Ahad, Julai 08, 2012

STATE CAN PROGRESS WITHOUT DIRTY ENERGY – SEPA

State can progress without dirty energy – SEPA

KOTA KINABALU July 8, 2012: 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.

20 ulasan:

  1. The Sabah State government has scrapped the coal fired plant project after the people protested about it, now the government has began to introduce more environmentally friendly power generation method such as solar and geothermal power plant.

    sabah-go-green.blogspot.com

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  2. Sabah is the first state in the country to have a geothermal power plant and it is expected to be completed by end of 2015. It will help resolve power woes in the state as it can effectively generate electricity.

    sabah-go-green.blogspot.com

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  3. moga tenaga ini dpt dijana, ia lebih bersih dan murah.

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  4. Maka sebab itulah perlu ada kajian selanjutnya usaha untuk menyelesaikan masalah tenaga yang masih berkurangan ini.

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  5. Penjanaan tenaga biarlah bersifat mesra alam dan tidak mengundang bahaya kepada alam sekitar dan manusia.

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  6. Nasib baik projek arang batu di Lahad Datu tu dibatalkan.

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  7. macam mana mahu maju jika buat empangan pun asyik kena bantah?

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    Balasan
    1. Empangan diperlukan untuk mendapat bekalan air bersih

      Padam
  8. setiap kali ada pembangunan di negeri ini pasti berhadapan dengan bantahan dengan alasan melibatkan rampasan tanah dan sebagainya..

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  9. Masalah bekalan air bersih di Sabah perlu diselesaikan

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  10. 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.

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  11. Apart from that, the state government 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.

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  12. It was also noted that policies and plans are specific and sectoral where environmental issues are incorporated in a fragmented manner. Hence, despite these legislation, policies and plans, the environmental degradation continues. The Environmental Policy for Sabah is therefore crucial to serve as a framework and guideline for decision making towards modernisation and industrialisation.

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  13. It was also noted that policies and plans are specific and sectoral where environmental issues are incorporated in a fragmented manner. Hence, despite these legislation, policies and plans, the environmental degradation continues. The Environmental Policy for Sabah is therefore crucial to serve as a framework and guideline for decision making towards modernisation and industrialisation.

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  14. 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.

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  15. 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.

    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.

    Looking at the intrnational scene, 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.

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  16. 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.

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  17. 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. 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.

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  18. 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.

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  19. 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 processAnd going for voluntary environmental schemes such as eco-labelling, Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) as well as adopting a corporate social responsibility programme.

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