Environmental criminals must be held accountable for natural disasters caused by human activities, says expert

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KUALA LUMPUR: Making indiscriminate changes to land use status and carrying out logging activities without considering their impact on the environment are among the main causes of flooding in this country, according to an expert.

Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam Malaysia president Prof Dr Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil, who described the recent severe floods - that caught many people in Klang, Shah Alam and Hulu Langat in Selangor, as well as in Pahang and other parts of the country by surprise - as a"land tsunami”, said it was clear that large-scale deforestation, particularly in hilly areas located further upstream, was the main factor behind the occurrence of the devastating floods.

Pointing to the flooding at Sungai Telemong in Bentong, Pahang, Shariffa Sabrina said there was proof that deforestation had taken place upstream for logging and agricultural purposes without securing the necessary environmental impact assessment and social impact assessment approvals from the authorities concerned.

Shariffa Sabrina was also disappointed with Malaysia’s four-phased flood management approach which, she said, only consists of mitigation measures that were implemented after flooding has occurred. Calling for more severe punishment to be meted out to environmental criminals, she said the National Forestry Act 1984 should be amended to increase the maximum fine to RM1mil and jail term to 30 years.

 

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They can’t do without machinery & financial support so, they too....

Those tigers that came out of the depleted jungle recently... Who should be held accountable?

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