Transcript Document

Asean Environmental challenge pollution
Presented By: The Rt. Hon. YAA Tan Sri Richard Malanjum
Chief Judge of Sabah & Sarawak
Introduction
 ‘Pollution’ means an act or process, whether natural or artificial, resulting in the
introduction of any pollutant into the environment in contravention of the
acceptable conditions as specified in the regulations made under s 21 (s 2 of the
Environmental Quality Act 1974 [Act 127]
 Pollution may occur by way of natural occur and human activities:
 Natural causes of air pollution (e.g. soil particle, volcanic eruption)
 Man made (anthropogenic) pollutants (construction and land development, deforestation
and forest fire)
 Emissions from motor vehicles
 Industrial emissions
 Pollution from open burning
Environmental Quality Act 1974 (on air
pollution)
 Section 22 (Restriction on pollution of the atmosphere)
 Section 29A (Open Burning)
 Section 51 (The Minister may have power to make regulations)
e.g. EQ (Clean Air) Regulations 1978; EQ (Control of Emission from diesel
engines)
Regulations 1996, EQ (Control of Emission from Petrol Engines)
Regulation, EQ (Refrigerant Management) Regulations 1999; EQ
(Declared Activities)(Open Burning) Regulations Order 2003; EQ (Control
Emission from
motorcycles) Regulation 2004; and EQ (Control of Petrol)
and Diesel Properties) Regulations 2007.
Environmental Quality Act 1974 (on inland
Water and Malaysian waters pollution)
Environmental Quality Act 1974 – Inland waters
 Section 24 (Restrictions on pollution of the soil)
 Section 29A (Restrictions on pollution of inland waters)
 Section 51 (The Minister may have power to make regulations)
e.g. EQ (Industrial Effluent) Regulations 2009; EQ (Sewage) Regulations 2009;
and, EQ (Control of Pollution from solid waste transfer station and landfill)
Regulation 1996
Environmental Quality Act 1974 - Malaysian waters
 Section 27 (Prohibition of discharge of oil into Malaysian waters)
 Section 29 (Prohibition of discharge of wastes into Malaysian waters)
Other laws governing
Malaysia waters pollution
 Exclusive Economic Zone Act 1984
 Continental Shelf Act 1996
 Petroleum Mining Act 1966
 United Nations Conventions on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
 International Convention on Marine Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), 73/78
 International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage (CLC)
1992
 International Compensation Fund for Oil Pollution Damage (IOPC Fund)
1992
 International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and
Cooperation (OPRC) 1990
The total number of ENVIRONMENTAL cases
registered, disposed of & pending in Malaysian
court
YEAR
REGISTRATION
DISPOSED OF
BALANCE
2009
952
865
379
2010
1101
1112
368
2011
638
797
209
2012
398
398
177
Water pollutions sources
Point sources vs Non-point sources
Point sources include:
the discharge from industries, sewerage treatment plant
& animal farm
Non-point sources include:
Diffuse sources & do not have specific discharge point
such as agricultural activities and surface run-off
Composition of water pollution sources
by sector in the year 2012
No
Type of sources
No of sources
1
Manufacturing industries
4,595
2
Agro-based industries
a) Rubber mill
b) Palm oil mill
72
436
3
Animal farm (pig farming)
754
4
Sewage treatment plant @
a) Public
b) Private
c) Individual septic tank
d) Communal septic tank
5,800
4,083
1,449,383
3,631
5
Food services establishments
192,710
6
Wet markets
865
Total
1,662,329
Air Pollution SOURCES
 Sources of Air Pollution
 Increasing number of in-use motor vehicles
 industrial sector through the burning of fossil fuel
 The periodic episodes of haze that coincide with the hot and dry season
HOTSPOT DETECTION

January until 17th September 2013 - hotspots were detected in several
areas in Peninsular Malaysia, States of Sabah and Sarawak

However, the local burnings detected as hotspots by satellite imageries
were smaller in acreage and very much localized
FIRE OCCURENCES
 The hotspots detected in the country were mainly from :
– Shifting cultivation and burning activities on the National
Customary Rights (NCR) land,
– Burning of paddy stalks prior to replanting, which are
allowed under strict control.
– Bush and shrub fires that accidentally occur during the
hot and dry weather had also contributed to the total
number of hotspots detected in the country.
Haze problem
 Trans-boundary haze prevailed during the drier period in the Southern
ASEAN region from the month of June to August 2013:i. from 15 to 27 June 2013 – severe haze episode. Most parts of
Peninsular Malaysia were adversely affected where air quality
deteriorated to unhealthy and hazardous levels. The API level has
reached above 500 in Muar District, Johor to such an extent that a
haze emergency had to be declared by the Hon. Prime Minister from
23 – 24 June 2013. The air quality returned to normal by 28 June 2013
with none of the areas recorded unhealthy status
The Sun, 24.6.2013
ACTIONS TAKEN AT NATIONAL LEVEL

MONITORING

PREVENTION

MITIGATION AND PREPAREDNESS
MONITORING
 DOE monitors Malaysia’s ambient air quality through a network of 52 stations
that are strategically located in residential and industrial areas, and in areas with
heavy traffic to detect any significant change in the air quality which may be
harmful to human health and the environment. Five (5) criteria pollutants were
measured and used to calculate the Air Pollutant Index (API), namely :
– PM10;
– sulphur dioxide;
– nitrogen dioxide;
– carbon monoxide; and
– ground level ozone.
PREVENTION

The Department of Environment (DOE) continues to carry ground
surveillance on fire prone areas as an early detection for any fire
occurrence

The programme on Fire Prevention and Peatland Management continue
as yearly programmes

The SOP on Prevention of Peatland Fires is updated from time to time to
enhance the capacity of the executing agencies involved in the
programme
ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES BY
THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT
(JANUARY – 31 AUGUST 2013)
OPEN BURNING CASES DETECTED
2475
COURT ACTION
14
COMPOUNDS ISSUED
454
WRITTEN DIRECTIVES ISSUED
58
Challenges To enforce law (air, inland
waters and Malaysian waters)
 To strike the balance between
conservation of the environment
the
development
and
 Delays in reporting any untreated illegal discharges from
factories and industrial premises which may cause an
incomplete investigation
 Most of the cases are involved with international watersdestruction of coral reefs and other marine lives
 Public education
 Public apathy
 Limited resources in enforcement
 Influx of illegal immigrants
 Meaningful punishments
MITIGATION AND PREPAREDNESS

The National Haze Committee Meeting chaired by H.E Minister of Natural
Resources and Environment convened on 7 February 2013 and 6
September 2013 and the committee discussed on the followings :
– Inter-agency’s preparatory actions to prevent land and forest fires
and open burning;
– Enhancement on Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for
response time on fire suppression and mitigation
– Improvement of actions taken by the relevant agencies to curb
land and peatland fires and dissemination of information to public
during the hot and dry season from June to Mid October.
LESSON & BEST PRACTICES TO BE
SHARED
1.
The success of Fire Prevention Programmes in controlling fire
breakouts in the high risk fire prone peatlands in the six states
(Selangor, Kelantan, Pahang, Johor Sabah and Sarawak);
•
Enhance coordination among enforcement agencies
and Local Authority to curb peatland fires
•
Continuous improvement on Standard Operating
Procedure to synchronise actions taken by the relevant
agencies
•
Action taken and response time to mitigate peatland fires
are updated and enhanced from time to time
LESSON & BEST PRACTICES TO BE
SHARED
2.
Implementation of zero burning practices by the plantation industry;
3.
Review and operationalisation of National Haze Action Plan at different alert levels
based on the status of the air quality (Air Pollutant Index);
4.
Stringent penalty for open burning offences as stipulated in the Environmental
Quality Act 1974 (Amendments 1998).
i.e. maximum fines of RM 500,000 or to a
term of imprisonment not exceeding 5 years or both; and
5.
Prohibition of open burning by certain activities and in certain designated areas
such as peatlands as provided for under the Section 29A, Environmental Quality Act
1974, “Prohibition on open burning”.
PROBLEMS & CHALLENGES

Enhancing awareness and alternatives to control open burning
among the shifting cultivators and small farmers; and

Factors that limits enforcement action, among others :
–
shortage of manpower;
–
issues related to open burning on National Customary Right
(NCR) Land; and
–
poor accessibility of the site.
● Policy Framework
● Characteristic of Civil
Society
● Legal Framework
● Federal and State Jurisdiction
● Lack of Resources
● Overlapping Functions between Environmental
and Planning Agencies
Thank You