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KOTA KINABALU: The State government is in the process of formulating a more focused and clear environmental policy for Sabah.
It will be a standard operating procedure by the State government to
manage the impact of human on the environment with a view to prevent,
reduce or mitigate harmful effects on the environment and natural
resources, said Tourism, Culture & Environment Minister Datuk Masidi
Manjun.
He was speaking at the opening of the “Stakeholder Consultation
Workshop for Sabah Policy on the Environment”, which was held at the
Promenade Hotel in July 2012.
“Many would perhaps ask why we need to formulate an environmental
policy when we have several existing legislation pertaining to the
protection of the environment such as Environment Protection Enactment
2002, Wildlife Enactment 1997, Sabah Parks Enactment 1994, Sabah Water
Resources Enactment 1998, Sabah Biodiversity Enactment 2000 and Sabah
Forestry Enactment 1968, among others.
“Besides that, we have environmental related policies and plans such
as Sabah Tourism Master Plan, Sabah Biodiversity Strategies and Action
Plan, Sabah Agriculture Policy, Sabah Forestry Policy, Sabah
Environmental Education Policy, Sabah Wildlife Policy and Action Plan
and Sabah Development Corridor Blueprint,” he said.
He explained that the major problem with the existing legal framework was in its sectoral approach in managing the environment.
“This sectoral approach has resulted in the passing of a number of
environmental related legislation with its own provision on the
environment.
“Besides, policies and plans are also rather specific and sectoral
where environmental issues are incorporated in a fragmented manner.
Hence, despite these legislation, policies and plans, the environmental
degradation continues,” Masidi said.
“The Environmental Policy for Sabah is therefore crucial to serve as
a framework and guideline for decision making towards modernisation and
industrialisation.
“It serves as a living and reference document for all economic
sectors and any other form of development that touches the environmental
and natural resources, where monitoring, review and revision of this
document are envisaged.
“It will look into the integration of all related aspects such as
water and air so that any problems are not dealt with in a fragmented
manner as the situation arises,” he said.
“This policy will also highlight the use of different types of
instruments such as economic incentives and fiscal-based instruments
such as tax-exemptions, tradable permits and fees, whichever relevant
and practical to ensure that the policy is effectively implemented and
complied with.
“Environmental charges exist in other countries in addition to
pollution control regulations and are used to raise revenue as well as
encourage environmentally friendly behavior,” he added.
“For instance, Kota Kinabalu City hall may want to impose waste
disposal charge to Kayu Madang Landfill so that the revenue collected is
used for the management of the landfill.
“Denmark, for example, levy taxes of 95 Danish Krona (US$34) per
metric ton on waste delivered to landfills and 160 Danish Krona (US$28)
per metric ton on waste delivered to incineration facilities. These
taxes raised 527.6 million Danish Krona (US$92.6 million) in 1993,”
Masidi said.
“The proposed policy is also geared towards the prevention of
externalities such as free rider problem, e.g. factory causing pollution
to common resources such as rivers.
“These are examples of externalities around us such as the recent
complaint of a laundry mart in Inanam, Kota Kinabalu discharging
polluted water into the Inanam River,” he said.
If the river happens to be a water intake point for Kota Kinabalu,
the consumers have to pay for the cleaning of water due to the pollution
caused by the factory, he added.
Masidi urged companies operating in Sabah such as oil palm mills,
rubber and other industries to commit themselves to reducing their
environmental impact and create a set of environmental principles and
standards and have environmental audit.
In this regard, companies should move towards more efficient
production process, adopt cleaner technologies and processes throughout
the life cycle of the product in order to minimise waste generation and
contribute to maintaining good climatic conditions, he said.
“Cleaner production includes conserving raw materials and energy,
eliminating toxic raw chemicals and reducing the quantity and toxicity
of emissions or discharges before they leave the production process.
“And going for voluntary environmental schemes such as
eco-labelling, Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) as well as
adopting a corporate social responsibility programme,” Masidi said.
Source: New Sabah Times
2 comments:
It is useful to consider that environmental policy comprises two major terms: environment and policy
Environment primarily refers to the ecological dimension (ecosystems), but can also take account of social dimension (quality of life) and an economic dimension (resource management).[2] Policy can be defined as a course of action or principle adopted or proposed by a government, party, business or individual.
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