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