Tilting the balance in favour of rivers

Over the past five years, our rivers have been getting worse but there is still hope - provided that we take action now.

FEATURE

In conjunction with World Rivers Day on Sept 30, GAB Foundation organised the National River Forum in collaboration with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID), and NGO, Global Environment Centre (GEC).

To capture the essence of the discussions, the Foundation has provided four articles featuring local and international river management experts. We kick off the weekly series with a Q&A with Dr K Kalithasan, who is the River Care Programme Coordinator at the Malaysia-based GEC.

What is the present state of Malaysian rivers?

In 2010, the Department of Environment (DOE) reported that 49% of 570 studied rivers are categorised as either polluted or slightly polluted, with more under risk as the country’s population and urbanisation increase. This is not an encouraging situation, given that approximately 90% of our drinking water is tapped from rivers.

Our people, even those in the rural areas, are rapidly losing touch with the role of the river in their lives, and this has to do with the unintended side effects of unsustainable development. When we ask them where water comes from, the answer is the tap. Likewise, when we enquire where fish comes from, the answer is the supermarket.

The river is then perceived as redundant. This is a far cry from generations ago where we depended on the river for transport, drinking water, food, water and many other daily activities.

How are rivers treated and how does that affect the way we behave?

Let me cite a couple of examples. Measures to deal with flash floods downplay the importance of rivers, especially when the preferred measure is to coat the entire river channel with concrete in order to facilitate the flow of stormwater.

When you concrete up the river, people would automatically assume that it is a monsoon drain. You can’t see the value of the river there. It doesn’t look like a river. And in Malaysia, a drain is still treated as a place for getting rid of rubbish and other waste.

Secondly, the concreting or canalisation of our rivers had made the rivers inaccessible as it is a steep drop from the road surface to the river, posing safety issues. With a lack of access and the general detachment from rivers, people are no longer induced to assume any form of responsibility for taking care of the rivers.

What are the indicators of a river’s health?

There is too much preoccupation with floating rubbish as an indicator of a river’s health. While solid waste may look significant, there are in fact, many suspended or dissolved chemical compounds that are harmful in the water. Rubbish is an eyesore, but floating rubbish should be the easiest to take care of.

We also have to move beyond the teh tarik concept of measuring cleanliness. For example, it is natural for a river in a peat swamp area to be black in colour. If it is not, then something is wrong. It is also normal for a river to be murky after a bout of heavy rain, but the question is how fast does it return to its natural clear state. That is the determining factor of whether it is a healthy river or otherwise.

In addition, the presence of living organism such as fish and others should also be taken into consideration.

Is there still hope for our rivers, then?

Generally, over the past five years, our rivers have been getting worse. But there is still hope – provided that we take action now. We have to educate the public to manage their waste and at the same time, raise awareness all round. It took 60 years to change the Danish mindset, and so, we cannot expect the instant noodle mentality here, whereby solutions have to be instant.

Saving the river means undertaking diligent and sustained efforts such as ensuring that all businesses have grease traps, treatment plants for industry discharges, and these are monitored regularly to ensure compliance.

We also need to educate the younger generation. For example, the GAB Foundation, through their W.A.T.E.R project (Working Actively Through Education and Rehabilitation Project), are actively engaging with school children and communities to change mindsets on rivers.

If there is just one thing we all should remember, it is the fact that drains are only for rain water.

There are government efforts to clean up rivers like the River of Life and private sector initiatives such as Sg Way by GAB Foundation. Can you tell us more?

There are a number of river restoration and rehabilitation projects by the government especially by the DID. A good example of a successful programme is the revival of the Malacca River which managed to increase income to the state via increased tourist arrivals. Another good initiative is the River of Life to rejuvenate the Klang River.

In terms of private sector initiative, we have been working with the GAB Foundation since 2007 through the W.A.T.E.R Project. We engage and empower various stakeholders from government agencies, local NGOs/CBOs and the communities so that they could collectively conserve rivers in their neighbourhoods.

Under the project, the water quality of the Sungei Way river, which runs behind GAB’s business premise, was transformed from a Class IV/V (extremely polluted) to a Class III (able to support living organism).

What can we do?

Three things: prevent/reduce pollution, enforce and communicate. Out of the three, we can manage and monitor pollution. Please make sure no waste ends up in our drain. All our kitchen waste must be segregated (organic and inorganic) and managed accordingly (recycling, compost and others). All liquid waste must be connected to the sewage system.

Homes actually waste the most amount of water. Conserve water and remember that all the wastewater generated in your household often goes into our rivers, directly or indirectly, and that is where our drinking water comes from.

If you come across any incidences where you believe untreated wastewater whether from a factory, a home or business premise, is being discharged into our drains, do quickly inform the authorities so that action could be taken. And before you do, please take a picture or video and jot down the exact location and time of the incident.

All of us have our role to play as prevention is better than cure. Based on local and international experience, river rehabilitation is very costly and most of time, it is impossible to restore a river back to its original state. That is why it is better to protect the rivers than to clean them up later.

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