Green Living Column: Of What Use Are Community Cleanups?

PENCINTA ALAM FEBRUARY 2019

GREEN LIVING COLUMN

OF WHAT USE ARE COMMUNITY CLEANUPS?

By Wong Ee Lynn

Green Living has been organizing and coordinating trail, beach and forest cleanups since our inception in 2006. Nobody can dispute that volunteers who give up their weekends to clean up natural spaces are doing an unselfish and responsible thing. However, just how effective and useful are community cleanups? Do they really help in reducing ocean plastic pollution and wildlife deaths? Here are some quick facts:

CRITICISMS:

1.       Critics argue that public cleanups do not address the root causes of plastic pollution. What we need to do is to reduce unnecessary plastic at source, design less harmful products and develop better recycling processes.

2.       David Katz, the founder and CEO of The Plastic Bank, which monetizes plastic waste by turning it into a currency that helps some of the world’s poorest people, likens the problem to an overflowing sink: “There is no point in mopping the floor until you turn off the tap”.

POSITIVE RESULTS AND BENEFITS OF COMMUNITY CLEANUPS:

1.       Every piece of litter that is taken away to be recycled or deposited in a landfill means there is one less dangerous item for birds, turtles or whales to swallow. Cleanups also restore these animals’ habitats.

2.       In 2015, Mumbai lawyer Afroz Shah started coordinating regular beach cleanups at Versova Beach in Mumbai which saw thousands of volunteers removing over 13 million kilograms of waste in what the UN has called “the world’s largest beach cleanup”. In March 2018, around 80 olive ridley turtle hatchlings were spotted heading to the sea from Versova Beach. The turtles had not been seen on the beach for decades. The cleanup had turned the former litter-strewn beach into turtle breeding grounds once again.

3.       Community cleanups also serve to educate. When volunteers see just how much plastic is collected, they are often inspired to reduce their reliance on single-use plastics, and, crucially, to spread the word to others. Tiza Mafira, lawyer and director of the non-profit Indonesia Plastic Bag Diet Movement, says beach cleanups give volunteers a clear sense of the scale of the problem.

4.       Cleanup campaigns often collect data on the litter found to determine where it comes from and thus aid longer-term efforts to cut down on marine plastic pollution. For example, the British Science Association and The Plastic Tide charity have asked the public to help chart plastic pollution by tagging items captured by drone technology and aerial photos taken of Britain’s shores.

5.       Community cleanups raise public awareness on the threat of plastic debris more effectively than in less participatory public education programs, multiple studies show. Volunteers say the cleanups make them more mindful of how they dispose of their own disposables.

6.       Community cleanups add to the growing body of knowledge about where and how plastics travel across the seas and where they end up in the greatest abundance. Findings from community clean-ups help to put pressure on corporations to reduce waste and make their products less wasteful and more easily and frequently recycled. Greenpeace, in partnership with a consortium of environmental groups known as Break Free From Plastic, conducted an audit of the rubbish collected from community cleanups and found that the brands of packaging most commonly retrieved belong to 3 multinationals: Coca Cola, PepsiCo and Nestle. After these results were published, all three companies have since pledged to reduce plastic waste by redesigning products to make them more recyclable, reducing unnecessary plastic packaging, and increasing the amount of recycled material used to manufacture their plastic products. Each company has set targets for those goals that range from 2020 to 2030.

7.       There are economic and social benefits to community cleanups. If beaches and national parks are covered with litter, tourists will not come. Community cleanups also draw people closer together and create a sense of unity, camaraderie and belonging.

 (Sources:

1.       https://oceanconservancy.org/

2.       https://www.unenvironment.org/

3.       https://www.nationalgeographic.com/)

Eco Kids Column: Hero’s Challenge

Green Living Activity Report: The Last Hurrah of 2018 -- A Forest Cleanup Party at the Bukit Gasing Educational Forest

Green Living Activity Report: The Last Hurrah of 2018 -- A Forest Cleanup Party at the Bukit Gasing Educational Forest

By Wong Ee Lynn <wongeelynn@yahoo.com>

MNS Selangor Branch’s Green Living SIG organised a forest clean-up or ‘plogging party’ at the Bukit Gasing Forest Reserve on 29 December 2018 and named the event “The Last Hurrah of 2018” as it was likely to be the final community cleanup of the year for most of the participants. The purpose of the event was to get hikers and members of the community to clean up the popular hiking and recreational spot as a way of giving thanks to Mother Nature for all the good things that took place in 2018, and to set good intentions for a more environmentally-responsible 2019.

A whopping 46 volunteers of all ages, races, faiths and persuasions  showed up for the event and invested a lot of time and effort into cleaning up Bukit Gasing. It was a very heartening and encouraging show of civic consciousness and environmental awareness on the part of the volunteers.

Recyclables were separated and the MBPJ truck arrived at the right time to remove all the sacks of rubbish. A potluck picnic was held at the playground after the cleanup session and Lucky Draw prizes were given out to 6 lucky participants. 

 Volunteers wading through and removing litter from the streams.

2.     

S     Starting them young and making volunteering a family affair!

3

       Cikgu Sazali brought his students to help out.

4      

       Tired young volunteers sitting on the road in front of the Bukit Gasing water treatment plant.

5

      Getting ready to haul the sacks of rubbish out.

6     Smile and say GREEN!

7

      Volunteers Hari and Malathi (in green) who led the troops in.

8    One of the Lucky Draw winners, Azizan, who did the entire plogging session with baby in tow!

Special thanks go to Hari Shanmugam and Malathi Chandran for assisting Green Living with the recce and for leading the volunteers safely in and out of the trails, and to Fashilah Ahmad for sourcing and bringing the discarded gunny sacks for the rubbish. For and on behalf of Mother Nature and MNS Selangor, my heartfelt thanks go out to all the volunteers who gave up their Saturday morning to give back to Mother Nature.

Letter to the Editor: Much Still Needs To Be Done To Protect Environment

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

MUCH STILL NEEDS TO BE DONE TO PROTECT ENVIRONMENT

The Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) Selangor Branch would like to congratulate the Minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change YB Yeo Bee Yin on being recognised as one of Nature Journal’s top ten people who made a difference to the environment in 2018 (TheStar, 20 Dec 2018).

MNS Selangor along with other local environmental organisations have long lobbied the Malaysian government for better energy, water, land and waste management policies, and stronger laws against single-use plastics.

While we are heartened by YB Yeo’s pledge to phase out single-use plastics in Malaysia, we are concerned that the 12-year timeline is simply too long to be effective in dealing with an issue as urgent as marine plastic pollution. Kenya took drastic action to ban plastic bags over a year ago, while Bali is set to ban plastic bags and other single-use plastics by next year. Malaysia should not be lagging behind our neighbours in taking decisive action to cut down on the manufacturing, consumption, use, distribution and disposal of single-use plastics. This is especially so after we have witnessed how inadequate our recycling and waste management systems are in dealing with the world’s plastic waste that was foisted on Banting, Klang and other Malaysian towns following China’s refusal to accept any more plastic waste from developed nations for recycling. A 5-year roadmap would be a better testimony of the government’s seriousness and sincerity in dealing with the issue of single-use plastics and plastic pollution.

Much more needs to be done to conserve Malaysia’s environment, biodiversity, wildlife and natural resources, and unfortunately we have not seen very much concrete action or moral courage on the part of the relevant authorities, enforcement agencies and government ministries. The Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (MESTECC), Ministry of Works and Ministry of Water, Land and Natural Resources have been conspicuously and alarmingly silent, for instance, on the issue of hill slope development in Penang, the encroachment into native customary lands by plantation companies, and the clearing of green lungs for development projects in Taman Bukit Kiara and Bukit Lagong, among others.

The issues of the degazettement of forest reserves, deforestation and development and infrastructure projects in previously forested areas should not fall within the purview of State governments or the Ministry of Federal Territories alone. It is not enough to say that a particular piece of land is under state ownership and management, and the public or other government ministries and agencies are therefore not authorised to discuss, question or challenge any development plans in green lungs and forest reserves. It is not enough to claim that the cost of cancellation or need for housing are too high, and therefore environmental protection must be relegated to the back burner. It is not enough to argue that the issue of deforestation and degazettement of forest reserves fall within the purview of the Forestry Department and the Ministry of Water, Land and Natural Resources, as deforestation has an impact on climate change and should therefore be inconsistent with MESTECC’s climate change mitigation policies.

Deforestation and development projects in forested areas, especially ecologically sensitive areas with high biodiversity and high conservation value, affect more than just the value of neighbouring properties. Increased disasters such as landslides, flash floods, and drought, and increased air, water, noise and light pollution, will have an adverse impact on climate and environmental quality, and will affect human and animal quality of life and a particular community and ecosystem’s ability to sustain itself. Wildlife populations may end up unable to breed, find food, or avoid conflict with humans. Highway and development projects may end up bisecting or fragmenting wildlife habitats and lead to an increase in wildlife roadkills. New roads and highways may create access for illegal loggers and poachers where there was none before.

The degazettement of forest reserves and destruction of the natural environment are taking place on the watch of those entrusted to protect the environment. Those of us in environmental organisations are fully aware of the need to balance environmental protection with economic needs. However, in many instances, there is no actual pressing social or economic need resulting in a genuine conflict, and there should be no compromise on environmental protection. For far too long, the Malaysian authorities have been defending environmentally destructive projects that benefit only a selected few with economic and political leverage. Environmental organisations and citizens’ action groups with no ulterior motives or hidden agendas other than to speak up for the natural environment are treated as adversaries, instead of as valuable and impartial allies. Hill slope development is clearly dangerous, unsustainable and indefensible especially after so many disasters and loss of lives, yet hill slope development projects continue to be approved. The continued destruction and acquisition of native customary lands and the oppression of indigenous communities by corporations, developers and plantation owners cannot be allowed to proceed unchecked. The gazettement of forest reserves becomes meaningless if degazettement and forest-clearing can take place at any time with impunity.  

All of us have only a small window of time to help protect natural spaces and vanishing species. Politicians’ windows of time are even smaller. While praise and credit must be given where it is due, we must remember that environmental conservation in Malaysia is an uphill battle and many issues are not afforded the urgency and importance they deserve. We need to prioritise the environmental challenges with the highest stakes and greatest potential for lasting and irreversible damage. Environmental organisations are always ready to meet with the government to discuss solutions. Environmental organisations are not trying to win a popularity contest against governmental agencies, we are racing against time to prevent the annihilation of the natural world. It is wonderful that Malaysia has a Minister acknowledged by a prestigious science journal to be a champion for the environment. It would be more wonderful still if we could have all the relevant government ministries work together with each other and with environmental organisations and citizens’ action groups to expeditiously and courageously take action to protect Malaysia’s natural environment and deliver environmental justice.

WONG EE LYNN

MALAYSIAN NATURE SOCIETY

SELANGOR BRANCH

Eco Kids Column: Let’s Eco Wrap Presents

Letter to the Editor: No Development Should Take Place In Bukit Lagong Forest Reserve

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: NO DEVELOPMENT SHOULD TAKE PLACE IN BUKIT LAGONG FOREST RESERVE 

It is with alarm that environmentalists and concerned citizens learned today of the proposed degazettement and development of parts of the Bukit Lagong Forest Reserve in Gombak. 

Bukit Lagong provides more than just recreational and ecotourism value to the Selangor State Government, residents and visitors. Forests such as the Bukit Lagong Forest Reserve provide multiple ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration, flood protection, air quality improvement and water purification. Healthy trees absorb solar energy and release water vapour, thus regulating climate and temperature. Intact forests safeguard biodiversity, protect human health, and mitigate climate change. There is irrefutable data, including from various studies conducted by the World Bank, Wildlife Conservation Society, and Wetlands International, to support the assertion that forests are worth much more intact than when depleted, logged or converted into plantations. The economic returns of forest clearing for logging or development are short lived and can sustain only 1-2 generations at most. 

While the Selangor State Government’s action of calling for feedback and opening the proposed development for public inspection is an encouraging indication of greater transparency and participatory democracy, it must be emphasised that the opinion of the citizens, engineering professionals and the scientific and conservation community must also be taken into account, whether or not they have locus standi to object to the proposed development. Further, the feedback and objections from the public must be thoroughly considered, addressed and acted upon, not merely collected and then filed away to create the impression of civic participation. 

Any proposed development in an ecologically sensitive area with high conservation and high biodiversity value will adversely affect more than just people living in the immediate vicinity of the site. The clearing of forests for roads and construction will increase air and water pollution and the risk of soil erosion and landslides. The destruction of watershed areas will affect the entire state’s water supply and water quality. The opening up of access roads will create access not only for the construction vehicles, but also illegal loggers, poachers and wildlife traffickers. The construction of roads will fragment and bisect wildlife habitats, and the increase in traffic will result in wildlife deaths and wildlife-human conflict. The increase in motor vehicles and fossil fuel use in the area will contaminate the soil and groundwater with fuel runoffs. The clearing of trees will raise carbon dioxide emissions and reduce air quality. All these actions will affect more than just local residents. The damage to the environment will be irreversible, and yet those most severely affected by the destruction – namely, the trees and wildlife – have no suffrage and are unable to put in their written objections. 

The state government and developers have a duty of care not only to the local residents, but to all the living beings present and future who will foreseeably be harmed by the proposed development project. The well-being of the local human residents is interconnected with that of the local flora and fauna and even entities such as rivers and forests. 

The most preposterous thing about this proposed housing development project in Bukit Lagong is the fact that it is so patently wasteful and unnecessary. There is no shortage of viable housing development sites in Selangor. A study in June 2018 found that there are over 34,532 unsold completed residential units in Malaysia. Abandoned projects and lacklustre existing housing projects can be revived, improved and put back on the market. The advantage to reviving abandoned housing projects in urban and suburban areas is that there will often already be existing transportation, waste management and drainage infrastructure and systems, thus reducing the environmental and economic cost of providing housing. 

The proposed housing development project in Bukit Lagong is clearly not designed to meet the housing needs of the poorest and neediest, but to create an exclusive enclave for homebuyers who can afford the luxury of having a home in the heart of nature. The unfortunate cost of the privilege of living next to a forest reserve is that roads, sewage systems and waste management systems will have to be put in where there were none before, thus creating an additional burden on an already strained natural space. If the goals of proposed housing projects were to improve human quality of life, then such projects would be focused in urban areas close to amenities and infrastructures. The question of balancing environmental conservation and meeting human needs for adequate housing does not arise in this situation at all. 

The proposed Bukit Lagong development project must be immediately and irrevocably scrapped. It can benefit only an elite few but will harm a great many in the long run. I urge all concerned members of the public, whether or not you are residing in the vicinity of Bukit Lagong, to write in to the Director of the Selangor Forestry Department at Level 3, Bangunan Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, 40660 Shah Alam, Selangor, to politely and firmly state your objections to this irresponsible and indefensible proposal to degazette and develop the Bukit Lagong Forest Reserve. 

WONG EE LYNN 

MALAYSIAN NATURE SOCIETY

Letter to the Editor: Hill Slope Development Comes With Many Environmental Risks

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: 

HILL SLOPE DEVELOPMENT COMES WITH MANY ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS 

 The Bukit Kukus landslide tragedy is a grim reminder that hill slope development comes with many environmental and safety risks. Hill slope development causes erosion, habitat loss and air, water and noise pollution. It threatens wildlife, forests, water security, and soil integrity and stability. 

The Malaysian Cabinet had already drawn up a set of guidelines in 2009 prohibiting development on, inter alia, slopes exceeding 35 degrees, and slopes between 15-35 degrees showing signs of soil instability, erosion or other vulnerabilities. The Bukit Kukus tragedy involved an elevated road on a hill slope with a gradient reported to be 60-90 degrees. 

 The authorities are not unaware of the risks arising from, or the laws and guidelines in place in relation to, hill slope development. The guidelines include the National Slope Master Plan 2009 – 2023 issued by the Public Works Department, while the laws include the Land Conservation Act 1960, Environmental Quality Act 1974, Town and Country Planning Act 1976, and Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974. This clearly shows that there is no shortage of studies, guidelines, regulations and laws in Malaysia pertaining to hill slope development. What is lacking is the political will to enforce these laws and guidelines and to ensure the safety of people and the environment or the sustainability of the project. 

Blaming a massive landslide on rainy weather is irresponsible. Clearly the tragedy is not caused by merely rain and gravity, but corruption, apathy, irresponsibility and a willingness to cut corners and create wiggle room where there should be none. Intact land does not just spontaneously break off and descend on homes and roads when saturated with rainwater. If that were the case, then entire mountain ranges would be flattened annually during the monsoon season. 

Fatal landslides in Malaysia keep recurring because local and state authorities are willing to approve development projects on hill slopes, especially when given the assurance that mitigation measures, no matter how minimal and negligible, would be taken. However, no retaining wall or terrace can mitigate the adverse effects of deforestation, destruction of watershed areas, overdevelopment and mining, quarrying and construction activities near slopes. 

The Highland Towers collapse in 1993, Bukit Antarabangsa landslide in 2008, Hulu Langat landslide in 2011 and Tanjung Bungah landslide in 2017 all precede this latest incident, but decision-makers responded with words of regret and sympathy when strong policies and strict enforcement would have been more effective and would have prevented further tragedies. A prohibition on hill slope development on slopes exceeding a certain gradient should be treated as such, and not merely as a temporary freeze on hill slope development until public outrage simmers down. 

No development or construction activity should ever take place at a site in which the state and local authorities are unable to guarantee full compliance with safety guidelines or criteria. The profits to be gained from authorizing hill slope development work are paid for by construction workers and local residents with their safety and lives. Wildlife, rivers, forests and other natural entities pay the price with their existence. 

There must be a nationwide moratorium on all hill slope development. Existing projects must be reviewed, mitigation measures carried out and laws strictly and transparently enforced. The parties responsible for this fatal landslide must be held to account. Previously forested areas that had been cleared for hill slope development must be rehabilitated. The cost of hill slope development on the environment and communities is simply too high to be justified any longer. 

WONG EE LYNN 

COORDINATOR, 

GREEN LIVING SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP, 

MALAYSIAN NATURE SOCIETY