Santiago: Federal Govt should manage water catchment areas

KLANG: The Federal Government must take over the management of water catchment areas nationwide if the states are not able to do it on their own.

National Water Services Commission (SPAN) chairman Charles Santiago (pic) said one of the urgent measures that needed to be kick-started was the gazetting of all catchment areas.

“Gazetting the catchment areas will guarantee that we will have sufficient water for future generations," he said.

He added that it was incumbent on the state governments to give the utmost priority to the matter.

“If the state governments don't do it, the Federal Government should intervene or take over the responsibility of caring for the nation’s catchment areas," said Santiago.

According to him, the move would also help to counter water shortage issues plaguing some states on an annual basis.

Currently, only certain parts of catchment areas were gazette and this led to the ecology and integrity of these places being compromised, he said.

“And sometimes the gazette area can be degazetted to make way for highways or roads. I believe this has happened before," said Santiago.

Once gazetted, a catchment area cannot be used for any other purpose, he stressed.

He said currently in some states, development and construction were taking place very close to water catchment areas.

Meanwhile, Sahabat Alam Malaysia president Meenakshi said water catchment areas were made up of entire ecosystems and it would not do to just create artificial boundaries in only some parts of the area.

“The system in water catchment areas is integrated and functions as an ecological system. Merely protecting some parts and not all of the area will impact the rainfall it receives,"she said.

She opined tha the old approach of managing water catchment areas must be done away with in order to protect water resources and security for the future.

According to Meenakshi, the Federal Government must support the states in terms of grants to gazette and protect water catchment areas.

She added funds were also available from international sources to address issues related to climate change and bio-diversity.

“So, one cannot say there are no funds to initiate the necessary measures," she added.