Water resources management in Malaysia - The Way Forward

Transcription

1 Water resources management in Malaysia - The Way Forward By Raja Dato Zaharaton Raja Zainal Abidin Director General, Economic Planning Unit Prime Minister s Department

2 Water resources management in Malaysia - The Way Forward OPENING REMARKS I am honoured to address the ASIAWATER 2004 Conference, an international conference on water and wastewater, and express my thanks to the organiser, Malaysian Water Association for the invitation. I also wish to congratulate Malaysian Water Association for organising this bi-annual water conference that provides the forum for water professionals and water industry players in the region to exchange information and share experiences. INTRODUCTION Water resources development has been a catalyst for socioeconomic development of the country. However, the water situation for some parts of the country has changed from one of relative abundance to one of scarcity. The growth in population and expansion in urbanisation, industrialisation and irrigated agriculture are imposing growing demands and pressure on water resources, besides contributing to rising water pollution. Any new development of water resources incurs rising costs, besides facing rigorous scrutinisation from environmentalists and conservationists. The fact that the volume of water available is finite and the demand for water is increasing, indicates that the supply approach in water management is unsustainable. WORLD SCENARIO Water is a global issue. The World Water Vision Report, 2000 acknowledged that there is a global water crisis. The crisis is not about having too little water to satisfy our needs. It is a crisis of managing water so badly that billions of people -and the environment- suffer badly. Lack of water services is one of the most important physical signs of extreme poverty. As estimated in the Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment 2000 Report by World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations Children s Fund (UNICEF), globally, in the year 2000, 1.1 billion people had no access to improved water supply and 2.4 billion were without access to improved sanitation. Two thirds of people without access to improved water supply and approximately 80 per cent of those without access to improved sanitation in the world live in Asia. An estimated 670 million people in Asia lack access to improved water supply, while an estimated 1.9 billion lack adequate sanitation, representing 18 and 52 per cent of the region s population, respectively.

3 According to WHO, a child dies every 15 seconds, on a worldwide basis, from diarrhoea, caused largely by poor sanitation and water supply. Diarrhoeal diseases have killed more children in the last 10 years than all people lost to armed conflict since World War II. Water, sanitation and hygiene interventions have been shown to reduce sickness from diarrhoea by between 25 per cent and 33 per cent. Furthermore, as a determinant of quality of life, water is as decisive as the very air we breathe. In the Millennium Declaration, 2000, 191 heads of State and Government pledged to reduce by half the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water by The Johannesburg Summit of September 2002 the World Summit on Sustainable Development brought together tens of thousands of participants, including heads of State and Government, to focus the world s attention and direct action toward meeting difficult challenges, including improving people s lives and conserving natural resources. The Johannesburg Summit Declaration agreed that the Millennium Declaration water supply goal should be extended to include sanitation as well. Agreement was also reached in developing integrated water resources management and water efficiency plans by The world is facing a bleak future if we continue to adopt business as usual. The potential problems include deforestation, rise in sea level, decreasing crop yields, water conflicts, increased severity/frequency of tropical storms, widespread outbreak of diseases and declining fish population. MALAYSIAN SCENARIO Under the Constitution, matters pertaining to natural resources such as land, mines, forest and water supply fall under the jurisdiction of the states. Water supply becomes a federal matter only if a dispute arises in the case of a river basin, which crosses state boundary. State Governments are responsible for the development, operation and maintenance of water supplies. Since water is important for socio-economic development of the nation, the Federal Government provides soft loans to State Governments for public water supply infrastructure and grant for rural water supply development. At the federal level, the National Water Resources Council (NWRC) was set up in 1998 to pursue a more effective water management, including the implementation of inter-state water transfers. To ensure sustainable water resources and efficient water supply services, the Federal Government is moving towards greater involvement in the management of water resources and water supply services, and the implementation of integrated water resources management.

4 The national water supply coverage in 2003 is 93 per cent, that is 97 and 86 per cent for urban and rural areas, respectively. The estimated population in 2003 is 24.5 million with urban-rural proportion of 60:40. Sewerage services fall under the Joint List of the Federal Constitution. The Federal Government provides grant for sewerage infrastructure. The provision of sewerage services was privatized to Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) in There are 144 local authorities in the country and IWK has taken over the management and provision of sewerage services in 84 local authorities. The IWK Concession Agreement does not cover the States of Kelantan, Sabah and Sarawak. The Engineering Division of the Ministry of Health provides sewerage facilities to rural communities. A Sanitation Commission will be established to formulate economic and safety regulations to safeguard public interest and to promote the development of sewerage and solid waste management. In 2002, the provision of sewerage services that falls under the jurisdiction of the concessionaire cover a population of 16.0 million whilst the sewerage facilities provided by the Ministry of Health cover a rural population of 7.6 million. The estimated population in 2002 is 24.1 million WATER SUPPLY SECTOR The increased demand for clean water has led to competition in water use among the various water user sectors and the continued economic growth will magnify this even more acutely. The practicable limit of surface water resources development has been reached in regions of high demand, and it has become necessary to consider inter-basin and inter-state water transfers. The current approaches towards water supply in cities are supply driven when there s a shortage, new sources are developed. This business as usual approach is no longer sustainable because of the ever-increasing water demand. Water demand management that focuses on conservation measures to make better use of limited supplies, would be an appropriate approach. Inter-state raw water transfer The government is planning to implement a major inter-state raw water transfer project that is, from Pahang to Selangor. The project will transfer 2260 million litres of water per day (mld). Water will be captured by Kelau Dam which is an earth dam with a height of 30 metres and reservoir area of 24 square kilometres. Water from Kelau Dam in Pahang will be released to Semantan River via Kelau River. Semantan Intake and Pumping Station will then transfer the water via

5 dual pipelines to the tunnel inlet. The length of each pipe is 11.8 km with a diameter of 3.0 m. The tunnel tranfers the water across the Main Range to Langat 2 Water Treatment Plant (WTP) in Selangor. The length of the tunnel is 44.6 km and its diameter is 5.2 m. During the construction of the tunnel, four adits will be constructed (that is, two in Pahang and two in Selangor) for the removal of spoil materials. Langat 2 WTP will be constructed in three phases according to the planned volume of water to be transferred from Pahang to Selangor; First Phase 1000 mld; Second Phase 500 mld; and, Third Phase 760 mld. Major projects are carried out through a participatory approach in order to incorporate the views of the stakeholders in the decision-making process. For example in the case of Pahang-Selangor Inter-state Raw Water Transfer Project, besides undertaking a Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (DEIA) of the project, the project affected people together with the NGO s that have shown interest in the project, were involved in the planning process. This participatory approach will ensure that the project affected people will benefit from the implementation of the project and minimal disturbance to the environment. Water demand management initiatives Business as usual in the water supply sector is unsustainable. Water demand management that seeks to maximise the usage of water, also conserves water and thus limit the need for new supplies. In 1999, the Government produced a guideline entitled Guidelines for Installing A Rainwater Collection and Utilization System which was circulated to developers and relevant agencies. The guideline documents some of the ways in which rainwater can be collected from roofs of buildings and the practical utilisation of rainwater. More than 50% of the domestic water use does not need treated water quality. Whilst in June 2002, the Government imposed a condition for the installation of 6-liter toilet flushing systems in new buildings. The programme of reducing non-revenue water (NRW) and rehabilitation of water treatment plants and distribution pipes is an on-going programme in every five-year development plan. In the Eighth Malaysia Plan ( ), nearly RM 1 billion is allocated for the programme of NRW reduction and rehabilitation of water supply systems. The campaigns on water conservation awareness by the water supply sector and water resources agencies are undertaken on a continuous basis.

6 SEWERAGE SECTOR Sewage is one of the major pollutants of our water bodies. A reliable and efficient sewerage system is undoubtedly a vital contributing factor towards the improvement in environmental health of the nation. The municipal sewerage services are provided by the concessionaire and local authorities. Whilst the Department of Sewerage Services is entrusted with responsibilities of overseeing and regulating sewerage development in the country. The Ministry of Health through its Engineering Division implements rural sanitation programme. The most effective and cheap method for disposal of excreta in rural areas is by pour-flush latrines. The construction of sanitary latrines provides the means to initiate the effort to educate rural population on the use of a more comfortable and hygienic method for the disposal of excreta. Cities are well known for being polluters of the aquatic environment with sewage and municipal wastewater, industrial effluent and polluted urban runoff. The Government has undertaken a National Sewerage Project which is made up of 13 projects that cover Klang Valley and the major urban centres in the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia Kangar, Alor Setar, Butterworth, Bukit Mertajam, Seremban, Port Dickson and Melaka. The project components are made up of 10 sewerage treatment plants (STPs), 3 centralised sludge treament facilities (CSTF) and a network with a total length of 117 kilometres. The National Sewerage Project will be extended into the next plan period (Ninth Malaysia Plan, ). INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IWRM) The management of water resources should be based on sound policies and strengthened institutional arrangements. The first step towards IWRM in Malaysia was realised with the formation of Selangor Water Management Authority in This authority is commonly known as LUAS (Lembaga Urus Air Selangor) and was formed with the aim of adopting and implementing IWRM at the river basin level within the State of Selangor. An integrated river basin management project is being undertaken in two river basins, namely Selangor River and Kedah River, in order to establish a framework for integrated management of river basins and their water resources. A Sarawak IWRM Master Plan Study will also be implementated during the remaining Eighth Malaysia Plan Period ( ) with the objective of formulating a master plan for the integrated development and management of Sarawak water resources

7 A National Study for the Effective Implementation of IWRM in Malaysia is being planned with the aims of creating awareness and generating advocacy in IWRM nationwide, developing capacity building of implementing agencies in IWRM and developing best management practices in IWRM within the Malaysian context. The programmes on river rehabilitation are carried out on selected rivers with the objectives of pollution abatement and water quality improvement. The Klang River Clean Up Programme involves the construction, maintenance and desilting activities, education and beautification programmes, relocation of squatters, rehabilitation of aquatic life, treatment of animal waste and water pollution control. Integrated action plans were formulated towards pollution abatement and water quality improvement in the following rivers: Langat, Segget, Tebrau and Skudai. THE WAY FORWARD There is a political will to improve the Malaysian water sector. This is manifested in the formation of the new cabinet after the recent 11 th General Election. The national water sector is now being addressed with respect to improving services and conserving resources through the formation of the Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, respectively. The function of water supply services in the Ministry of Works and the Department of Sewerage Services in the Ministry of Housing and Local Government will be transferred to the Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications. The Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) in the Ministry of Agriculture will be transferred to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. DID is the custodian of the National Hydrological Network and is responsible for flood forecasting and the management of floods, urban drainage/stormwater runoff and coastal zones. In other words, DID is responsible for surface water resources. The Department of Mineral and Geosciences that is responsible for groundwater resources is already in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. An individual problem in the national water sector, such as NRW, cannot be solved in isolation. It can only be effectively addressed after the core problems have been resolved. These problems include poor governance, low tariffs and lack of funds. Measures to resolve the problems may include transparent policies, independent regulatory bodies, a paradigm shift in tariffs, the involvement of civil society and the involvement of Federal Government in water services and management of water resources.

8 We must rethink water management. Water is everybody s responsibility and we are part of the solution. We no longer live in era in which we could have indefinite expansion of water services and supplies. We have to focus on how we use water. That s where new water will be found. The water authorities, purveyors and consumers must play their role in water resources and supply conservation from capture to consumption and to wastewater discharge. The effective implementation of IWRM (Integrated Water Resources Management) will contribute to the realisation of a sustainable national water sector. Reforms and initiatives are needed towards providing adequate as well as an enabling environment for the effective and efficient implementation of IWRM. IWRM formulates and implements a course of action involving the management of water and related resources to achieve optimum allocation of water resources within a catchment or river basin. The scope of IWRM is wide and it may be addressed in the following ways; integration of different components of water; integration of water with related land and environmental resources; and, integration of water with social and economic development. At the international level, there is a need for sustained and adequate financing for the development of water supply and sewerage infrastructures in developing countries. This is crucial because the availability of basic water supply and sewerage infrastructures is a prerequisite to economic development, poverty eradication and the improvement of the quality of life of the people. CLOSING REMARKS The full text of my presentation will be made available in the homepage of EPU. You can access it at Thank-you for your kind attention.