Development of guidelines for EIA on agriculture and infrastructure projects on peatlands in Sarawak
In Sarawak, peatlands comprises about 13% or 1.66 million ha of the State's total land area. Due to the rapid growth of commercial agriculture development and urbanization, these peatlands are encroached and exploited. More peatlands, including deep peat areas, are anticipated to be alienate...
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Format: | Thesis |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2004
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/12607/2/Tsai%20%28fulltext%29.pdf |
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Summary: | In Sarawak, peatlands comprises about 13% or 1.66 million ha of the State's total land area.
Due to the rapid growth of commercial agriculture development and urbanization, these
peatlands are encroached and exploited. More peatlands, including deep peat areas, are
anticipated to be alienated for economic development in future, especially following the
completion of the proposed coastal trunk road. These developments are expected to result in
some unfavourable effects on the fundamental ecological functions and environmental
services of peatlands. EIA study is a requirement provided for under the Sarawak NREO
1993. Certain development activities on peatlands are prescribed activities requiring
submission of EIA report prior to implementation. Due to the unique characteristics of
peatlands, specialised guidelines are deemed necessary for the preparation of EIAs on
development activities in peat areas. Such guidelines, which are eful to consultants and
proponents of projects on peatlands, are yet to be made available) This dissertation work
attempts at developing a set of guidelines specific for agricultural, infrastructural and realestate
developments on peatlands. The study involves collation and review of EIA, EMP
and EMR reports, literature, and other relevant guidelines and publications related to
peatlands development. Field visits to selected plantations, road and housing construction
sites, and interview and discussion with selected environmental consultants, developers and
contractors have also been conducted. The key environmental effects associated with
peatlands development identified include peat subsidence and compaction, irreversible
drying of peat and fire hazard. Other major effects are alterations of peat hydrology which
include reduction of dry season flow, saline intrusion during dry season, and increased
stream flow and flooding hazard during wet season. Also pertinent are degradation of water
quality, air pollution during land clearing, decrease in the size of water supply catchment,
draw down of ground water level, loss of water resources, loss of flora and fauna, loss of
habitat and biodiversity, and micro-climate change. Intensive agriculture on peatlands also
results in the problem of agrochemical contamination of both the surface and ground water.
Technological and information gaps and specialised guidelines are the main constraints for
the environmental consultants and project developers to prepare good EIA reports.
Therefore, a good set of guidelines is needed to ensure that impact assessment exercises
appropriately address aspects pertinent to the peat environment. In the case of agriculture
development, such guidelines would facilitate planning and designing of more
environmentally friendly technology or methods of land clearance, drainage and irrigation,
tilling and planting as each of these activities are elements which could have impact on the
environment and the sustainability of the land resource. The guidelines, as developed by this
study, is intended at improving the effectiveness of the present EIA procedure through
assisting project proponents in better defining the scope, enhancing the quality of an EIA
study and its report by ensuring focus on aspects relevant to the unique and fragile
peatlands. |
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