Sim Bak Heng New Straits Times 25 Apr 14;
THE Green Earth Society (GES), which is less than two months old, organised an environmental forum recently.
The forum highlighted the problems of pollution, environmental degradation and destruction due to development, and the importance of environmental conservation and preservation.
Several speakers were invited to present their views, followed by a question-and-answer session.
The interactive forum and the good response from the floor showed that the guests were eager to know more about environmental issues affecting their surroundings and the steps taken by the state government to address them.
Malaysia Environmental Protection Society president Nithi Nesadural gave a lengthy presentation of what the Earth will ultimately become if people continue to pollute the environment.
He quoted facts and figures to convince the guests that it is now a wake-up call to save the environment.
He expressed his worries that some fauna and flora may disappear from the earth sooner than later, and the future generation will have to rely on historical records to view the extinct species.
Another speaker, Dzulkefly Ahmad, criticised the uncontrolled development in Iskandar Malaysia, especially that involving coastal and mangrove swamps.
He revealed that a lot of mangrove swamps along the Johor Straits have been earmarked for development, despite the importance of mangroves in checking against coastal erosion.
Coastal development is nothing new in Iskandar Malaysia.
In fact, it is set to become the trend of the future.
Most of the projects launched in Iskandar Malaysia, which are targeted at foreigners, are basically waterfront developments offering a scenic view of the Johor Straits.
While the forum has highlighted the problems, it is not enough just to end there.
The GES has a lot of follow-ups to do such as relaying the issues highlighted during the forum to the authorities.
Otherwise, it is as good as shouting loudly from a sound-proof room which serves no purpose at all.
GES founder and chairman P. Sivakumar set up the non-governmental organisation because he could not bear to see how some developments are carried out at the expense of the environment.
He once told me that he did not even dare to pluck a leaf or snap a tree branch.
It sounds a bit far-fetched but this is what environmental conservation is all about.
It takes just minutes to chop down a tree but years to grow one.
In the case of mangrove trees, it is even harder to grow back due to the presence of tidal waves.
Dzulkefly pointed out that traditional fishermen along the Johor Straits are losing their livelihood due to dwindling catch.
They might be asking for compensation. But even if they managed to claim a big sum of money, this is not helping them to solve the problem.
The fact is that it is getting more and more difficult to make a living as fishermen anymore.
The birth of GES is the first step in the right direction.
I wish them every success.
