KOTA KINABALU: The Environment Protection Department (EPD) has initiated a project to strengthen the environmental impact assessment (EIA) systems currently used for managing and monitoring logging activities in the state.
Its director, Yabi Yangkat, said the project would be funded by the Malaysian Timber Council (MTC) under their Malaysia-EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) and implemented by Chemsain Konsultan Sdn Bhd.
He said it would focus on two main objectives, namely to formulate a standard operating procedure (SOP) and to develop a rapid assessment tool kit to be used in the implementation of EIA systems for logging operations.
“The SOP will assist logging operators in complying with the environmental agreements, while the toolkit will be used by the department’s enforcement officers as well as other technical departments to verify whether the requirements under their respective laws are being complied with,” he said.
Speaking during the opening of a workshop held to kick off the project here yesterday, he said the SOP and toolkit would complement the operation guide and manual for timber harvesting operation developed by the Sabah Forestry Department (SFD).
He added the development of both documents would focus on environmental conditions imposed by the EPD to enable assessments to be carried out more easily and in a more straightforward manner.
The two day-workshop was one of the activities by the appointed consultant aimed at obtaining vital information, inputs, views and opinions from stakeholders so that an effective, practical and realistic SOP and toolkit could be developed.
Yabi noted that EPD had to date approved over 200 logging operations and forest clearance since its establishment, where logging operators were required to submit an environmental compliance report (ECR) every four months.
He said the mandatory quarterly ECR report was vital to ensure compliance on environmental conditions as well as to ensure the environment was better managed and protected.
“However, the condition in the environmental agreement are not easy to implement due to the absence of specific guidelines and tools to determine the level of compliance by logging operators,” he said.
Permanent secretary to the Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry, Datuk Michael Emban when officiating at the workshop, said the development of a SOP through the formulation of standards of performance would enhance the implementation of the environmental conditions imposed.
Apart from the absence of criteria or tools for assessing the level of compliance, he said there was also no standard operations for operators to carry out each of the environmental conditions effectively and consistently.
“EPD needs a quick or rapid tool to assess the compliance of a wide range of environmental agreements in view of the shortage of manpower and logistics to monitor each and every logging operation in Sabah,” he said.
In addition, he said there was a great need to enhance environmental conditions stipulated under the EIA agreements to ensure that the impact of logging activities to the natural resources and environment could be controlled and mitigated.
These impacts include, among others, soil erosion, sediment into rivers, loss of habitat due to fragmentation of forests, inappropriate disposal of sewage and solid waste.