Malaysia: Bald spots are evident where once green hills stood

Christina Chin, Andrea Filmer, Ian McIntyre and Kow Kwan Yee
The Star 8 Jul 12;

GEORGE TOWN: As the city celebrates its fourth anniversary as a Unesco World Heritage Site, Penangites are lamenting the continual loss of their natural heritage the state's lush, green hills.

As the streets came alive yesterday to mark the proud inscription of George Town's unique history and culture, the island's landscape continues to change drastically with rapid development encroaching into the hills and the coastline.

From an aerial view, “bald” spots are evident on what used to be the island's crowning glory such as Tanjung Bungah, Sungai Ara, Paya Terubong, Relau and Bukit Gambier.

From these bare patches, mega housing projects and high-rise developments are emerging, much to the ire of residents who claim that the existing green lungs in the state are quickly going extinct.

Penang Water Watch president Prof Dr Chan Ngai Weng warned of the negative effects of rampant hill land development and deforestation, saying that these could destroy precious water catchment areas, cause soil erosion, landslides, mudslides, downstream flooding, sediment pollution of rivers and climate change.

Penang, he pointed out, was hotter now compared to two decades ago. “This is especially so in George Town.

“We are now an urban heat island',” said the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) School of Humanities lecturer.

He cautioned that things could get worse.

Rainfall, he said, was reduced now that there were fewer trees for evapotranspiration (a term describing the transport of water into the atmosphere from surfaces).

Penang Heritage Trust president Khoo Salma Nasution said the hills were sacrosanct.

“They are our green lung, forest reserve, water reserve and a historic backdrop of a bustling city at the edge of the sea.

“Our eco-system is incredibly fragile and to develop high-rise and high density buildings on hillslopes is to set the stage for a system breakdown and ecological disaster,” she said.

Let’s save the hills together
The Star 8 Jul 12;

GEORGE TOWN: A non-governmental organisation has proposed that all environment stakeholders band together to monitor hill destruction activities in the state.

Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) Penang branch adviser D. Kanda Kumar suggested that NGOs “mobilise the public” via a state-wide campaign to protect the hills from further destruction.

“We can consider starting a campaign to get all stakeholders involved so that as a group, we can be more pro-active and vigilant,” he said yesterday.

He said the MNS Penang branch was a member of the “Penang Forum” a coalition of NGOs that deals with issues ranging from social to environmental and it was studying how hillslope development could be controlled.

“There must be a discussion on the next course of action. It's tricky because there are legal issues involved but we should look at why there is this need' for such high density development on our hills.”

However, he claimed it was not just developers who were “destroying” the hills.

“Unchecked illegal agricultural activities was how it all started.

“Some 30 years ago, the hills in Penang were already slowly being cleared but it's only now that people are opening their eyes to the destruction because the clearings are visible from the roads.

“Previously, such clearing activities were done on the other side of the hill which was usually hidden from public view,” he added.

The MNS was at the forefront of the Friends of Penang Hill, a coalition comprising 12 NGOs with over 1,000 members that protested and won the battle against the Bukit Pinang project.

The coalition was set up in the early 1990s to protest plans for an international recreation-and-holiday resort development on Penang Hill.

Tanjung Bungah Residents Association chairman Datuk Dr Leong Yueh Kwong, a former lecturer of ecology, botany and environment, said development on the north coast had reached a critical level.

“It's obvious that the Penang landscape has changed, especially in the north coast that is bordered by hills and the sea.

“At present, we just do not have the infrastructure to cope with any increased activity. Given the trend we're seeing now, problems like traffic congestion will be a daily occurrence instead of something that happens on peak hours, weekends and holidays,” Dr Leong said.