RM500mil to be spent on flood mitigation projects

KUALA LUMPUR: Some half a billion ringgit will be spent on various projects to mitigate floods around the country this year, said Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

He said flood mitigation would be one of the core focuses of the Government, with RM495mil expected to be invested in environmental projects to reduce disaster risks.

The ministry would be launching 69 Flood Mitigation Plan projects in flood-prone areas, he said in a statement.

Although the National Disaster Agency was ready to roll out relief efforts in the event of floods, Dr Wan Junaidi said these projects would become the first line of defence in reducing as many occurrences as possible.

He also said that more work would be put into enforcement against illegal logging and land clearing which contributed to water pollution and flooding.

The ministry is also expected to step up work in weeding out the illegal wildlife trade in the country.

“Through new strategies like the 1Malaysia Biodiversity Enforcement Operation Network and the national wildlife forensics lab, we ensure violators of the law will be punished.

“We also want to introduce enforcement guidelines for state governments and local councils to ensure our natural resources are managed properly,” he said.

Old laws and programmes under the ministry that did not fit efforts against the growing climate change threat would be discontinued by the end of the year, he added.

“We need to be more innovative in lessening bureaucracy so we can deliver more and meet the people’s expectations,” he said.

Malaysia, which ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change in November, pledges to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030.

Internationally, the country is expected to play a bigger role on the matter as it assumes the chairmanship of the Like-Minded Megadiverse Countries (LMMC) in Asia until 2018.