Malaysia: Rising sea level affecting the environment and coastal communities

Christina Tan 16 Jul 12;

BATU PAHAT: Rocks were dumped along a beach in Senggarang and nearby areas stretching over 6km to prevent further soil erosion.

The project costing RM200,000 funded by the Drainage and Irrigation Department was completed early this year.

However, the rock wall is a short-term measure, said Senggarang assemblyman Jaafar Hashim when met at Kampung Seri Pantai, one of the beaches in Senggarang which was badly affected by erosion.

Jaafar said the sea was getting closer to the villages as waves swept the sand into the sea.

The soil erosion left some of the villagers’ homes and farms flooded with seawater during high tide and strong waves.

“One way or another, we have to take action and overcome the erosion problem as the coastal communities have to grapple with rising waters.

“The situation is quite critical because large quantities of sand disappears every year.

“Over the years, we lost about two to three metres of land in certain stretches of the beach and for decades, some of the beaches has eroded by 250metres,” he added.

Jaafar said the southwest monsoon winds that hits the area from April to September, causing strong waves was one of the biggest contributors to the erosion.

He said the sea level at beaches such as the one in Kampung Seri Pantai has reached 3.5metres from 3.2metres in just one to two years.

Geographical change including climate and land reclaimation activities at nearby areas said Jaafar, also added to the rise in sea level.

Jaafar added a long-term measure such as installing wave-breakers to reduce wave pressure is needed to protect the area from further erosion.

A local university had conducted a study and in its 2009 report, mentioned the coast along Senggarang stretching 13.7km from Koris to Punggor required erosion prevention works with an estimated cost of RM89mil.

Jaafar said the government is concerned about the livelihood of the coastal communities and looking into long-term solutions for the good of the environment.