Publication Date: 04.11.2003

Publication: The Star

Byline: HILARY CHIEW

THE country's commitment to environmental protection scored an impressive record in February: three wetlands in Johor joined Tasik Bera in Pahang on the coveted Ramsar list - an international listing of important wetlands that comes under the Ramsar Convention.

The trio, Sg Pulai, Tg Piai and Pulau Kukup, all in southwest Johor, were selected for their uniqueness in terms of flora and fauna compositions and their relatively unspoilt mangrove forests and intertidal mudflats.

The Johor government earmarked 9,126ha of mangrove forest along Sg Pulai, another 526ha including an 8km-long strip of mangrove swamp at Tg Piai and the entire Pulau Kukup for inclusion as Ramsar sites.

While the move was laudable, it raises valid concerns. The mega port development at the mouth of Sg Pulai threatens to change the dynamics of the river's hydrology and alter the riverine ecosystem, thus removing the intrinsic values that earned it a place on the Ramsar list.

Mooted in the late 1990s, the original Sg Pulai's Ramsar boundaries was to include the present location of the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP), which has gained national importance for halting the flow of our containerised cargo into Singapore, a trend that had bolstered the island republic's position as the top container port in the world.

Subsequently, the boundaries were realigned to accommodate PTP's presence and the plans of its sister company, SKS Power Sdn Bhd, to build a coal-fired power plant on the western bank of the river.

Tipped to be the new growth engine of the country, PTP began its operations in July 2000 with an ambitious mission to propel the southwest corner of Johor into a regional logistics hub with its new rail connection and link to the North-South Expressway.

Precarious tip

In June, news that all is not well came trickling in. A cursory observation by the Johor National Park Corporation showed that Tg Piai had lost more than 50m of coastline between last October and June this year, purportedly due to increased wave actions caused by shipping activities at PTP. Tg Piai, the southernmost tip of mainland Asia, is facing severe erosion.

"We see a tremendous amount of shipping traffic during this period. The epicentre of the erosion seems to be at Tg Piai with repetitive wave actions on the same spot," says the corporation's director, Mohamed Basir Mahamed Sali.

However, Basir was quick to point out that the problem of erosion was not something new.

As early as 1999, erosion on the eastern side and accretion on the western front of the cape was noted by the Danish Cooperation on Environmental Development which had undertaken a project to draw up a management plan for Johor's mangrove forests.

"But the erosion rate has accelerated," asserts Basir.

Prior to the Ramsar listing, Johor had gazetted 526ha of the bigger Sg Pulai Mangrove Forest Reserve and an additional 400ha of the protruding mudflats as the Tg Piai National Park in 1997. At the same time, Pulau Kukup which lies opposite the western border of Tg Piai, was turned into a state park, the third after the Endau-Rompin National Park. Pulau Kukup consists of 648ha of mangrove swamps and 800ha of mudflats.

The seriousness of the problem prompted the Ramsar Convention Bureau to inspect the site in July. Its newly-appointed regional coordinator for Asia, Dr Lei Guangchun who led the Scientific and Technical Review Panel, had expressed concern over the rate of erosion and damage wrought by wave action.

He encouraged the Ramsar Convention administration authority in Malaysia, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, to register the site in the Montreux Record and promised that the Bureau would then seek international expertise to help mitigate the problem.

The Montreux Record is a provision of the Convention to accommodate Ramsar signatories which encounter external threats that will change the ecological character of a particular site.

As a member of Ramsar, a country is required to report any such threats to the Bureau as soon as possible and is also obligated to remove the threats and ensure that the site maintains its ecological character.

Once relegated to the Montreux Record, a site can only be removed from the high attention status based on recommendations from the site inspection team headed by the review panel.

However, it is understood that Malaysia has yet to make such a move which can only take place with the approval of the contracting party concerned.

Lei, however, defended the decision to designate the three sites as Ramsar sites despite the impending threats.

He said the threats were communicated by the ministry to the Bureau and it was satisfied with the assurance given by the Malaysian authorities that their international obligation would not come into conflict with national interests.

"Tg Piai is globally important for its functions, supporting many threatened and vulnerable species, and is a very important habitat for fishes. The goal of the Convention is the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local, regional and national actions and international cooperation to achieve sustainable development throughout the world. We will work with the Malaysian authorities to tackle the problem instead of avoiding it," said Lei.

He praised the Johor government's nature conservation programme for its role in promoting the importance of coastal wetlands.

Lei said that the state tourism and environment executive councillor Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek had, during an inspection trip, indicated the state government's intention to extend the protected area further north to include the mangrove coastline from Pontian and Batu Pahat to Parit Jawa in the Muar district.

The proposed 100km stretch, said Lei, is an important migratory route for more than 22 species of birds.

Stop-gap measure

Plans are afoot to install wave breakers as an immediate measure to stop the onslaught of increased wave action. Lei also pointed out that a study was needed to look into the problem of accretion at Pulau Kukup to determine the cause and whether it was linked to the erosion across at Tg Piai.

Lei disclosed that the ministry has plans to organise an international task force to resolve the issue. Johor had requested RM5mil from the Federal Government under the mid-term review of the Eight Malaysia Plan, to find a permanent solution.

Meanwhile, at the site, stakes and fallen branches were put to good use. The wood was driven into the mudflat in a bid to hold back the waves.

"This is a short-term measure. We are assessing various recommendations. It is a big problem that requires careful study and planning to produce a long-term effective solution," said Basir, adding that the corporation hopes to implement a separate management plan for the three Ramsar sites by the first quarter of next year.

Reclamation threat

It is feared that rapid development along the fringes of the Sg Pulai Ramsar boundaries may bring about adverse effects on the once rich and pristine seagrass beds along Tg Adang and Tg Kupang (see map).

Wetlands International (Malaysia Programme) senior technical officer L. Murugadas cautioned that development in high bio-diversity areas without any proper management plan could result in untold losses.

He said goods and services - food, shoreline protection, fisheries and pharmaceutical resources - provided by a vast wetland like the Sg Pulai estuary are immeasurable.

"The coastal ecosystem is so dynamic that anything happening 100m away could have a ripple effect. A catchment management from the ecosystem approach is needed for Sg Pulai," said Murugadas.

Across from PTP, site preparation for a 2,100mw coal-fired power plant has been going on for the past couple of months. The RM7bil project at Tg Bin undertaken by SKS Power is owned by Malakoff Bhd which is under the stable of Malaysian Mining Corporation (MMC).

MMC also owns PTP through Seaport Terminal Sdn Bhd. The first generating unit is expected to feed 700mw of electricity to the national grid by August 2006.

However, it is learnt that the Environmental Impact Assessment has yet to be approved by the Department of Environment. Until press time, attempts to seek confirmation from its director-general Rosnani Ibarahim drew a blank.

Commenting on the latest development adjacent to the Ramsar sites, Lei said it would be a challenge to ensure that the sites remain viable and retain their international importance.

Murugadas reckoned that Sg Pulai's predicament offers an opportunity for the private sector to demonstrate its social responsibility.

"PTP can be part of the solution. It is a challenge for it to develop its environmental management system as a responsible corporate citizen. The state can turn Sg Pulai into a showcase of how development and conservation can co-exist," he said, adding that mangrove protection had been a high priority for Johor. The state holds the second largest mangrove forest in the peninsula but it is constantly challenged by development pressures.

PTP, when contacted, denied that its activities were the cause of the problem.

"The pollution, if any, is not a result of busy container traffic or dredging near PTP. The government has taken all measures to ensure the sustainability of the area and all works are undertaken in compliance with EIA approval," said its spokesman in an e-mail interview.

Ecosystem decline

Research has shown that the Sg Pulai estuary is a unique ecosystem. Its geographical location between the Straits of Malacca and the Johor Straits makes it a reservoir trapping nutrients brought by the tidal exchanges that sustain its thriving biodiversity.

Marine biology student Choo Chee Kuang who is researching the seahorse population of Sg Pulai, regrets that the seagrass bed off Tg Kupang which is believed to be the biggest in the country, may be affected by development in the region.

"There is evidence that the seahorse of Sg Pulai is closely related to those in the Riau Islands. So there must have been genetic exchange through dispersal of individuals during the juvenile pelagic stage.

"The narrowing of the river mouth would prevent natural gene exchange, resulting in genetically unfit offsprings or a genetic bottleneck. This could bring about extinction," warned Choo.

He pointed out that the estuary is a migratory path for marine mammals like the dugong.

There is also the risk of oil spills and the introduction of alien species through ballast water from ships which call at PTP, said Choo.

While it is understandable that governments are all too keen to have a place on the Ramsar list, given its international recognition, such sites should be accorded due protection.

Any listing should be complemented by appropriate management strategies to protect the site along the principles of the Ramsar Convestion, said Murugadas.