as greater temperature extremes generate greater storms, stronger monsoons and heavier rains.

Yet, we also need to remember that humans have completely changed the face of the earth from natural (water absorbant and retentive) surfaces such as forests to urban (water impermeable and non-absorbant) surfaces (concrete, cement etc). These result in much of the rain flowing on land surfaces as runoff, leading to floods.

Rivers’ drainage capacities are also significantly reduced due to sedimentation. Worst of all, buildings and other structures are erected right on river banks, restricting rivers’ ability to manoeuvre.

In the deltas, sedimentation restricts flow of river water into the seas leading to backlogging of water which floods riverine areas.

Rainforests and wetlands that absorb a huge amount of rain water have been carelessly logged and totally drained for agriculture and other human land uses.

Overall, humans are the ‘real’ cause of the current floods. Even global warming and current climate change is largely caused by humans.

Address the human causes, and Kelantan and other parts of Malaysia will see less flooding of lesser frequencies and magnitudes.

Don’t blame it on God or Nature!

Prof Chan has a Master’s Degree in Climatology & Meteorology from University Malaya and a Doctorate in Environmental Hazards Management from Middlesex University, United Kingdom.

Original source:anilnetto.com

No comments

Ways to solve our water woes

  By

THE current dry spell is nothing new. It is part of the normal variation in the weather patterns, although some may want to attribute it to climate change.

Malaysia experiences a wet equatorial climate with annual precipitation averaging 3,000mm, which is more than 10 times what most African countries get.

Given such abundant water resources, one would expect Malaysia to be “free” from water problems, but sadly this is not the case.

The country still suffers from many water problems caused mostly by human activities, although natural factors such as seasonal and spatial variation are also causes.

Human activities are the “root cause” of most of our water woes. Malaysians (domestic and industrail water consumers) are generally a wasteful and apathetic lot in that too much water is used and wasted in both sectors.

The main reason is that water is provided very cheap as the tariffs are heavily subsidised by the Government. One state even provides “free” water to domestic consumers.

Deforestation and destruction of water catchments, rapid population increase and economic development, all of which need water, are other root causes.

Water/river pollution is also another human cause. All these causes have resulted in the situation in the Klang Valley today.

Malaysian society too is largely a water wasting society, with the national average water consumption of 212 litres/capita/day.

In developing countries, 20 litres to 30 litres of water per person per day is considered adequate for basic human needs. Hence, Malaysians are using nearly 10 times this amount.

In comparison, Singapore’s average is only 155 litres/capita/day, India’s average is 142 litres/capita/day and China’s average is only 88 litres/capita/day.

The most wasteful consumers are found in urban areas. In Malaysia, urban dwellers use more than 500 litres/capita/day. Hence, getting Malaysians to save water is of vital importance.

Water tariffs need to be restructured to a level that encourages water savings.

Public awareness needs to be increased to change public apathy to public concern. The country must also change from the traditional Water Supply Management (WSM) approach to a Water Demand Management (WDM) approach, or at the very least a combined approach of the two.

Malaysians can help solve much of our water woes if each of us were to reduce our water demand by just 10%, which is not difficult.

For this to happen, there needs to be a year-round concerted national water conservation campaign to get all consumers on board.

Consumers need to be educated to view water with the importance they would for petrol and electricity.

Making water saving a way of life for Malaysians is the key towards sustainable national water security.

Once people and industry get used to the idea of saving water, water demands would fall and the water system will face less stress resulting in less likelihood of water rationing and water cuts.

WDM is a proven strategy that has worked well in countries such Singapore, Australia and Denmark.

There are many ways to save water. One good way to start is to stop using the hose.

For gardening, one can use a watering can. For washing cars, one can use a pail of water. Industries and businesses can also recycle water and/or install water saving equipment on their premises.

 

PROF CHAN NGAI WENG

President, Water Watch Penang

(Source: The Star)

No comments

Letter to Chief Minister on Sg Pinang Part 2

  By

YAB Tuan Lim Guan Eng

Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang

Pejabat Ketua Menteri

Tingkat 28, KOMTAR

10503 Pulau Pinang

 

YAB,

 Re: Proposal to Launch Sg Pinang Stakeholders’ Initiative and Sg Pinang River Education Centre 

Further to our letter to YAB on 12 March 2008 titled Water, Environment and Penang, we would further like to propose the above project which is long overdue. We at WWP would like to stress that we have proposed this project to past BN Governments but have been rejected under the excuse of lack of funds. However, as you are aware, under the Federal Government’s “One State One River” Programme, the government has been allocated RM100 million (this figure was initially reported in the press but the final figure given to Penang may differ). Despite spending this large amount of money to restore the Sg Pinang (the authorities have built a jetty for fishermen and a river water treatment plant at the Sg Pinang estuary), amongst other activities such as dredging and improving the river, the river is still as dirty as ever. This is simply because not much attention has been given to educating and sensitizing the people (public and businesses) who keep dumping garbage/untreated effluents/discharges into the river. Consequently, every tonne of garbage dredged out by the contractors is more than outpaced by two tones of garbage being dumped into the river. The authorities has not tackled the root cause of the issue, i.e. the source of all the pollution.

 

It is with this in mind that we propose the launching of the Sg Pinang Stakeholders’ Initiative and the Sg Pinang River Education Centre, first in Malaysia. We are confident that YAB’s government will examine this proposal with due consideration. We are all ashamed that despite being one of the most advanced states in the country, the main river that flows through Georgetown is nothing more than a raw sewer! Our proposal is attached complete with recommendations and costing. If YAB and the Penang Government needs me to explain the proposal, I will be more than happy to make a 15 minute presentation followed by Q & A.

YAB, Thank you for your attention.

 

Yours faithfully,

Prof Dr Chan Ngai Weng

President

012-5193355

 

Plan of River Education Centre 

  • Reception
  • River Museum
  • Aquarium
  • Biology Laboratory
  • Mini-Theatre
  • Models of Sg Pinang
  • Souvenir Shop
  • Hostel
  • Water/Chemistry & Hydrology Laboratory
  • Toilets
  • Canteen
  • Exhibition Boards
  • Model of Hydrological Cycle
  • Model of Sg Pinang Ecosystem
  • Model of Sg Pinang River Basin
  • Model of Pollutants entering Sg Pinang
  • Photograph Exhibition Room