Polluted rivers depriving livelihood of riverine residents in Baram

Stephen Then The Star 31 Jul 10;

AT ONE time the lagoons and river tributaries in the Baram hinterland were full of fishes that longhouse folk need to spend only a few hours fishing. They can catch enough not only for the day’s meal but some extras to sell for additional income.

The situation today, however, is a far cry from those bountiful days - no thanks to the increasingly polluted rivers now due to effluents discharged from the nearby plantations and also soil erosion caused by logging projects.

The pollution is slowly killing the river with the fish population said to be greatly reducing in numbers with some species either extinct or on the verge of extinction.

StarMetro recently visited several riverine settlements along the tributaries and banks of the Baram River in Marudi district, after hearing numerous complaints from the Baram folk, claiming that they were badly affected by river pollutants coming from both the oil palm plantations and logging activities.

A one-hour boat ride along the Baram River, its tributary Sungai Tarak and a lagoon Lubuk Aman, found numerous areas where the river channels had turned blackish in colour.

These channels were said to be coming out from huge plantations located along the river banks.

Along these banks are dozens of riverine longhouses, populated by dozens of families in each settlement.

StarMetro while on the trip also chanced upon an elderly fisherman, Empikau, who was in the midst of casting his nets at Sungai Tarak, some 30 minutes from Marudi town.

Accompanied by his wife Geli and grandchildren Imbat and Sintan, Empikau, who is in his 60s, said he had been fishing all his life.

“However, things are not longer what they used to be. I can still remember those days when I was young where our rivers were filled with big fishes.

“All we had to do was to lower our nets and within a few minutes, we will have enough to fill a big bucket.

“Nowadays, I have to come to the river very early in the day and go home very late in the evening. Even then, more often than not, I will return home with only a few tails, sometime barely enough to feed my family.

“I have to go deeper into the upstream just to make sure I don’t go back empty-handed. The rivers along the oil palm estates and logging camps are too polluted for the fishes to live,” he claimed.

Empikau said it was getting very difficult to catch enough even for their own daily consumption nowadays.

What more to say to catch extra for sale in the market,’’ he added while casting his net from his sampan.

A glance into his longboat found no fish at all. His bucket was still empty.

Geli said the river pollution not only deprived them of good catch and some side income but also affecting their health.

“Many among us are suffering from skin rashes after bathing in the river,” she added.

Meanwhile, a longhouse chief of Rumah Chabob Diau, when interviewed, said a huge oil palm plantation was opened adjacent to his longhouse last year and since then, they witnessed dark oily effluents flowing into the river systems daily causing the colour of the water to turn blackish.

“We don’t have clean piped water supply. Apart from rain water, the river is our only source for water either for drinking, cooking, bathing or doing our laundry.

“Hence, polluted or not thousands of riverine villagers have no choice but to use the river water for drinking, cooking, bathing and washing.

“Unless something is done to stop these river pollution, we will suffer even more serious health problems,’’ said Chabob.

Sahabat Alam Malaysia field officer for Sarawak, Jok Jau Evong when contacted called for more stringent measures to curb the alleged environmental pollution caused by plantation and logging activities.

“These problems are widespread. They are not only confined to Marudi district but in almost every part of the Baram region. The pollutants are not only damaging the rivers, but also the soil structure,’’ he stressed.

Meanwhile, State Disaster Relief Committee chairman Tan Sri Dr George Chan said oil palm estates were supposed to create a buffer zone between their estates and the rivers, and between their estates and human settlements.

“These measures are already in place. The enforcement authorities must make sure these are strictly adhered to,’’ he said.

StarMetro during the Marudi trip, found many huge plantations located right next to the riverbanks were without any buffer zone between them and the rivers.

It is no surprise the rivers in Baram are getting so polluted.