This is the last of the two part series on Malaysia's Ramsar sites

KUALA LUMPUR, July 6 (Bernama) -- If you think that our wetlands have little to do with our survival, think again.

Our wetlands act as the natural treatment plant for natural and man-made pollutants. Not only that, it can even extract the nutrients from polluted water or air.

So, what does this have to do with humans? Well, in filtering dirty air and water, it ensures that humankind gets sustainable fresh water supply and breathe in clean air.

Therefore, the destruction to our wetlands will definitely affect the well-being and finance of the country.

Conservation of wetland ecosystems is essential not only for sustainable fresh water supply but also for preserving biodiversity.

WHAT ARE WETLANDS?

Environmental scientist Dr Nather Khan Ibrahim says the term wetlands cover mainly inland, coastal and marine natural habitats of permanent or temporary water bodies or wet areas.

In Malaysia, the wetlands are mainly freshwater swamp forests, peat swamp forests, coastal and estuarine mangroves, natural rivers and lakes, flood plains (estuary), and coastal areas, says Dr Nather Khan, the former Malaysian and Southeast Asian Coordinator for the then Asian Wetland Bureau.

The more recognisable uses for wetlands are for water transport, recreation, tourism and fish breeding. However, Dr Nather Khan says the wetlands have hundreds of other uses, values and functions.

"Each wetland has soil, water, plants and animals that are unique to it. Each one can be classified into three, based on its products, functions and attributes," he said in an interview with Bernama.

Wetlands classified under products produce forest resources such as timber, medicine, resins, honey and fruits. They also provide wildlife resources such as food, biodiversity, shelter and even for aesthetic purposes. Some provide fish breeding grounds, while others provide forage resources, agricultural resources and water supply.

VITAL FOR LIVELIHOOD

Meanwhile, those classified under functions are vital for our livelihood. "These wetlands help in groundwater recharge and discharge, for flood control, shoreline stabilization and erosion control."

Many would also be amazed to know that our wetlands play a big role in protecting us from the adverse effects of climate change. They provide storm protection, protect us from tsunamis, serve as windbreakers and even help in microclimate stabilisation.

Wetlands classified for their attributes are those that play a role in biological diversity, and are the habitats for rare plants and animals and is unique to our culture and national heritage.

Tigers, tapirs and crocodiles can mostly be found in wetlands, like certain species of flora that cannot be found elsewhere.

Therefore wetland affects every aspect of human life, including quality of life, natural resources, food and water supply.

"It can also adversely affect our climate and even rainfall," says Dr Nather Khan.

CHALLENGES IN PRESERVING OUR WETLANDS

There are six Ramsar sites in Malaysia with the largest one in Sabah, covering 78,000 hectares. The rest are the Kuching Wetlands National Park (Sarawak), Pulau Kukup (Johor), Sungai Pulai (Johor), Tanjung Piai (Johor), and Tasek Bera (Pahang).

Dr Nather Khan, who was part of the team that helped initiate and mobilise all the necessary groundwork to designate and declare Tasek Bera as Malaysia's first Ramsar Site, says there are several challenges to protecting our wetlands.

Encroachment and illegal clearance by local settlers and communities and poor enforcement by government agencies have been some of the issues, he revealed.

However, he says two of the biggest problems in preserving our wetlands are land clearance for plantations and aquaculture.

The plantations in question are mostly oil palm estates and mills. Clearance of land for such purposes almost always produce massive amounts of pollution from agricultural and chemical wastes.

"Constant discharge of oil palm mill effluents, which have high amount of BOD (biochemical oxygen demand), COD (chemical oxygen demand), ammonia and nutrient components affects water quality and soil characteristics of the wetlands," says Dr Nather Khan.

Although wetlands in general can tolerate natural pollutants, it can only accommodate a certain level of human interference.

"However, pollutants discharged en masse from oil palm mills can cause the eutrophication of wetland water bodies," he says.

Eutrophication means an increase of mineral and organic nutrients that promote proliferation of plant life, especially those like algae, which reduce dissolved oxygen content and often cause the extinction of other organisms.

POLLUTION FROM OIL PALM ESTATES

The domino effect to this would be an alteration of the entire natural wetland into a new type of habitat that is devoid of all its previous uses, products, functions and attributes.

Dr Nather Khan says oil palm mills should not simply discharge any amount of effluents to the Ramsar site or any other wetlands, as it is supposed to be free from any human intervention and pollutants.

"But the companies involved may try to justify their actions by saying that that the pollutants are treated up to the level that is approved by the Department of Environment."

Given the important role it plays to our livelihood, Malaysia must pay greater heed to how much development it allows at wetlands areas. Is it worth it to destroy truly sophisticated, valuable resources that have been part of our heritage for thousands of years, in the name of short-term gain? The question shouldn't be a difficult one to answer.

-- BERNAMA

Source: http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsfeatures.php?id=511167