By Hilary Chiew
Tuesday March 6, 2007
Our highlands are no longer cool as buildings, farms and roads have displaced trees.
Land clearing: Road construction is another problem plaguing the highlands.
THE warmer weather in our highlands has led many to believe that global warming has arrived. But the environmental circle hesitates to make a similar conclusion, stating that deforestation plays a bigger role in the rising temperatures.
Some also said the rise from 24.6°C in 1984 to 27.9°C in 1997 was influenced by a severe El Nino in 1997.
Veteran environmentalist Gurmit Singh says a warmer Cameron Highlands, Genting Highlands and Frasers Hill is to be expected as these popular hill resorts face forest clearing for development of townships, vegetable farms and tourism infrastructure.
However, he points out that the temperature rise recorded by the Meteorological Services Department (METS) is indicative of a small area in Cameron Highlands, and thus should not be construed as representative of the overall highlands situation.
“The temperature is recorded in one location in Cameron Highlands and is therefore only indicative of condition around that station. At the moment, there is not enough scientific spread of data to conclude that the highland is indeed warming,” he said.
The sole METS weather station is located in Tanah Rata where rapid development has occurred in the last 20 years.
While reports about ‘highland warming’ may seem speculative and inconclusive in the absence of empirical scientific data, anecdotal accounts of people living there should be a wake-up call for authorities to heed the many guidelines on management of montane forests.
Gurmit, who chairs the Centre for Environmental Technology and Development Malaysia, said concern over this matter should spur authorities to conduct a thorough study including documenting the experiences of local residents.
He lamented the lack of action by the National Climate Change Committee, chaired by the secretary-general of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, which has not met for the last three years.
“We submitted an action plan as a result of consultation with many stakeholders on the issue of climate change but till today we have not had a chance to meet and discuss the recommendations.”
Weather event
Global Environment Centre director Faizal Parish agrees that the severe 1997 El Nino event played a significant role in warmer temperatures but notes that average minimum and maximum temperatures have risen at least 1°C over the last two decades.
“Malaysia is affected by both global and regional temperature changes.
“On the regional front, weather predictors have overlooked a significant weather phenomenon, the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), that also contributes to the dry spell that affects the overall temperature,” he said, adding that the phenomenon was not identified until 1999 by Japanese climatologists.
He said IOD has the same effect as El Nino, which causes drought in South-East Asia, and together the two phenomena will intensify dry spells.
Faizal said this happened last year, resulting in Java not receiving rain for five months and severe bush fires in Sumatra.
Such variability in the oceanic-atmospheric circulation has a profound effect on climate in the southern hemisphere and will drive temperatures upward as the drought prolongs.
He said El Nino historically occurred at intervals of two to seven years and lasted one or two years but there was indication that the period was getting longer and the frequency, shorter.
Nevertheless, global and regional climate patterns only have a big influence on local conditions where the micro-climate has been altered.
Muddy waters: Silt carried along by a river in Cameron Highlands.
Land loss
Faizal warned that further uncontrolled development in the highlands would have dire consequences on the local weather condition.
He pointed out that on top of the 10,000ha between Ringlet and Kampung Raja that were cleared in the past, the local structural plan indicated plans to convert 30,000ha of Cameron Highlands for temperate agricultural use.
Describing the plan as paradoxical, he said: “Cameron Highlands and other highlands attract tourists and farmers because of the cooler climate. But if we continue to pile on the pressure, the coolness will be destroyed and there goes the tourism and temperate vegetables.”
Clearing of forests on the highlands continues unabated. Beyond Cameron Highlands, tarred roads are being built on parts of the Main Range like the Gua Musang-Lojing road, thus opening up more forest for vegetable cultivation.
And all this massive clearing will have an adverse, long-term impact on the country’s water supply.
Stripping the highlands of their tree cover leads to erosion and landslide, which then silt up tributaries that flow into major rivers in the lowland. Landslides are abundant along the Old Tapah Road up to Cameron Highlands as well as the Simpang Pulai-Kampung Raja road.
Development: Poor landuse planning has led to wanton cutting of hills.
Faizal said erosion caused by the Gua Musang-Lojing road construction was already being felt at Sungai Nenggiri, threatening populations of the prized freshwater fish, kelah (golden mahseer).
He warned that Pahang would become water stressed if it failed to address land clearing in Cameron Highlands, which is the headwater of Sungai Pahang.
As of now, massive erosion due to deforestation in the Sungai Jelai area is polluting the river that feeds Sungai Pahang. -- The Star.
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