Ali Imran Mohd Noordin Bernama 23 Feb 11;
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 (Bernama) -- What does it mean to be citizens of a country like Malaysia? In short, every countryman is granted certain rights as privileges where in return, there are obligations to be fulfilled.
Overall, many do not realise that everybody are a part of a bigger 'country' called 'the environment' which grant and demand similar rights and obligations.
Look around and observe. Motor vehicles hurt the air, toxic chemicals being channelled into rivers, solid wastes not managed properly, all of these are costs that people are paying - with their life!
Has this gone too bad? Isn't there anything we can do?
100 YEARS OF EFFORT BUT TOO LITTLE IMPACT
In Malaysia, legislators started to make environment protected by-law since early 1900's. Among the earliest legislations passed are the Ordinance to Protect Several Species of Wild Birds (1904), Waters Enactment (1920) and Mining Enactment (1929).
In 1974, the Environment Quality Act was legislated to combat pollution issues. As this Act acts more on curative measure, it was amended in 1985, incorporating Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) to also act as preventive tool.
WHAT IS ENVIROMENTAL CITIZENSHIP (EC)?
The European Environment Agency (EEA) defined EC as 'The state, character or behaviour of a person viewed as a member of the ecosystem with attendant rights and responsibilities, especially the responsibility to maintain ecological integrity and the right to exist in a healthy environment.'
Meanwhile Stuart Bell and Donald McGilivray, experts of the field defined environmental citizenship as the notion that individuals should take responsibility for their own interaction with the environment.
"Environment management should be internalised within people", said Datin Paduka Che Asmah Ibrahim, Director of Department of Environment (DOE) Selangor.
"We need to take care our interaction with the environment by protecting and managing, not by exploiting it", she said.
WHO ARE ENVIRONMENT CITIZENS?
Stop pointing fingers to others. To make simple, everybody that lives on planet earth are a part of this big family of Environment Citizens (EC).
Just as like any country, citizens of the environment possess rights, which leads to responsibilities to be performed. The three main rights as are:
a)Access to Environmental Information.
To encourage the public to participate in environmental decision-making, the public must have access to information held by public bodies in relation to the pollution state of air, water, soil, land, plants and animals, energy, noise, etc.
Besides, identity of polluters and updated information on decisions, policies and activities that affect the environment need to make known to the public.
b)Access to Justice in Environmental Matters
Monetary cost has deterred many valid environmental related cases from being brought to court. Each EC should have right to access legal help and to get adequate judicial remedy on environmental issues.
c)Clean and Healthy Environment
Every EC deserve to live and work in a clean and healthy environment. Laws and regulations should continuously be updated and enforced accordingly against environmental offenders to protect the interest of the mass.
ENVIRONMETAL EDUCATION (EE)
Knowledge is power. EE refers to an organised effort to teach the way environment interacts in a system and how human plays an important role in behaving right to ensure the protection of ecosystem and sustainable development.
Goals of EE are as follows:
a) To foster clear awareness and concern about economical, social, political and ecological interdependence in urban and rural areas.
b) To provide every person with opportunities to acquire the knowledge, values, attitudes, commitment, and skills needed to protect and improve the environment.
c) To create new patterns if behaviour of individuals, groups and society as a whole towards the environment.
'Rakan Alam Sekitar' is DOE latest effort on EE. It is hoped to involve the community on hands-on approach and become government's eyes and ears combat any activities that harms the environment. Grab more info on this programme at www.doe.gov.my/ras.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
As an EC, some small steps that can be taken towards protecting the environment are water saving, energy saving and other ways.
Water saving:
a) Save water usage - install water saving devices in toilets
b) Install a low-flow shower head
c) Have flow-reducers on taps
d) Promptly repair dripping taps and pipes
e) Always ensure water taps are turned off when not in use
Energy saving:
a) Hang dry your laundry
b) Always check your stove (also save life)
c) Check refrigerator working well all the time
d) Use energy efficient appliances
e) Turn off lights when not in use
f) Use solar energy
Other ways:
a) Boil or filter your own drinking water instead of using bottled water
b) Compost food and yard wastes
c) Donate unwanted goods to others that might need them or to social service group
d) Don't kill wildlife
e) Prioritise the use of public over private transport
f) Make recycling a habit
NEED AGAINST GREED
"Environment is enough for human needs, not for human greed," stressed Che Asmah at the end of interview. She admits that behavioral change is a huge challenge for any EC effort.
As the level of awareness is rising, so does the damage. The Ecological Footprint of humanity indicated that our footprint exceeds the world's ability to regenerate by about 25 per cent.
Take some time and ponder - as today's generation grow old and weak, would they able to bear critics and complaints by their young ones when there's no more safe water to drink?
-- BERNAMA
