Activities Report Jan 2000 Newsletter
The Proposed Coastal Land Reclamation on the West
Coast of Peninsular Malaysia
Malaysia's land area will grow by another
97,000 ha when 76 projects of coastal land reclamation starts. Stretching
down the whole West Coast, from Kuala Perlis to Johor Baru, land will be
extended some 3.2km into the Straits of Melaka, over a period of 30 years.
Additionally, some coastal areas off Terengganu, Pahang, Sabah and Sarawak
will also be part of (what seems to be) a national reclamation policy.
Historically, coastal reclamations are
conducted by local communities for their agricultural activities.
However, these reclamations are simple, and limited to the draining of
mangroves for padI farming, coconut growing, sugar-cane plantations and
fishponds. Since the last century, this type of reclamation has replaced
some 60,000 ha of mangroves.
Of late, there is a new kind of reclamation,
relating to the dumping of sand and other fill material into the sea, thus
extending the coastline. Reasons given for this type of coastal reclamation
and development is economic growth and expansion. Other reasons cited
is the rehabilitation of muddy coastlines, prevention of coastal
wave erosion and preservation of forests, hills and good farmland,
and problems of acquiring land for development.
To a certain extent, some of these reasons
are justifiable. For example, if a beach was earlier eroded, coastal
reclamation for the preservation of good farmlands and conservation of
biodiversity in unique, sensitive areas (e.g. colonies of threatened milky
storks) are fully justified.
But on the basis of economic viability
alone, there are certain questions that are not satisfactorily answered.
For example, are they really beneficial to the locals? Or will they be
viable? And if yes, at what costs? The most satisfactory approach to answer
these questions is perhaps through a cost-benefit analysis.
Malaysia has not reached a stage of
critical land shortage for housing and urban development. In fact, statistics
indicate millions of hectares of under utilised lands. These should be
the immediate target for development rather than coastal land reclamation.
The Environmental Impact Assessment
(EIA) could provide some input on the possible environmental costs of these
reclamation projects. But the EIAs for each project may be faulty
as they are prepared in isolation of each other, and assumes that there
are no reclamations in adjoining states, even though most of the West Coast
will be reclaimed.
Moreover, the impact of large coastal
land reclamation on tidal flows, are unpredictable and often not considered.
The impacts of such reclamation could be further along the coast and not
necessarily in the vicinity of the actual reclamation work.
Due to synergy, the collective costs
of these projects will have greater and longer lasting after-effects on
the environment. For all we know, tropical reclamation of these magnitudes
has never been attempted before. The possibility of a West Coast fisheries
crash is very real (notwithstanding the loss in archaeological sites and
impacts on local communities); and that is not counting the future environmental
problems when commercial and residential developments start on these reclaimed
coasts.
These, such large extensive coastal
land reclamations must be carried out only after detailed EIA’s are approved,
and only with caution.
Dato' Dr Salleh Mohd Nor
Kuala Lumpur, 6 October, 1999
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Created on 15th Jan 2000