KOTA SAMARAHAN: For more than 10 years, Sarawak is the only state in Malaysia that has three flux towers currently operating.
Director of Sarawak Tropical Peat Research Institute (TROPI) Dr Lulie Melling said that the tower is in a few strategic locations such as Naman palm oil land in Sibu and Maludam National Park in Betong.
“Sarawak is proud to be a part of this network, with TROPI having pioneered and commissioned three of such towers with the full support of the state government and in collaboration with Hokkido University and the National Institute of Environmental Studies in Japan (NIES),” she said.
She also added that as climate change becoming the defining challenge of this generation, it is happening even more quickly than what was expected.
“This is a global threat, one which we are all losing. But it is also a race that we can win.
“And a challenge, that like it or not, we must overcome,” she added.
She added during her opening remarks at the Gala Night dinner in conjunction with the AsiaFlux conference 2022 last night.
She said during last year’s 26th United Nation Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP-26) in Glasgow, Malaysia agreed by 2030 it will reduce its gross domestic product (GDP) based greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 45 percent compared to 2005 levels.
“And of course, Sarawak plays a uniquely important role in meeting the nation’s climate commitment and ambitions.
“Sarawak’s peatlands, plays a major role due to its large carbon pools, many of which may have been disrupted due to land use change, weather and climate extremes,” she added.
She also said that it is thus, their joint challenge as policy makers and industry stakeholders to working together combining the vast resources and talents that Sarawak has to offer, to establish policies, to reduce mitigate and even halt climate change.
“Flux measurements, the core of the work done by our conference delegates, and a key pillar of our work here at TROPI, have been essential in providing GHG exchange informtion over time and space.
“Such empirical evidence and scientific data and insights, provide policy markers with a much-needed tool, in making informed policy decisions and charting the path forward to a low-carbon economy,” she said.
Among those present were Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan; Modernisation of Agriculture and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Dr Stephen Rundi, Minister in the Premier’s Department Datuk John Sikie; Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment Deputy Minister Datuk Len Talif Salleh; Deputy Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development Datuk Francis Harden Hollis and Ta Ann Holdings Berhad Executive Chairman Datuk Amar Abdul Hamed Sepawi and other distinguished guests.
