Malaysia's wetlands misused and abused

Tan Cheng Li, The Star 2 Feb 10;

Today is World Wetlands Day but there is little to cheer about as these habitats continue to dwindle. In Perak, the last freshwater swamp in northern Peninsular Malaysia is being sliced up for, among other things, a goat farm.

DOWNPOURS never used to bother oil palm smallholder Awang Lah. Nowadays, however, he worries about his 4ha estate in Jelai near Batuk Kurau in Perak, each time it pours. For the past two years, his plantation has been repeatedly flooded, and it gets worse each time. Last December, the water rose 2m in a matter of minutes, destroying the blooms and fruits of his five-year-old oil palms.

“I lost all my yields. I get about RM1,000 a month but for the past two months, nothing,” says Awang, 60.

He says floodwater started drowning his estate the same time that parts of the Pondok Tanjung Forest Reserve half a kilometre away were cleared for a Boer goat-rearing project.

“In the past, when it flooded, the water rose only up to 1m and receded very fast,” says Awang, who has worked the land there for over 20 years, first by planting durian trees and now, oil palm. “But after the logging started, the floodwater goes as high as 2m and takes two to three days to subside. This flooding has been happening four to five times a year. ”

Awang says five neighbouring plantations suffer the same fate. “We kampung folk do not object to the (goat rearing) project but there must be planning and consideration over how it can affect villagers,” he says dejectedly.

The consequences of turning forests into pastures – a scheme led by the Veterinary Services Department – should have been foreseen. Standing at the site of the goat farm, one is staggered by its scale. Over 1,400ha of barren land rolls into the distance – land which was once lush forest. Devoid of vegetation that stems runoffs, rainwater rushes off the land into streams, including Sungai Tebuang which flows through Awang’s estate.

Trees at the site were felled beginning in early 2008 and now, pens for the goats are being built and grass, planted. But shockingly, despite the vastness of the forest to be axed, land-clearing for the goat farm was never assessed for its environmental impact.

Carved up

The goat farm is just one in a litany of ills facing Pondok Tanjung Forest Reserve. Located some 20km from Taiping, it sprawled over 10,390ha when gazetted in 1913. Today, it has shrivelled to half its original size with parcels carved out for oil palm and rubber cultivation, settlements and development schemes. There is also illegal encroachment.

Two years ago, a birdwatcher found a huge banana plantation within the reserve and recently, a farmer was seen taking his cattle into the forest reserve to graze. To top it all, Pondok Tanjung continues to be logged as it is categorised as a “production” forest reserve.

A recent visit showed at least three active logging concessions of 80ha each. At one log landing site, highly prized timber such as cengal and meranti, and other commercial timber like kempas and jelutung, were piled up high, reflecting the commercial value of Pondok Tanjung forest.

Logging – for timber and the goat farm – has worsened floods in the area and will eventually threaten water supply, says Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) field officer Meor Razak Meor Abdul Rahman.

Drained by four streams and 10 tributaries, the Pondok Tanjung forest is an important water catchment for Tasik Bukit Merah, the main irrigation source for the 12,500ha rice fields of Kerian.

Meor Razak says in the past, only the downstream area of Kerian was prone to floods due to overflows from the lake but now, even upstream sites, such as where Awang’s oil palm estate sits, are flood-stricken.

SAM and also the Perak Environment Association have long called for an end to logging in Pondok Tanjung and for it to be fully protected for water catchment, flood control, wildlife protection and research. They pointed out that in the Perak Structure Plan 2020 and Lembah Beriah Local Plan, Pondok Tanjung is listed as a forest catchment and environment-sensitive area.

“It is also important to conserve the reserve as a buffer between upstream plantations and the lake. Silt that pours into rivers from oil palm cultivation in the upper part of the catchment is held back by the forest. If that vegetation is disturbed, Tasik Bukit Merah will be silted up further,” says Meor Razak.

The lake is already shallow as it is, the average depth being 2m to 10m. If it goes any shallower, grassy weeds will start sprouting, as is seen at its western edge. This will shrink the lake and jeopardise its water storage capacity. The Perak State Government intends to dredge the lake, at a cost of RM70mil to RM100mil, to alleviate downstream flooding,

Meor Razak, however, contends that dredging will be futile: “You will have to do it repeatedly for as long as the forest reserve is logged, sediment will enter the rivers and lake. The state government has to be more careful about future upstream development.”

Species at risk

With its multitudes of streams, Pondok Tanjung forest is largely a seasonally flooded freshwater swamp but it also contains lowland dipterocarp forest and a small portion of peat swamp. As the only remaining freshwater swamp in northern Peninsular Malaysia, and with only 1.2% of peninsula land cloaked in such habitat, it has earned high conservation value.

Scientists from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), which has a research station in the reserve, have combed Pondok Tanjung for over 20 years and attest to its rich wildlife. The flora of freshwater swamps, having to adapt to a harsh environment that alternates between wet and dry, are often unique and rare.

Tigers once lurked within Pondok Tanjung but these days, one is more likely to see monkeys, wild boars, deer, pythons and sometimes, crocodiles and tapir. It still has rich avifauna of over 150 species. The presence of endangered birds such as the red-naped trogon, short-toed coucal, Argus pheasant, rhinoceros hornbill, blue-rumped parrot and lesser adjutant have nudged Pondok Tanjung onto the global list of Important Bird Areas.

Such finds have compelled scientists to call for the preservation of Pondok Tanjung. There were even talks of considering it as a Ramsar Site (wetlands of ecological importance) but nothing materialised. Instead, the reserve shrank further in size.

For USM botanist Dr Mashhor Mansor, Pondok Tanjung today is a shadow of the wilderness which he first explored in the early 1990s. “It was a very nice and rich forest then. Now, it is being replaced by plantations.” He says wild species have declined, including that of the Malaysian-endemic aquatic plant Cryptocoryne elliptica. “There used to be 10 sites where they grow. Now, fewer than five remain.”

This species thrives only in untouched swampy, shaded spots. So in places where pools and rivers have turned murky and the canopy broken, clumps of C. elliptica have perished. One of the lost population grew within what is now the Boer goat farm.

With only two known distribution – Pondok Tanjung and a smaller population in a disturbed swamp near Kulim, Kedah – Dr Mashhor believes C. elliptica is headed for extinction.

“Freshwater and peat swamps are special places for the evolution of species and also for carbon sequestration. We cannot earmark an area for development without thinking about the ecology of the site,” laments the scientist.

Gilded fish

The streams of Pondok Tanjung nurture relatively rich fish fauna of some 42 species. Of these, the most valuable has to be the highly prized aquarium fish, the Malaysian golden arowana that is found only in Tasik Bukit Merah. Locals say the fish is now scarce in the lake due to past over-collection. That, coupled with the destruction of its riverine breeding ground in Pondok Tanjung, is spelling demise for this species.

Though the fish can now be bred in ponds, wild stocks are still needed to maintain genetic diversity and integrity. For the 50 arowana breeding farms in Tebuk Panchor village beside the lake, there are other concerns. Ponds that are fed by the lake, are suffering from sullied waters. One breeder says since earthwork began on the double-track railway project (the rail line crosses the lake), the water has turned more alkaline on several occasions, killing prized arowana fry.

“I had 10 to 20 fry dying in a day. This has happened on and off last year ever since the project started,” says Sahibol Anwar Arba’e, chief executive officer of MU Arowana Aquaculture. But he is uncertain if devastation of the upstream Pondok Tanjung has contributed to the tainted water.

Now, the breeders watch out for signs of foul water. “Whenever we see dead eels floating in the lake, we’ll make sure that we don’t add fresh lake water into our ponds,” says Sahibol, whose company has 200 ponds in a 6ha site. “We are dependent on the lake. As the Malaysian golden arowana comes only from the lake, it needs the lake water.”

The Malaysian golden species is the most expensive arowana in the world; a 10cm fry can cost up to RM1,800 and a 30cm arowana, RM6,500. So lucrative is the arowana breeding business that fish ponds are fast replacing rice fields in the vicinity of Tasik Bukit Merah.

If the lake is fouled by logging and further land-clearing, this million-ringgit aquaculture industry is at stake, along with an irrigation and flood control network, a natural carbon sink, diverse wildlife (including endangered ones) and ultimately, local livelihoods.

Wet wonders
Tan Cheng Li, The Star 2 Feb 10;

WORLD Wetlands Day is celebrated every Feb 2. It marks the date of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar. Celebrated for the first time in 1997, it is a time to recognise the importance of wetlands and learn about their values and benefits to man. This year’s theme is “Caring For Wetlands – An Answer To Climate Change”.

Wetlands encompasses bogs, marshes, peat swamps, freshwater swamps, lakes, mangroves and river systems, and are generally considered low-value lands, making them susceptible to reclamation for agriculture and other purposes. In truth, however, they are rich in species and provide man with numerous ecological services.

The benefits people obtain from wetlands are varied and include water supply, habitats for wildlife, fish breeding grounds, water purification and waste treatment, flood control, storm protection and recreation. These ecosystem services have been valued by some economists at US$14 trillion (RM49 trillion) annually.

In Thailand, intact mangroves are valued at US$1,000 (RM3,410) per ha based on the sale of mangrove fish and the additional value of non-marketed services such as storm protection and the sequestration of carbon. On the other hand, if the mangroves are converted to shrimp farms, their worth plunges to only US$200 per ha.

We cannot afford, for environmental, social or economic reasons, to lose wetlands; yet we have been doing just that. Losses range from 53% in the United States to a staggering 90% in New Zealand. The world has lost half its wetlands and still is, especially in developing countries.

What are we doing to cause losses in wetlands?
■ Habitat loss through wetlands claimed for agriculture and for urban and industrial development.
■ Excessive freshwater withdrawals especially for irrigation, and for domestic and industrial water needs. This leads not only to less freshwater availability inland but less freshwater flow to coastal areas from rivers, thereby impacting coastal ecosystems.
■ Siltation in coastal areas from the outflow from silt-laden rivers.
■ Invasive species have disrupted the abundance and survival of native species. These alien species can arrive as “hitch-hikers” on ship hulls and in ship ballast waters or as escapees from the aquarium and ornamental plant trades. Sometimes species are introduced for agricultural, aquaculture and forestry purposes.
■ Pollution through: agricultural runoff that releases pesticides and fertilisers into rivers; toxic industrial wastes; and untreated or partially treated sewage.
■ Over-exploitation of fish, shellfish, prawns, seaweed and wetlands timber, which reduces the capacity of the ecosystem to function.
■ Nutrient loading from nitrogen, phosphorous and other chemicals – mostly from agriculture but also from poorly treated domestic waste – causes excessive algal growth and the resulting reduction in other species.

The effect of climate change on wetland ecosystems and species

Wetlands found in prairies, tropical and boreal forests, arctic and alpine ecosystems, and coral reefs and mangroves, will be especially vulnerable to climate change because they have a limited capacity to adapt to change.

■ Expected increases in sea surface temperature of about 1°C to 3°C are likely to result in more frequent coral bleaching events and widespread mortality of corals.
■ Coastal wetlands, including salt marshes and mangroves, are likely to be negatively affected by sea-level rise, especially where there are inland physical barriers (such as sea walls and dykes); many areas will be damaged by coastal flooding through storms and tidal surges.
■ Changes in the timing and volume of freshwater runoff from inland wetlands will affect salinity, nutrient levels and moisture regimes in coastal ecosystems – all of which will impact coastal ecosystem functions.
■ Certain invasive species might spread further with increasing temperatures.

What can be done for wetlands?
■ Maintain the health of our intact wetlands.
■ Address the key drivers of wetlands loss and degradation (habitat loss, pollution, excessive water withdrawals, invasive species and over-exploitation).
■ Identify vulnerable species and ecosystems, and implement action plans for their recovery.
■ Prioritise and plan wetlands management and restoration programmes for more variable climate in future.
■ Restore degraded wetlands since healthier wetlands are more resilient than degraded ones.
■ Address the additional impact of climate change on wetlands species and ecosystems through climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.

(Mitigation requires us to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to encourage the removal of such gases already in the atmosphere by “trapping” them in soils and vegetation.

Wetlands species under threat
■ Waterbirds are more threatened than all birds and their status has deteriorated faster in the last 20 years.
■ Of the 1,138 waterbird populations whose trends are known, 41% are in decline. Some 140 out of 826 waterbird species are threatened.
■ 38% of the freshwater-dependent mammal species that have been assessed are globally threatened; these include groups such as manatees and river dolphins.
■ 33% of the world’s freshwater fish species are threatened.
■ 26% of the world’s freshwater amphibian species are considered threatened and at least 42% of all amphibian species assessed are declining in population.
■ 65 of the 90 freshwater turtles species that have been assessed are globally threatened. Six of the seven species of marine turtles are threatened.
■ Three out of five crocodile species assessed are threatened.
■ 27% of coral-building species that have been assessed are considered threatened.
■ Source: Ramsar Convention Secretariat / Data from the IUCN Red List, BirdLife International and Wetlands International