‘Make environment a priority in Johor’

Johor risks a severe water shortage if it fails to resolve issues that need immediate attention, NGOs say. — Filepic

JOHOR-based environmental organisations are urging the new state government to prioritise addressing environment-related issues.

Green Earth Society Johor pre­sident P. Sivakumar said the state should be proactive and meet environmental organisations.

He said there were many environmental-related matters that Johor needed to address by offering short-, medium- and long-term solutions.

“Among the crucial issues are floods, marine rubbish, beach erosion and the diminishing mangrove ecosystem.”

Sivakumar: Critical issues include flooding, marine rubbish and diminishing mangroves.

He said non-governmental organisations (NGOs) played an important role in providing authorities information on the happenings on the ground.

However, he said the lack of engagement was not a good sign.

Sivakumar said Johor needed to act fast in rehabilitating and rejuvenating dirty and dead rivers, as they were the main sources of raw water supply.

“There have been tell-tale signs from frequent water supply disruptions in recent years, and if the issue is not properly addressed, Johor will face a severe water crisis in the near future.”

He said the state government also needed to deliver flood-mitigation projects to address flash floods in urban areas, in addition to studying the impact of climate change on Johor.

Safe Johor River founder Poh Pai Yik said failure to address and resolve many environmental problems that needed immediate attention would result in negative long-term effects.

He called for better engagement with environmental NGOs and urged the state to work with them, including allocating financial assistance, to strengthen efforts to educate the public on environmental protection.

Poh: New government must look into river pollution, deforestation and illegal dumping.

“River pollution, deforestation and illegal dumping are major issues the new state government needed to look into,” Poh stressed.

“Polluted and contaminated rivers will not only affect water supply in Johor, but also the livelihood of inland fishermen who depend on them.”

Poh said authorities should take stern action against those who treat rivers as dumping grounds, including companies discharging effluents.

“Johor must ensure forest reserves or jungles, which are main water catchment areas, will not be encroached upon for unauthorised agriculture, sand-mining or logging activities.”