When sand mining starts, wildlife disappears, Selangor, Malaysia
A mine of controversy
By, Teo Cheng Wee, The New Straits Times Press, Malaysia
A sand mining controversy is piling pressure.
Malaysia’s mainstream media, whose journalists were taken to the site, has been giving prominent coverage in the past few days to what it says is an impending environmental disaster in Selangor caused by illegal sand mining.
Reports say that Paya Indah Wetlands, a 3,100ha eco-tourism park located 50km south of Kuala Lumpur, is being destroyed by the clearing and excavation of some 120ha of land nearby.
A large sand mine is reportedly located just 50m from two lakes in the park.
Although local villagers said the lorries and excavators turned up only two weeks ago, environmentalists were quick to decry the effect all this could have on the park.
Paya Indah Wetlands has 14 lakes and is home to hippos, crocodiles and more than 200 species of birds including local and migratory, , 14 species of fish, more than 63 species of wildlife, and more than 200 species of plants.
The park attracted some 24,000 visitors last year and some 11,800 people in the first six months of this year.
This is not the first time that the sand mining issue has hit the Pakatan government hard.
Wetlands exposed and vulnerable
Excerpt from Serean Lau,The Star and Sean Augustin, Shuhada Elis and Suganthi Suparmaniam, The New Straits Times Press.
The Malaysian Nature Society inspected sand-mining activities next to the Paya Indah Wetlands July 12th and found dredging work there “to be too close for comfort”. (MNS).
Its head of communications, Andrew Sebastian, who inspected the sand mining site on July 12th, said he found there is no proper buffer to protect the Paya Indah Wetlands from sand mining activities nearby, leaving the wetlands “exposed and vulnerable. He said mining activities posed a threat to the wetlands, and while a buffer zone existed, it would make no difference even if it were extended to 1,000m.
“This is unacceptable. This should not be the case when it comes to protecting Paya Indah from its neighbouring activities of sand mining. “It may cause the loss of some habitat. It is bound to have short-term and long-term effects on the wetlands’ ecosystem. The water from the site can actually get into the wetlands easily. And things get worse when it rains,” he added.
“The wetlands, which is also a Ramsar site (Wetland of Inter national Importance), has been polluted due to sand mining.
“The immediate effect of this is on human water consumption.”
“It is disturbing and unacceptable as the mining also poses a threat to the wetlands’ ecology,” he said, adding that lines of mangroves along the wetlands had been removed.
“There is no reason to cut down these trees as they can be used as a natural buffer zone,” Sebastian said, adding that the ecosytem of the wetlands could be saved if environmental experts helped to find a suitable solution.
Sebastian said the Selangor government had approved an MNS review of the Environment Management Plan on sand mining near the wetlands.
Yesterday, Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd executive director Ramli Abd Majed said the sand mining was conducted 27m from the waterline and 40m from the wetlands boundary.
When mining starts, wildlife disappears
The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia).
Take care of nature and she will take care of you, goes the adage which rings true especially when it comes to eco-tourism, write Sean Augustin and Evangeline Majawat.
A win-win situation for the environment and the economy can be found in eco-tourism.
Which is why industry players are urging parties to be careful when developing areas close to such sites, as in the case of sand mining on the periphery of the Paya Indah Wetlands.
A large sand mine is reportedly located just 50m from two lakes in the park.
Sand mining is currently being carried out on a 33ha plot of land and what worries environmentalist is that it is just 20m from the southern boundary of the wetlands.
Ping Anchorage managing director, Alex Lee, said he had experienced first-hand revenue loss when sand mining was conducted along Sungai Berang, Terengganu, a rainforest river in 2008.
Lee, a tour operator, who ran a river cruise at the site, said wildlife “disappeared” when works began, adding that the boatmen, most of whom were villagers, suffered when the number of tourists dwindled.
“I am not against development, but such plans must be located far away from tourism products. We must not kill the goose that lays the golden egg.
“Once such places are destroyed, it could take more than two decades to rehabilitate,” he said, adding that eco-tourism provided far more jobs in the long run compared with activities like sand mining.
Ooi Chin Hock, another tour operator, said that rehabilitating a sand mine costs three times more than mining itself. “It does not make economic sense and it can harm the environment. With eco-tourism, the value can only go up.”
Eco-tourism provided more than monetary gains, including a cultural exchange, as some sites were located deep in the interiors.
A United Nations Environment Programme’s report in 2005 “Investing in Environmental Wealth for Poverty Reduction” found investments in the environment alleviates poverty and was more economical in the long run.
The report revealed that conservation is also more cost-effective when compared with short-term profits from environmentally-damaging activities, such as mining and dynamite fishing.
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Research Centre for Tropical Climate Change System head Professor Dr Fredolin Tangang said it was not only about the dollars and sen.
“The various ecosystems provide services to mankind. When the services are disrupted, it would directly affect us,” he said. For example, the fisheries industry would collapse if the marine and wetland ecosystems were destroyed. “In the long run, it would benefit us more, economically, socially and health-wise, to preserve the environment.”
Fredolin’s colleague from the Institute for Environment and Development Associate Professor Dr Ahmad Fariz said sustainable development was the way forward.
“It’s all about balancing the environment and development,” he said.
Malaysia Nature Society wants Government to stop sand mining
The Star 18 Jul 10
The Malaysia Nature Society wants federal authorities to intervene and stop rampant over-mining of sand in Selangor.
Its chairman Gary Phong said federal agencies should step in if the state government failed to effectively address over-mining of sand, which had far reaching implications on the environment.
“It is good that someone has brought up the issue, because it looks like the situation is out of control at the moment,” he said, advising the state government to impose a stop-work order on such activities.The state’s sole sand mining concessionaire Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd will brief non-governmental organisations and the media next week on Environmental Management Planning and detailed Environmental Impact Assessment reports.
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