Wastewater Management in Asia

Malaysia, despite being blessed with ample water resources shares similar water management problems and challenges faced by the rest of the world and in particular the Asia Pacific countries arising largely from the impacts of our rapid development.

Our waters at its source is crystal clear and clean but as it passed through settlements, waste water from agriculture and urban activities join the natural system, the rivers, through all the drainage outlets. Managing these challenges is an uphill task especially for our Department of Environment, which is responsible for monitoring and enforcing the required standards through the Environmental Quality Act, 1974.

The 10th Malaysia Plan is aimed at addressing new challenges facing the country and is premised on high income, inclusiveness and sustainability. The Plan provides the policy framework and strategies to transform the country into a high-income economy and developed nation by the year 2020.

In providing efficient public utilities and services in the water sector, the 10th Malaysia Plan emphasises improvements and enhancement to the quality of service and coverage to ensure sustainability from both an operational as well as environment perspective. Under the Plan, Malaysia’s strategy for ensuring sustainable water supply will have two main areas of focus:

Firstly, in developing a long-term strategy for water resource management to achieve water security. The National Water Resources Policy (NWRP), currently being formulated by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, will chart the future course for the water sector. In considering Malaysia’s long term supply-demand profile, the policy will outline measures to ensure efficient and effective management of this increasingly scarce resource, including streamlining policies and legislations to allow for more efficient and equitable distribution of water resources. Other measures to be implemented during the Plan period include expanding the implementation of the Integrated Water Resources Management and Integrated River Basin Management approaches in planning, managing, protecting and rehabilitating water resources. In addition, research and development efforts will be intensified in area of conservation of water resources to support efforts to develop a sustainable water sector for the national economy.

8. Secondly in protecting rivers from pollution. More than 90% of Malaysia’s water supply comes from rivers and streams. Thus, efforts to tackle river pollution have always been, and will continue to be given due emphasis. River pollution is due largely to an increase in the number of sources of pollution and a decrease in the amount of rainfall. Major sources of pollution include improper discharge from sewerage treatment plants, agro-based factories, livestock farming, land clearing activities and domestic sewage. During the 10th Plan period, some of the measures to be undertaken by the Ministry to improve pollution control targeting these sources include:

 a. Strengthening the enforcement on industrial effluents and sewage discharge in line with the revisions to the regulations under the Environmental Quality Act 1974;

b. Assessing the Total Maximum Daily Load and carrying capacity of rivers to determine allowable discharge loads, for both point and non-point sources of pollution;

 c. Revising the current Water Quality Index to incorporate additional parameters, such as biological parameters, for more accurate river water classification;

 d. Developing the National Marine Water Quality Index to replace the current Marine Water Quality Criteria and Standard, which was developed in 2008; and

 e. Expanding outreach and awareness programmes targeting various segments of society,

“CAN CANCUN REDEEM COPENHAGEN?”

Can Cancun redeem Copenhagen? This is not a trivial question; the implications are far reaching, the challenges daunting and the price of failure, in human terms, morally unacceptable.

YES. I believe Cancun CAN redeem Copenhagen, but for this to happen, we need to be painfully honest with ourselves, with our negotiating partners and with the history of mankind’s use of the full range of resources on this planet.

We need firstly to be honest about the science of climate change. There is more than enough scientific evidence to show that this phenomenon is real. The few mistakes that have made in reporting and representing the data have been put in the correct perspective and both the scientific community and society at large remain convinced by the larger body of scientific evidence that had been accumulated and cross checked by independent and reputable international organisations.

We also need to be honest about the history of our reliance on fossil fuels for energy and the resulting pattern of differential global development that has influenced societies and shaped lives all around the globe. In doing so, we note that the countries that have had the historical opportunities to harness the power of fossil fuels now find themselves in a financially and technologically advanced state. With these and other resources at their disposal, they are capable of generating more than USD 2000 worth of GDP for each metric ton of GHGs emitted.

Indeed it was with the most lucid understanding of this situation that the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change was so carefully crafted and its objectives and principles so clearly enunciated. To achieve the objectives of the convention, the international community reached a consensus that legally binding commitments and targets to reduce greenhouse gases emissions were needed. In 1997 the Kyoto Protocol became the instrument through which developed countries agreed to reduce their collective emissions of greenhouse gases by at least 5% compared to the year 1990 with each country’s emissions target to be achieved by the first commitment period, 2008-2012. This was followed by the Bali climate talks in December 2007 which yielded the Bali Roadmap including the Bali Action Plan. These negotiations in Bali were aimed at agreeing to deeper emissions targets in the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol and acknowledged that “deep cuts in global emissions will be required to achieve the ultimate objective" of avoiding dangerous climate change. The Bali event was followed by the Poznan conference in December 2008 to once again reiterate the need and urgency to take concrete measures including providing sufficient funds to vulnerable poor and developing countries to tackle the climate change issue. The 15th Conference of Parties in Copenhagen at the end of 2009 was agreed as the deadline to finalise what we set out to accomplish in Bali 2 years earlier.

Utusan Online @ Pembersihan tumpahan minyak selesai 3 hari lagi

KOTA TINGGI 30 Mei - Kerja-kerja pembersihan tumpahan minyak di perairan Pengerang dan pesisir pantai sekitarnya di sini dijangka selesai sepenuhnya dalam tempoh tiga hari lagi. Menteri Sumber Asli dan Alam Sekitar, Datuk Seri Douglas Uggah Embas berkata, sehingga kini kerja-kerja pembersihan pencemaran itu sudah 20 peratus selesai yang melibatkan lapan tan metrik minyak yang tumpah berjaya dikumpulkan.

Douglas Uggah Embas meninjau persisiran Pantai Pengerang, semalam,

iaitu salah sebuah kawasan  yang begitu teruk dicemari tumpahan minyak.

  - UTUSAN/Nan Hidayat

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Beliau berkata, baki 80 peratus kerja-kerja pembersihan sedang giat dijalankan dengan bantuan pelbagai agensi termasuk syarikat kapal berkenaan. "Seperti yang kita ketahui, tumpahan tersebut menyebabkan nelayan di sekitar kawasan tidak dapat turun ke laut mencari rezeki dan saya juga sedia maklum bahawa mereka menanggung pelbagai kerugian termasuk peralatan penangkapan ikan dan sebagainya. "Namun tumpahan minyak berkenaan juga memberi rezeki kepada mereka kerana nelayan terbabit dilibatkan sama dengan kerja-kerja pembersihan dan dibayar RM50 sehari. Ini mampu memberi sumber pendapatan kepada mereka," katanya. Beliau berkata demikian kepada pemberita semasa melawat Kampung Langkah Baik untuk meninjau sendiri beberapa kawasan yang tercemar akibat tumpahan minyak berkenaan di sini hari ini.

Selasa lalu, kapal MV Waily yang berdaftar di Kingstown, Saint Vincent and The Grenadines yang dalam perjalanan ke Hong Kong berlanggar dengan Kapal Bunga Kelana 3 yang berdaftar di Pelabuhan Klang. Kejadian berlaku di lokasi empat batu nautika barat daya Tanjung Stapa, Pengerang dan kira-kira 3.7 batu nautika dari perairan Singapura yang melibatkan tumpahan 2,000 tan metrik minyak mentah. Akibat tumpahan berkenaan, kira-kira 1,400 nelayan di kawasan berkenaan terjejas pendapatannya selepas tidak boleh ke laut mencari rezeki. Tinjauan Utusan Malaysia di kawasan berkenaan mendapati kerja-kerja pembersihan kawasan giat dijalankan dengan melibatkan nelayan setempat. Malah permukaan air laut di sesetengah kawasan seperti di Kampung Langkah Baik yang dilaporkan kelihatan hitam akibat diselaputi minyak juga kian pulih.

Menurut Douglas, pemantauan di kawasan terbabit akan dijalankan setiap hari bagi memastikan tiada 'gelombang kedua' akibat saki baki tumpahan minyak berlaku. Beliau berkata, jika kejadian itu berlaku, pihaknya dengan bantuan pelbagai agensi telah bersedia menghadapi pelbagai kemungkinan. "Kita mengharapkan gelombang kedua itu tidak akan terjadi. Namun sekiranya berlaku, kita sudah bersedia. Pemantauan dibuat setiap hari untuk memastikan kedudukan tompok minyak yang masih ada. "Apabila pihak kami mengesan tompokan minyak berkenaan, kami akan ambil tindakan segera untuk memastikan ia tidak merosakkan alam sekitar dan menjejaskan aktiviti ekonomi penduduk setempat," katanya.

Ditanya soal pampasan, beliau berkata, perkara berkenaan akan dibincangkan dengan Menteri Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani, Datuk Seri Noh Omar untuk mengambil pendekatan yang sesuai.