Category: Latest News

‘Gunung Jerai floods not an act of God but man-made’

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USM water expert, who is also the President of Water Watch Penang, blames senseless development, forest-clearing for water column phenomenon

“Universiti Sains Malaysia’s School of Humanities water expert Prof Chan Ngai Weng told The Vibes that the phenomenon is partly due to climate change (extremely heavy rain) and partly due to anthropogenic activities, such as forest-clearing, construction, agriculture and virgin forests developed into built-up areas.

“Forests have a valuable flood-control function in absorbing huge amounts of rainwater.

“For example, during the dry season, almost 90-100% of rainfall is absorbed by forests. During the rainy season, less is absorbed, but 30-70% of rainwater is still absorbed.

“Once the forests are cleared, there is 0% absorption as 100% of the rainwater flows as run-off on the land into rivers. Hence, we have mudflows and flash floods like what happened in Yan yesterday (Wednesday).”

He said climate change cannot be solely blamed for the phenomenon, as humans are also the instigating culprits.

“So, we should look in the mirror and point the finger at ourselves and not blame nature, the weather or God.”

Read More at: https://www.thevibes.com/articles/news/38872/gunung-jerai-floods-not-an-act-of-god-but-man-made

The Story of Our Water

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Due to popular demand, the Storytelling event is back again this year!! In collaboration with Water Watch Penang (WWP) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), under sponsorship by Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang (PBAPP), The Giving Tree Story House is presenting “The Story of Our Water”. Water covers 70% of our planet. So, is water plentiful for all livings? In fact, there is only 3% of world’s water is freshwater and <1% is assesible. Currently, many regions in the world are facing water scarcity. In these sessions, through storytelling using picture books and fun activities, children will be exposed to the importance of water conservation. Children will learn about the sources of fresh water, water pollution and the importance of saving water to cope with its scarcity for a sustainable living. Let us instill water awareness to our children from a young age!

Contact for details:
Kate https://wa.me/60125245030
DR. NG https://wa.me/60126140690
DR.OH https://wa.me/60164808520

Registration and Information can be found in the following link:
Event Details: https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSdigUsXmaLpha…/viewform

活动详情:
https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLScf0igVngW97T…/viewform

WWP – USM BJIM – PBAPP River and Water Education Awareness Programme – 28th July 2021.

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In collaboration with Bahagian Jaringan Industri dan Masyarat (BJIM), Universiti Sains Malaysia and supported by PBAPP, Water Watch Penang has successfully organised the River and Water Education Awareness Programme on the 28th of July 2021. The session, facilitated by Dr. Hong Chern Wern, senior facilitator and manager of Water Watch Penang, included topics on global, national and local water issues, followed by river education that encompassed physical, chemical and biological assessment of a river. This programme was attended by a total of 37 students and teachers mainly from SJKT Bayan Lepas, SJKT Kulim, and SJKT Nilai.

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Workshop on Emerging Water Pollutants in River and Coastal Environment – 2nd July 2021 (English-BM Report)

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A workshop was successfully conducted, themed “Emerging Water Pollutants in River and Coastal Environment”, with at least 100 participants via zoom and Facebook live platform, with about 400 views through Facebook live streaming. This workshop was hosted by Water Watch Penang in partnership with School of Chemical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, with Dr. Oh Wen-Da as the coordinator of the event.

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