WE refer to “Wrath of nature” (The Star, Dec 20) which has an alarming sentence at the beginning of the story: Mother Nature is fighting back.
Half of our country is affected by floods as the year ends. To date, the floods have claimed 29 lives. Last year, the Government spent RM1bil on flood aid.
Our Prime Minister is right to say that Malaysians must consider the effects of climate change, which might bring about heavier rainfall. It is also true that we really need to review all existing development plans and to come out with a long-term measure to overcome the perennial problem of flooding.
Unplanned development is the main cause of the serious environment degradation and it always exacerbates the consequences of natural disasters. If we blame climate change today, we also need to look at what we have done in facing the challenges of climate change.
Unfortunately, in the Sungai Pulai estuary, in south Johor, we are going to witness the destruction of 2,255 acres of pristine mangrove forest, equivalent to 913 soccer fields.
Instead of preserving a natural flood barrier, this gift from Mother Nature is to give way to petrochemical and maritime industries.
Taking the example of Sungai Johor, where heavy development and significant loss of mangroves are significant, its water retention capacity has been greatly reduced, which probably worsened the flooding in Kota Tinggi.
To prevent a similar catastrophe at Sungai Pulai, which might affect Pontian and Gelang Patah districts, we should ask ourselves whether such mega development would exceed the carrying capacity of the river.
Is it worth the short-term economic gains or paying the price for environmental cause, human lives and properties loss in the long run?
The pursuit of economic growth should not be at the expense of the mangrove areas around Sungei Pulai, which is so crucial to prevent coastal erosion and provide protection from strong winds and waves to 11,000 people living in 38 villages.
The area also has the largest sea grass bed and the densest seahorse population in the country, as well as dugong population, and has become such a unique natural heritage, we cannot afford to lose.
THING SIEW SHUEN,
Secretary,
Save Our Seahorses (SOS) Action Committee.
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