They claim this mother of ours, the Earth, for their own use, and fence their neighbors away from her, and deface her with their buildings and their refuse.
Sitting Bull, Indian leader who led his people against United States government policies
Our air filled with the smell of burning plastic, toxic dumpsites, drains and rivers overflowing with plastic rubbish, our hospital beds filled with people admitted due to illnesses caused by various types of environmental pollution. Is this what we will see in years to come in Sarawak?
This scenario, although not welcomed, can yet come true if the majority of us do not change our attitude soon towards protecting and caring for our environment.
Globally, issues related to our environment started gaining attention only in the second half of the 20th century.
As the awareness and importance of our environment grew, so did public demand for environmental safeguards.
Thereafter solutions and remedies to the many environmental problems became an expectation of those people who became aware of the disastrous consequences (ranging from climate change, disasters and illness) of neglecting our environment.
Although in Sarawak we have laws to protect our environment, we have to first ask, is there effective enforcement of existing laws? Secondly, are these laws sufficient to protect our people?
The effectiveness is debatable. The perception is that only when something is highlighted in the media that action is taken. At the same time, I am sure the relevant authorities will be able to state that they are active in enforcement.
As to whether there are enough laws protecting the environment it would depend on where one stands. From the perspective of some business owners, it would probably be that there are enough or even too much.
After all, implementing compliance with the existing laws cost money. From the perspective of environmentalist, it would most likely that we need more regulations and laws to protect our environment.
Although the issues and effects of abusing our environment are gaining traction in Sarawak, the base is still too small for there to be a big enough impact.
Firstly, we need awareness of the issues, such as dangers of plastics, amongst our populace. Secondly, we need this awareness to turn into effective and affirmative action by the people.
Fortunately, we have a foundation from which we can begin our awareness campaigns. Some local NGOs and government agencies have in various ways started the awareness programmes from my recollection about 30 years ago.
The question however arises, how effective are these awareness campaigns? From the perspective of anyone who is a committed environmentalist, I am sure the answer would be not much of an impact because we cannot see any visible results.
As one environmentalist highlighted to me, just look at the amount of plastic rubbish on land, rivers and the seas. He asked, “How much longer are we going to keep having beach cleaning activities?”
A fair enough question to which I could only reply, hopefully not for too long.
So how responsive are we to all these environmental campaigns? Here in Sarawak, so far, I have not come across any measurable research studies that have been carried.
However, judging from the on-going increase in tonnage of rubbish being collected by local councils and the amount of single-use plastics in our environment, the response to the campaigns are rather limited. These are only two observations and there are more.
One thing is for sure, there is a need for more to be done to safeguard our environment and our people.
Therefore, it is timely that Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg made an announcement on this matter recently that was reported in the New Sarawak Tribune when officiating at the Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) 25th anniversary dinner at a hotel here on Wednesday.
He said, “Any approaches or future undertakings with regard to environmental management will be based on Sarawak’s own mould”.
He also highlighted that Sarawak now has its own powers on the environment through recent discussions of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) steering committee.
He further mentioned that Sarawak would play its role in sustainable development, meaning a balance to development together with the need to conserve our environment.
Critically he said, “We also have to create awareness through educational promotion among the young as well as the old. This is to ensure that the future generations inherit a clean environment,” and also that citizens and the corporate sector had to play their role to ensure their processes are environmentally friendly.
He placed emphasis on adopting modern technology in our development process and also the use of clean energy to reduce carbon emissions such as the use of hydrogen in order to ensure an environment-friendly ecosystem.
With the dedicated leadership on issues related to our environment, Sarawak can take the lead in this region to showcase its concern and care for its people.
This would also add credibility towards our eco-tourism efforts.
Caring for the environment is caring for its people. This is our responsibility and the government’s collectively.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the New Sarawak Tribune.
