Best of our wild blogs: 8 Jun 14

Four New Discoveries!
from Butterflies of Singapore

Three Scenarios For a Future Sustainable Singapore
from Green Future Solutions by Eugene Tay

Naked at Pasir Ris on World Ocean Day
from wild shores of singapore

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Malaysia: 'Logging caused floods'

New Straits Times 8 Jun 14;

IPOH: In light of the recent floods that hit several villages in Kampar district near here, an environmental group has urged the state government to monitor logging activities at the adjacent 3,600ha Bujang Melaka forest reserve.

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) said the floods, which resulted in the evacuation of nearly 400 people, were largely caused by siltation from clearing activities.

SAM field officer Meor Razak said logging activities should not have been allowed at the forest reserve because of its highly-sensitive hills, steep slopes and weak forest floor.

"The reason the floods happened was because of the large quantity of earth which flowed into the Dipang river."

While the state government's instruction to the Drainage and Irrigation Department to investigate the cause of the floods was laudable, Meor said it should also instruct the Forestry Department to carry out a study on logging activities.

Meor said the state government should also study the impact of logging at the Bukit Kinta forest reserve as it could have contributed to flooding in Kampung Sahom upstream.

During his visit to the evacuation centre on June 5, Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir said the authorities concerned had been asked to determine whether the floods were caused by the shallow Kampar and Dipang rivers, or the heavy rain.

Floods hit several villages in Kampar on Thursday, namely Kampung Baru Kuala Dipang, Kampung Batu 20, Kampung Nyior, Kampung Kuala Dipang, Kampung Chabang 2, Kampung Pasir and Kampung Malaya.
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