Song-Writing Competition On Environment

Good news to those who likes to write songs!

A song-writing competition based on the environment will be organised by the Sabah Cultural Centre.

The competition is open to all Sabahans. You can submit as many entries as you want to, in any of the common languages in Sabah, particularly local dialects.

The Sabah Culutral Centre will feature the winning song in a special performance in December at the opening of the new Sabah Cultural Centre building in Penampang.

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State government continues to support forest conservation

The state government is constantly working towards fostering in the people the need to love nature and care for environmental conservation.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman said the government is also actively supporting forest conservation effort through timely initiatives that help safeguard the forests in perpetuity.

 

He said the government would always support initiatives that contributed to nation building. For instance, the Sandakan Girl Guides Association (SGGA) has received support from the state government because this was an example of how society could contribute towards nation building.

The Chief Minister also added that nation building is a long term effort and not something which could be achieved overnight.

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Govt and NGOs work hand-in-hand to protect the environment

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman (third right) with the representatives of the six conservation and research organisations who paid him a courtesy call at Sri Gaya. They are, from left, Bernard Tai, Datuk Dr Junaidi Payne, Irene Jintoni, Cynthia Ong, Datuk Sam Mannan, Dr Marc Anrenaz and Dr Benoit Goossens. – Photo by Suzanne Chong/LEAP.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman has received one-page document of a three-point call to action to the Sabah State Government from leaders of six conservation and research organisations. This move shown that both sides agreeing to work together to further map out the recommendations. 

Musa said the State government is keen to cooperate with the organisations in safeguarding Sabah’s environment and will study the recomendations in further detail to see their viability. He also added that some of the steps have been taken or are in the process of implementation.

The six conservation and research organisations which are from the Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA), Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC), HUTAN, Land Empowerment Animals People (LEAP), The Royal Society South East Asia Rainforest Research Programme (SEARRP) and WWF-Malaysia have made three recommendations to help improve environmental standards in Sabah.

The first recommendation is to elevate Kuamut Forest Reserve into Class 1 Protection status. Second, Yayasan Sabah to conduct independently verifiable moves towards certification of all agricultural and forestry plantations within its area through the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Thirdly, State government to conduct an immediate review of all policies, practices and plans within the critical elephant ranges of Sabah, to be carried out by a dedicated Government-industry-NGO-research task force.

In order for Sabah’s conservation and environmental protection efforts to succeed, Musa said Sabah government through its agencies continued to collaborate with some of these NGOs in research, restoration, education and training in conservation and forest management.

He added that the government has embarked on a massive tree replanting effort involving numerous indigenous species so as to allow the forest to regenerate.However, due to lack of publicity, the public may not be aware of some of the efforts and policies undertaken by the government. 

Speaking on behalf of the group, LEAP executive director Cynthia Ong said the six organisations wanted to continue to work closely with the State to ensure what have been proposed will be materialized. 

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Importance of clean environment

Clean vs dirty environment

It is very important to take care about our environment because our health directly depends on the health of our environment. It is very easy to find dirt and pollution at many places across the world and large population of world is living in such bad and unhygienic conditions. People are drinking unclean drinking water and they are breathing polluted air; so, this pollution of environment is causing many people to suffer from various health problems. Whereas if we live in a clean environment then we can live a healthy life and we can achieve this by understanding the importance of clean environment.

It is very important for every individual in this world to understand that clean environment is very important for health of all human being. Any kind of pollution which is causing damage to environment is equally bad for whole humanity. Today various kind of serious health problems like cancer are increasing fast across the world and main reason behind the increase of these health problems is increasing pollution of our environment.

Today, we see a slight awareness in masses about increasing pollution levels and therefore, we are seeing some actions from all wakes of life; however, still lots of work is required to be done by all of us to have a clean and healthy environment. First step in this campaign is to make people aware about importance of clean environment and how it can help us in remaining healthy. 

 

Source: kgw.arvindkatoch.com

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More focused environmental policy for Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: The State government is in the process of formulating a more focused and clear environmental policy for Sabah.

It will be a standard operating procedure by the State government to manage the impact of human on the environment with a view to prevent, reduce or mitigate harmful effects on the environment and natural resources, said Tourism, Culture & Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.

He was speaking at the opening of the “Stakeholder Consultation Workshop for Sabah Policy on the Environment”, which was held at the Promenade Hotel in July 2012.

“Many would perhaps ask why we need to formulate an environmental policy when we have several existing legislation pertaining to the protection of the environment such as Environment Protection Enactment 2002, Wildlife Enactment 1997, Sabah Parks Enactment 1994, Sabah Water Resources Enactment 1998, Sabah Biodiversity Enactment 2000 and Sabah Forestry Enactment 1968, among others.

“Besides that, we have environmental related policies and plans such as Sabah Tourism Master Plan, Sabah Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plan, Sabah Agriculture Policy, Sabah Forestry Policy, Sabah Environmental Education Policy, Sabah Wildlife Policy and Action Plan and Sabah Development Corridor Blueprint,” he said.

He explained that the major problem with the existing legal framework was in its sectoral approach in managing the environment.

“This sectoral approach has resulted in the passing of a number of environmental related legislation with its own provision on the environment.

“Besides, policies and plans are also rather specific and sectoral where environmental issues are incorporated in a fragmented manner. Hence, despite these legislation, policies and plans, the environmental degradation continues,” Masidi said.

“The Environmental Policy for Sabah is therefore crucial to serve as a framework and guideline for decision making towards modernisation and industrialisation.

“It serves as a living and reference document for all economic sectors and any other form of development that touches the environmental and natural resources, where monitoring, review and revision of this document are envisaged.

“It will look into the integration of all related aspects such as water and air so that any problems are not dealt with in a fragmented manner as the situation arises,” he said.

“This policy will also highlight the use of different types of instruments such as economic incentives and fiscal-based instruments such as tax-exemptions, tradable permits and fees, whichever relevant and practical to ensure that the policy is effectively implemented and complied with.

“Environmental charges exist in other countries in addition to pollution control regulations and are used to raise revenue as well as encourage environmentally friendly behavior,” he added.

“For instance, Kota Kinabalu City hall may want to impose waste disposal charge to Kayu Madang Landfill so that the revenue collected is used for the management of the landfill.

“Denmark, for example, levy taxes of 95 Danish Krona (US$34) per metric ton on waste delivered to landfills and 160 Danish Krona (US$28) per metric ton on waste delivered to incineration facilities. These taxes raised 527.6 million Danish Krona (US$92.6 million) in 1993,” Masidi said.

“The proposed policy is also geared towards the prevention of externalities such as free rider problem, e.g. factory causing pollution to common resources such as rivers.

“These are examples of externalities around us such as the recent complaint of a laundry mart in Inanam, Kota Kinabalu discharging polluted water into the Inanam River,” he said.

If the river happens to be a water intake point for Kota Kinabalu, the consumers have to pay for the cleaning of water due to the pollution caused by the factory, he added.

Masidi urged companies operating in Sabah such as oil palm mills, rubber and other industries to commit themselves to reducing their environmental impact and create a set of environmental principles and standards and have environmental audit.

In this regard, companies should move towards more efficient production process, adopt cleaner technologies and processes throughout the life cycle of the product in order to minimise waste generation and contribute to maintaining good climatic conditions, he said.

“Cleaner production includes conserving raw materials and energy, eliminating toxic raw chemicals and reducing the quantity and toxicity of emissions or discharges before they leave the production process.

“And going for voluntary environmental schemes such as eco-labelling, Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) as well as adopting a corporate social responsibility programme,” Masidi said.

Source: New Sabah Times

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Environment, Waste Management & Agriculture

A company at Malaysia called Azed Bina Sdn Bhd has involved in biomass material recycling into renewable energy (heat & electricity) and ash for the production of organic fertiliser.

The company has developed an economical and environmental friendly system know as the Bio-Waste Recycling System (BRS) to recycle organic waste. Which involved in 4 sectors; Research, Environment & Waste Management, Renewable Energy and Engineering Design & Fabrication.

Recycling Centre for large food manufacturers; Nestle and Ajinomoto in Malaysia. Recycle expired food products into organic fertiliser and animal feed and broken wooden pallets into biomass materials.

 

 

Agriculture - organic fertilizer production (Soygrow Brand), supply and distribution to organic farms.

 Resources recycling for commercial purposes, alleviate environmental burden and at the same time increasing business opportunities in Malaysia.


Source: azedbinasdnbhd.blogspot.com

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Environmental protection is crucial, says Linda

Member of Parliament for Batu Sapi, Datin Linda Tsen Thau Lin, urged everybody to take part in the programme that involves environmental protection.

Datin Linda who launched the newly introduced programme ‘Friends of the Environment’ (RAS) for the parliamentary constituency of P.185 Batu Sapi at SK Sung Siew said environment is a very important element for the future of the world. Linda told that it is everybody's responsibility to protect the environment hence the awareness of environmental protection should be nurtured among the society. Through this, it will encourage them to come forward to protect the environment together. She hoped the selected schools that received a grant of RM5,000 for carrying out RAS activities throughout the year will take advantage of this assistance to realize all activities that lead to environmental sustainability as well as the implementation of environmental education.

Picture source: parlimen.gov.my

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Royal visit testimony of our good conservation work – Masidi

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah has done well, especially when environment conservation is concerned, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s visit bears testimony to it.

Prince Williams and Kate Middleton will be visiting the state’s Class I (Protection) Forest Reserve, the Danum Valley Conservation Area (DVCA), located on the western side of the upper reaches of the Segama River in Southeast Sabah on September 15.

They are currently on their nine-day Southeast Asian and Pacific tour marking Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee. The royal couple is currently in Singapore.

“We are pleasantly surprised that the Royal Highness Prince William and Princess Kate have chosen to visit Sabah in this part of the world. I think it is an honour and testimony of the good conservation work that Sabah is doing,” said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun, yesterday.

Met at the Petronas Raya Open House here, he said the Royal Highnesses are expected to visit the Royal Society’s South East Asia Rainforest Research Programme (SEARRP), a British non-governmental organisation that has been working in DVCA for about 25 years.

SEARRP was established in 1985 in response to mounting concern over the future of South East Asia’s rainforests and through a conviction that by gaining a scientific understanding of tropical rainforest systems, ecology and dynamics a significant contribution could be made to their sustainable management and conservation, particularly in the context of global environmental change.

Although the scope of the programme includes all of South East Asia, their efforts are primarily focused on Sabah.

“That itself shows not only the confidence in the international NGO and our policy, which is to conserve, but it bears testimony to the fact that, in a small way, a stamp of approval from the Royal Highnesses on all the good job by our international NGOs, the Sabah Forestry Department and all who are involved in the conservation work,” he said.

His Royal Highness Prince Henrik, The Prince Consort of Denmark and Queen Margrethe II, had also visited Danum Valley and according to Masidi, the royal couple had extended their two-night stay to five nights, “because they were overwhelmed by the richness of flora and fauna found in Danum Valley.”

Prince Hendrik, who is the president of Denmark’s World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), was a guest of WWF Malaysia and had also toured various conservation spots including Likas Bird Sanctuary, Kinabatangan Floodplain, Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre in Sandakan and Sukau Rainforest Lodge.

He visited the 43,800ha Danum Valley Field Centre in Lahad Datu and Maliau Basin, also known as Lost World, which lies in the interior of southern Sabah, and participated in a village home-stay programme in Ulu Padas near the Sarawak-Kalimantan border.

“This, for us, again, is an eye opener to many Europeans. Unfortunately Asians and the Third World countries in general are always in the news for the wrong reasons, and we are always being accused of turning our back to conservations, but I think what is happening in Sabah is exactly the opposite.

“I think we are doing better than other countries, including the First World countries and I think all Sabahans should be very proud,” he said.

Masidi reiterated his calls for the people to continue conserving and preserving the environment.

“The tourists come here for nature adventure, they like to see our sea, they like to dive and go to our mountain, and they simply want to go to our jungle because we have pristine jungles. I have said this many times and I want to say it again that for so long as we look after nature and environment, tourists will keep on coming.

“In fact I am happy to inform that for the first seven months of this years, the Chinese tourist arrivals to the state had gone up over a massive 40 per cent and this, to me, is again a testimony to conserve nature. Sabah is known to be a nature paradise, and we should keep it that way. I hope the people will understand that the moment we start destroying all the best of nature that we have, it is the beginning of the end of the tourism industry and I think we need to remember that,” stressed Masidi.

Source : Borneo Post
Picture sources: malaysiakini.com

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Environment Cleanliness is Everybody's Responsibility - Masidi

Datuk Masidi said that many of the tourist who come to Sabah made a complaint that state on how dirty our public toilets in the Kota Kinabalu area as well as rubbish that been thrown recklessly.

He said we cannot continue to promote Sabah as the best eco-tourism spot in the world if we do not have the sense of responsibility to preserve our environment and to take care the cleanliness of our city. The government can spend millions to promote Sabah as the best eco-tourism destination but if we do not care about our city cleanliness all of our effort is just a waste. The society should realize and reflect themselves that the rubbish that have been thrown come from their own attitude. He added that community should not just rely on City Hall only to pick up the responsibilities of cleanliness but instead the people should change their attitude and be more responsible to the environment.

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25 Everyday Techniques to Save Environment

Steps to reduce pollution

We all pollute the environment we live in, I do, and your dog does too. It’s very much in our control to reduce this pollution.

1. Go paperless, save environment. Sure you can’t stop advertisement leaflets coming in to your mail box (shouldn’t there be an environmental law to ban this practice, or at least, be made it mandatory to use recycled paper?) but, you can control the statements, updates and notices which you get from your financial institutions.

Select paperless as the mode of communication. Mostly all of them support this. It’s high time that all govt. agencies implement this too.

2. Stop using bottled water. This may be very hard for many, I understand. If it’s not that hard for you, start using re-usable materials and fill it up every time.

3. Stop smoking. Smoking creates pollution inside of your body and for the people around you. Even after hours of smoking, your kids can be recipients of harmful effects of your nicotine consumption.

    “The pollution caused by cigarettes does not stop in our bodies or the air around us; it also affects the land we live on and the water that we drink. Millions of cigarette butts are discarded on to the ground every day“.

4. Use less electricity. There are various options to save on electricity, I can write an entire post about this. The easiest of the ways is to use fan instead of an AC, if you can. Air drying clothes, letting sunlight come in the winter and blocking it in the summer are other easy options to try out at your home.

5. Use less gas. Bike to work, car pooling are the easier options you can try. There are various other effective ways to save on gas.

6. Recycle. Don’t just throw your old electronics and batteries to trash. Make use of local free recycling facilities. Dispose your plastic containers as well by separating them out from normal trash.

7. Use reusable shopping bags. It was my wife’s idea to start using reusable bags. They are made of cloth and need cleaning once a week. We eliminated a lot of plastics from our life this way. You can do the same.

8. Buy fresh local produce. Whenever you have option to buy from farmer’s market or local grocers, give it a preference. Processed goods take a lot of energy, first for processing part and then, the fuel consumption in transportation.

9. Save water. Sweet water is a scarce resource and it’s being depleted at a greater pace than earth is replenishing it. There are various ways to save water in everyday use from fixing leaky outlets to adjusting the timers on sprinklers.

10. Use emails and eGreetings. Unless you are already using it, what’s preventing you from going ‘e’ route? Apart from being environment friendly, it also reduces effort required to pass your message across.

11. Use ceramic cups. Instead of plastic, paper or Styrofoam, the ceramic cups can be used over and over.  This reduces the impact on the environment and on your budget.

12. Print less. Unless it’s absolutely necessary to print, refrain from doing so.  When you do have to print, consider printing on both sides of the paper.

13. Refuse receipts. I understand this is just small savings of paper use here, but every little bit helps! Use credit/debit card to pay at the stores and decline the printing of the receipt. Your purchase is documented in your statements any way. If required for taxes, you can easily access the information.

14. Reuse and re purpose. whenever possible, re-use the containers, cartons and envelops. Oh, your tooth-brush as well! For cleaning my sports shoes, I use old tooth brushes, it goes in to the grooves perfectly.

15. Use energy-efficient bulbs. In the long run they save a lot of money and energy. Best are the LED bulbs, even fluorescent light bulbs consume 1/3rd (or lesser) of the energy of incandescent light bulbs.

16. Use clothes more than paper. Reduce paper usage by using cloths to wipe your hands or the things you normally wipe with paper towels. My home is paper towel free and I use old dresses to make wipe cloths. Do you know something called handkerchief?

17. Use microwave.  I am not sure if you can bake cakes in a microwave. Last time I checked, my wife also didn’t know. But, she could tell me 100′s of other dishes that can be cooked in microwave. Use microwave more often to reduce your carbon footprints.

18. Leak proof your home. Ensure you are not losing warmth or cool through leakages, by having your home properly insulated and window and door seals checked.  By doing so, you are saving energy and money.

19. Replace air filters. AC air filters for your home and car, if replaced regularly, can save a lot of energy which in turn can save you money.

20. Consume less. This is for your financial good as well. Live simply, use your furnitures and clothes until they can’t be used any more. If possible, check out used items on Craigslist or garage sales.

Steps to absorb pollution

21. Plant trees. Your garden/patio or balcony, do you have space anywhere? Grow plants, grow flowers, and attract honey bees wherever you find a place for a pot. If you have a garden, you can go on a green mission by planting as many trees as your yard or garden permits. A good-looking home and better place to live, for sure!

22. Donate to organizations that help planting more trees and work towards a better planet. I am a member of Fairchild Botanical Garden, here in Miami, FL. My membership dues go to green causes.

23. Pickup and deposit pollutants. Whether at home, at work, at local super market or while running or jogging, if you find a pollutant like plastic or Styrofoam on your way, pick it up and put in a nearby trash bin.

24. Volunteer in anti-pollution drives. Many cities here in south Florida organize periodic beach cleaning events. Thousands of volunteers donate their time towards these large-scale environmental cleaning events. Check in your local area for opportunities like this.

25. Have indoor plants. Indoor plants and aquatic plants (in aquariums) are very efficient in cleaning the inside air pollution of our homes.  Think about it, by spending a little money to green up our homes we are improving our health as well. In the long run, these efforts should pay off in terms of better health.

Source: http://onecentatatime.com/25-everyday-techniques-to-save-environment/

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State can progress without dirty energy – SEPA

Posted on July 8, 2012, Sunday

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Environment Protection Association (SEPA) claimed that the state can move forward without the aid of dirty energy derived from a coal-fired power plant.

SEPA chairman Wong Tak said in his keynote address at the Institute Sinaran inter-school Environmental Day yesterday, that Sabah is the only state in the country not dependent on any coal-fired power plant for power and energy, and maintained that it possesses sources of green energy that could be tapped gainfully.

Citing Mount Kinabalu as a God given gift as various rivers start from its peak, Wong said, “it is blessed with rivers with fast flowing water that could be capitalised by establishing mini-hydro plants to generate power.”

He asserted that much of Sabah’s forest had been cleared for oil palm plantations and said, “We need to tap into the new technology offered to us in the form of biomass.

“A total of 1.6 milion hectares were cleared to make way for oil palm plantations, yet we waste the biomass and leave it to rot inside the plantations. These should be used to generate energy in Sabah,” he said.

Wong maintained that the state cannot avoid responsibility towards its environment in the 21st century.

“Business will not go on without clean and healthy environment. Our lives are linked with the eco-system, and we are part of it. To protect humanity, we have to look after our eco-system. We need to change our values, change the way we conduct our businesses, change the way we live,” he said.

Sabah has had its fair share of bad experiences in the past and the Mamut copper mine in Ranau was a prime example.

“Someone made a mistake and the people (living near the area) have to suffer forever for it. We should not allow these things to be repeated. This is our land and future, and we want to determine what sort of environment we want to live in,” he said.

Wong said SEPA was helping the local community in Tawau to address a current issue related to the Kukusan Forest Reserve, which has been re-classified to a Class II forest reserve.

He claimed that a foreign company has been allowed to enter the forest reserve to operate a quarry.

“It is another disaster in the making,” he said.

He however said that Sabah is still lucky because despite the exploitation of wealth by certain quarters, it is still blessed with diversity in its ecology.

“After decades of exploitation, we still have the best,” he said, urging the young to voice up their concern where the environment is concerned and to become a part of managing the nation.

“Across the world, young people are coming together to ensure their authorities hear their words because the future belongs to the younger generation,” he stressed.

Source: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/07/08/state-can-progress-without-dirty-energy-sepa/

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3 factors why investors love Sabah

RAPID ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: Right leadership, stability and sound policies drawing investors to the state. 

Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman welcoming Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia president Tan Sri William Cheng Heng Jem at Sri Gaya in Kota Kinabalu yesterday.

KOTA KINABALU: SABAH'S political stability, sound policies and focused economic directions  are three key factors that have caught the attention of the country's business community.

Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia president Tan Sri William Cheng Heng Jem said this here yesterday after leading a delegation for a meeting with Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman.

"Rapid economic development has taken place in Sabah. It looks different and the economic landscape is different," Cheng said, adding that the three factors were prerequisites investors looked for in a country or state.

"Sabah is rich in natural resources, such as timber, minerals, oil and gas. However, what is important is it takes the right leadership to take the state to greater heights."

Cheng said tourism and agriculture, including aquaculture, were doing well in the state and had the potential to grow.

"I am also told that Sabah has strong environmental conservation laws.

"This is also good in terms of ecotourism."

Meanwhile, Musa said investors were interested in Malaysia because of the conducive atmosphere, good government policies and stable politics under the able leadership of Prime Minister Dauk Seri Najib Razak.

He said the environmental laws on conservation had a long-term positive impact on the overall development of the state.

"Protecting the forests, phasing out logging and focusing on reforestation means that future generations can once again have tropical rainforests, which had been logged, in 30 to 40 years' time."

Similarly, he said a clean and unpolluted environment helped to draw investors to Sabah.

Citing a United States-based multinational company, Darden Incorporated, he said the food giant had committed about US$2 billion (RM6.3 billion) to develop lobster farming off the coast of Semporna because the water was not polluted.

"They also told me that another important reason why they chose to invest here was because of the prevailing economic and political stability in Malaysia."

Source: http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/3-factors-why-investors-love-sabah-1.86030

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