(Reading Copy)

The Environmental Issues in Malaysia

Form 4 Faraday By: Ng Jo Yee, Ian Ho and Jonathan Bryan Lee

The Environmental Issues in Malaysia

Major environmental issues:

Endangered species Deforestation Pollution

1. Endangered Species
As a country with a rich biodiversity, Malaysia is home to 15500 species of higher plants, 746 birds, 379 reptiles, 198 amphibians, and 368 species of fish. There are also 286 species of mammals in Malaysia. Some of these mammals are found in both Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo. The former has 193 species of mammals, while the latter has 215.

 However, several species in Malaysia are becoming endangered. The population of these species have been decreasing over the years and some are said to have become extinct. Among the main reasons for their extinction are poaching, illegal trade, loss of habitat, forest conversion, over-harvesting and the destruction of entire colonies.

Endangered Animals in Malaysia

Malaysia is home to six critically endangered and 15 endangered animals There are several different types of endangered animals, as categorised below: (i) Shrews (ii) Bats and Rats (iii) Large Mammals

Shrews
Shrews are tiny mouse-like animals with long tails. They burrow near water and eat insects and small water creatures. Shrews in Malaysia have become endangered due to deforestation, fish traps and pollution.

 There are five endangered shrews in Malaysia, although only two are listed as critically endangered. These are the black shrew and the Malayan water shrew, which only live in Malaysia.

Black Shrew

Malayan Water Shrew

 Other endangered shrews are the Bornean tree shrew, Borneo water shrew and Malayan shrew.

Bornean Tree shrew

Borneo Water Shrew

Malayan Shrew

Bats and Rats

Malaysia contains two critically endangered bats, the horseshoe bat and the Malayan roundleaf bat.

Malayan Horseshoe Bat

Malayan Roundleaf Bat

 The native false serotine bat is also endangered.

False Serotine Bat

 There are not any critically endangered rats; however, the mountain spiny rat, small spiny rat and summit rat are endangered.

Mountain Spiny Rat

Small Spiny Rat

Summit Rat

 These animals only live in Malaysia and are extremely rare. Bats and rats are important to the food chain; without them, more animals would become endangered. Both bats and rats are found in the mountainous and plains areas of Malaysia.

Large mammals
The Javan rhinoceros and Sumatran rhinoceros are critically endangered due to deforestation and poaching.

Javan Rhinoceros

Sumatran Rhinoceros

 Other endangered large mammals include the Asian elephant, banteng (a cattle-like mammal), blue whale, orangutan, otter civet, proboscis monkey, Sei whale and tiger.

Asian Elephant

Banteng

Blue Whale

Orangutan

Otter Civet

Proboscis Monkey

Sei Whale

Malayan Tiger

Endangered Plants in Malaysia

Malaysia has 686 endangered plant species There are several different types of endangered animals, as categorised below: (i) Giam Kanching (Hopea subalata) (ii) Pitcher Plant (Nepenthes Macrophylla) (iii) Moss (Taxitheliella richardsii)

Giam Kanching
The main forest types in Malaysia are Giam Kanching or rare dipterocarp forest, mangrove forest, peat swamp forest, and montane ericaceous forest. The dipterocarp tree, known for its fruit with twowinged seeds, grows on land that is just above sea level to an altitude of approximately 900 meters.

 Lowland dipterocarp forests, which are found up to 300 meters above sea level, have been decimated due to agriculture and other land-intensive activities. While a pocket of dipterocarp trees are protected in the Kanching Forest Reserve, this species is considered critically endangered and even on the verge of extinction.

Pitcher Plant
This carnivorous tropical plant grows only in mossy forests at a 2,000 to 2,600 meter altitude on Mount Trus Madi in Borneo. The pitcher plant has pitcher-shaped leaves that dangle from ten meter-long vines. Insects slide from the waxy top of the flower into a pool of acid secreted by glands in the lower part of the flower, according to the ASEAN Review of Biodiversity & Environmental Conservation.

 The pitcher plant is categorised as critically endangered.

Moss
Considered critically endangered, Taxitheliella richardsii is a moss in the Sematophyllaceae family and native to Malaysia. The only known area where the moss has been found is in Sarawak, a Malaysian state on northwest Borneo. Taxitheliella richardsii grows on woody vines and rotted logs in subtropical forests, a habitat that is disappearing due to wood harvesting and logging.

Consequences of Endangered Species

If an endangered species is not given immediate attention and protection, that species will eventually become extinct. When a species becomes extinct, it is gone forever. This changes the food web it belonged to, which in turn disrupts the biodiversity of its habitat.

 Humans will lose the many beneficial purposes of animals and plants to humans including medicinal, agricultural, ecological, commercial and or aesthetic or recreational uses . Future generations cannot experience the species presence and value.

How to do your part in saving endangered species

Learn which animals are endangered. The list of endangered animals is very long, so it might be easiest to start by learning about the endangered animals in your country. Learning as much as you can about endangered animals and their habitats enables you to best determine what you can do to help. Contribute to nature reserves and other wilderness areas. Habitat preservation is one of the best ways to help protect endangered animals. You can donate money or volunteer to help at these areas such as Taman Negara, Pahang. Join an animal adoption program. For example, Beaconhouse Sri Inai has adopted a baby giraffe named Mas Beacon and they are collecting donations in the school office as of now.

 Buy environmentally friendly goods. Choose non-toxic cleaners and lawn care items that won't pollute streams, rivers or oceans. Avoid any products that have been made from threatened or endangered animals. Buy foods and goods that are made from materials that do not harm endangered animals or their habitat. For example, look for organic chocolate, coffee or cotton clothing that is grown without cutting down rainforests or destroying habitats. Plant native plants in your yard and garden. Native plants are more likely to attract native animals such as birds, butterflies, insects and possibly some endangered species. Join a local or international endangered animal conservation organization like the World Wildlife Fund or Malaysian Nature Society. By donating to these organizations, you are contributing to a larger effort to preserve the habitats and species that are on the edge of extinction. Raise awareness. Place banners on your social networking sites or blog pages to make visitors aware of your interest in saving endangered species. Provide information on what others can do to contribute toward the cause and educate them about endangered species by writing articles for your local newspaper or newsletters for your community.

2. Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or jungle where the land is converted to a nonforest use afterwards. Between 1990 and 2005 Malaysia lost 6.6% of its forest cover, or around 1,486,000 hectares. While forests still cover more than 60 percent of Malaysia, only 11.6 percent of these forests are considered pristine.

 There are 5 main reasons why forests are cleared: (i) Agriculture (ii) Urbanisation (iii) Transport (iv) Industries (v) Fires

(i) Agriculture

 Increasing demand for land for agriculture leads to forests being cleared. There are two kinds of deforestation for agriculture: (a) Small-scale clearing by transmigration programs. (b) Large-scale clearing by plantation companies .

(a) Transmigration
The Malaysian government sponsored programs to open up rainforests for land development programs. This was done to build settlements for hundreds of thousands of farmers from rural areas of the country in order to encourage crop production. This is known as transmigration.

 Many of these settlers are motivated by profit to expand their farmland so that they can grow more crops for sale. As soil fertility declines, these farmers just clear new areas to be used for farming. Between 1956 and the 1980s, Malaysia converted more than 15,000 square kilometers of forest for resettlement programs such as FELDA.

(b) Plantations and commercial agriculture

A major force behind deforestation is commercial agriculture comprises the wealthy companies that clear large areas of forest to be converted into farmland . In Malaysia, a lot of rainforests are cleared for oil palm trees (palm oil is an important fuel and raw material in many food products, soaps and cosmetics) and acacia trees (fast-growing tree that is planted for cheap timber and pulp for paper) .

An oil palm plantation in Tawau, Sabah Tawau,

(ii) Urbanisation

 As the population living in urban areas (cities and towns) grows, forests have to make way as urban areas expand into surrounding forested areas . Houses and businesses are then built on the newly cleared land .

Industries and towns developing in a former rainforest in Malaysia

(iii) Transport

 Transport networks are built through forests to link states, cities, towns and settlements. Roads and railways also make it easier for people and companies to enter the forest to extract resources e.g. The 966 km North-South Expressway and the 350 km East Coast Expressway.

(ii) The clearing of forests for transport North-South Expressway

East Coast Expressway

(iv) Industry

 Forests are cleared to support industrial activities and the extraction of resources. Two main types of deforestation-related industrial activities occur in Malaysia: (a) Logging for timber. (b) Mining for minerals.

(a) Logging for timber

Trees in forests are cut down for timber. Their wood is then processed to be made into products such as expensive furniture.

 Timber companies need to get a license before they are permitted to carry out logging in certain areas. However, they are sometimes caught logging in areas without a license, or logging a larger area of forest than they are allowed to.

(b) Mining
Sometimes, forests happen to sit on land that is rich in minerals and metals such as gold, silver, copper or tin. In order to gain access to the natural resources underground, the forest is cleared first.

(iv) Fires

 Fire is often used to clear forested land, as it is cheaper than employing labourers and bringing in machinery to remove the trees and vegetation. The vegetation is cleared and left to dry out, then the area is set on fire. The burning of forests has been taking place on a small scale for many thousands of years, by small groups of subsistence farmers.

 This is known as slash and burn agriculture. Burning is also done by large companies to clear large areas of forest to make way for plantation agriculture, mining and other uses. Sometimes, the valuable timber is extracted first, and the remaining vegetation is burned. These fires often go out of control and spread to other areas of forest that were not meant to be cleared.

 Fires can be worsened due to changes in weather conditions e.g. drought, rainy season arriving late (or not arriving at all). Even if the burned areas are not used, it is very difficult for the original forests to regrow.

A burned forest in Sarawak, Malaysia Sarawak,

Consequences of deforestation
Malaysia ranks as the 21st most biodiverse country in the world, with 2,199 native species. 18% of these species are listed as threatened and because they are native, extinction will result if Malaysia fails to conserve them.

 Indigenous peoples in Malaysia have always depended on the rainforest for medicine, shelter, food, and other necessities. The destruction of their prime resource is resulting in the destruction of their traditional ways of life. As the forest disappears, so does their culture.

 In a deforested area, soil erosion and landslides happen easily. When heavy rains and typhoons come, soil is easily carried to lower areas, especially to communities at the foot of the mountains. Due to massive deforestation there are no trees to absorb the water during heavy rains thus resulting in frequent floods and the loss of many lives. When trees are uprooted, there will be nothing to hold the soil together thus increasing the risk for landslides which can cause seriously threaten the safety of the people and damage their properties.

 Communities will lose their source of clean drinking water as deforestation prevents the collection of rainwater by forests that forms rivers. Deforestation increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This heightens the threat of global warming because the trees and other plants that takes up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to be used for photosynthesis are gone. The burning of wood or its decay contributes to the release of more carbon which combines with oxygen in the atmosphere thus increasing further the levels of carbon dioxide that causes greenhouse effect. After several harvests of a forest, the cleared land will no longer be suitable for planting trees. It will become a desert.

What we can do to prevent deforestation

Reduce, reuse and recycle. Harvesting trees for producing paper and paper products is one of the biggest causes of deforestation. If you reduce the amount of paper and paper products that you use, or if you reuse or recycle your paper products, fewer trees will need to be cut down and there will be fewer forests destroyed Plant trees to replenish those destroyed by mankind. This process, known as reforestation, helps make a forest sustainable by not allowing the forest to entirely disappear. Many volunteer organizations plant trees in forests all over the world. Joining one of these organizations, or simply planting trees on your own, can greatly help fight deforestation.

 Speak with your elected government officials. Insist the local government enact legislation to make companies in your area be more responsible with the way that they use forests. You can also help support legislation that creates penalties for companies who do not act responsibly. Try to get local forests turned into national parks, national monuments or national forests. Doing this makes forests property of the federal government, which affords them protection from practices that cause deforestation. Write to your local government officials in support of these designations.

 Boycott companies that are not environmentally responsible on the issue of deforestation. Avoid using products made by these companies. If enough people do this, a company may get the message that they need to become more environmentally conscious. In addition, write letters to the company about their responsibility towards the environment. Getting your neighborhood, school or college involved and working on a communal scale will educate people who may want to help but may not know how. Attaching your organization or group to a professional one that has a more prominent presence may be the footing you need to make a difference.

 Support the efforts of nonprofit organizations fighting to stop rainforest deforestation. Friends of the Earth, for example, works with people around the world to find solutions to deforestation problems and ways to enact those solutions. The Malaysian Nature Society and Worldwide Fund for Nature are two other nonprofit organizations working to end rainforest deforestation. Donate to or volunteer with one of these groups to further their efforts.

3. Pollution
In Malaysia there are 3 main types of pollution that we face today: (i) Air pollution (ii) Water pollution (iii) Land pollution

(i) Air pollution - cause and effects

Malaysia has risen to the industrial age, but at the cost of the environment. Many industrial zones have been approved by the government to be set up in mostly forestland and uninhabited areas. One very good example of the industrial zone is of Shah Alam in the state of Selangor. As a result, trees has been cut down to accommodate towards the building of large industrial factories. Not only has the oxygen supply been decreased, these factories are spewing out poisonous gases in the course of its production.

 Shah Alam is now one of the most densely populated areas as well as one of the most highly polluted areas in the country, and yet it is not the only one. One can imagine the amount of people who will be affected by the long side effects of the pollution from the gases. The increasing amount of cars in Malaysia also has lent a hand in the pollution. Excess poisonous gases and heat are emitted daily.

 Open air burning, despite it being banned by law, has not been heeded by the people of Malaysia. Burning is also the one of the only ways to get rid of the excess rubbish right now. Haze has been an ongoing problem in Malaysia as well as other Southeast Asian countries. The main cause of this haze is the slash and burn practice by farmers and peat fires in Indonesia.

Haze over Kuala Lumpur

How you can reduce air pollution

Taking fewer trips in your car or truck helps cut air pollution. Adopting smart driving habits reduces your car's emissions too. Try combining driving with alternative modes of transportation such as carpooling, bicycling or using public transport or telecommuting.

 Consider turning your engine off if you will be idling for long periods of time. When buying a car, look for the most efficient, lowest polluting model with a low gas emission. Choose air-friendly products. Many products you use in your home, in the yard, or at the office are made with harmful chemicals that escape into the air.

 Select products that are water-based or have low amounts of volatile organic compounds, especially paints and cleaners. Store solvents in air-tight containers. Use less aerosol spray can products such as mosquito spray and spray paint to prevent chlorofluorocarbon(CFC) emission. Buy refrigerators and air-conditioners with little to no chlorofluorocarbon(CFC) emissions. Chlorofluorocarbon emissions cause the thinning of the ozone layer.

 Saving energy helps reduce air pollution. Whenever you burn fossil fuel, you pollute the air. Use less gasoline, natural gas, and electricity as power plants burn fossil fuels to generate electricity. Reduce, reuse and recycle. It takes energy to make and the products we use. That energy comes from fossil fuels which can pollute the air. If we reduce our usage of products and recycle them, we can reduce air pollution as well.

(ii) Water pollution

As Malaysia is fast becoming an industrial country, many of its rivers have become polluted due to the many wastes that have been poured out into her rivers. For example, the paper- making industry requires poisonous chemicals in paper production. The rivers are used as an outlet for the chemicals to drain away, in turn harming the waters and the lives that revolve around them.

 There are many ethnic aboriginal groups that still exist in Malaysia and the people depend on the rivers and streams to survive. They depend on the river for food, water supply for drinking, bathing and for their crops. The river happens to be the main centre of their livelihood and without the rivers whole tribes cannot survive as their ancestors had done generations before them, with all of them depending on the rivers.

 Some river areas have become residential areas and this has prompted the construction of houses and buildings around the area. As a result, many of the forests surrounding the river areas have been chopped down. The surrounding soil have no roots to hold on to and soon erode when the rain comes. The soil runs into the rivers and soon the rivers become murky and shut out all the sunlight from reaching the aquatic life in the rivers and streams. This causes them to die and pollute the river.

Dead fish being examined at a polluted river in Malaysia

How you can reduce water pollution

Dispose of household wastes, oils, and other litter properly. Never put these pollutants or any other chemicals down the sink drain or in the toilet. Call your local waste management company or recycling center to find out where to take your trash and household chemicals. Use household products that are safe for the environment. Purchase dish washing soap, laundry detergent, and other cleaning supplies that are eco-friendly.

 Use little to no chemical fertilizers on your lawn or garden. Overuse can lead to water runoff carrying excess fertilizer to nearby lakes and streams. Use natural fertilizers whenever possible. Add more plants to your garden to allow more water and fertilizers to be absorbed into the ground. This will decrease the amount of water runoff into drains and streams. Clean up and properly dispose of all pet wastes. This will prevent rain runoff from washing it down storm gutters, or into nearby drains and streams. Keep rivers, lakes, and oceans clean by not littering. Dispose of trash properly to prevent it from polluting these waters.

(iii) Land pollution cause and effect

Farmers use pesticides to protect their crops from attack from insects, bacteria, fungi, rodents and viruses. They use herbicides to protect the plants from unwanted weeds that tend to compete with their crops for nutrients. Pesticides can get into the soil where they are absorbed by the soil particles.

 When anything is planted in the soil, it will absorb the remnants of the pesticides, causing the people and animals who consume such produce to be adversely affected. Deforestation exposes the land to the elements and makes it more susceptible to the effects of erosion. Trees, shrubs and other plants act as barriers that protect the land from the ravages of erosion.

 When this barrier is removed, the land can be eroded by any flood .This reduces the fertility of soil and causes an imbalance in crop yield as the soil becomes barren from erosion. Land pollutants such as pesticides, herbicides or even eroded soil can also leach into the groundwater and pollute the sources of drinking water. Pollutants like waste can release a foul smell and cause the release of noxious gases.

How you can reduce land pollution

Dispose of waste properly. Sometimes trash is discarded at random areas of land. This not only can result in a blighted appearance, but it can also harm the organisms that inhabit these natural environments. For example, the improper disposal of plastic bags has resulted in death by suffocation for many animals.

 Recycle. Recycling is not only beneficial to the environment, but it also minimizes land pollution because these materials are kept out of landfills. One of the most significant contributions to land pollution is the accumulation of waste products, such as plastic, that take many years or decades to decay. Biodegradable products decay at a faster rate in the environment. The decision to use such products will help to minimize land pollution. Do not use pesticides. These chemicals can damage crops as well as the soil in which the crops grow. You can minimize land pollution by using natural pest-control products rather than the harsh chemicals. The usage of certain insects can be another alternative to pest control. Ladybugs, for example, are proficient at controlling the accumulation of unwanted pests within the garden.

 Make a compost pile. You can either put the compost material into a special compost bin, or you can just make a compost heap. Compost helps to minimize land pollution because it combines organic materials and contributes to the health of the soil. You can create compost by adding materials such as coffee grinds, fruits, vegetables, wood pieces and yard trimmings. By adding a small amount of water to the pile, it will begin to decompose. When the compost turns a deep brown color, it will be ready to place on the soil. You can use a shovel to spread the compost over depleted land.

Conclusion
Now that some of the environmental problems in Malaysia have been brought to light, we all know now that we cannot turn a blind eye to these issues that plague our country today. We should all do our part as citizens of this country to rise up and take action towards turning Malaysia into a greener and more environmentally-friendly nation.

 Even the slightest change in habit such as recycling your own trash or saving electrical energy when not in use can help save the environment. When you help to save the environment, you set an example for other people and this leads to more and more people saving the environment as well.