Cameron Highlands - A Legacy Borrowed

By Melati Mohd Ariff

CAMERON HIGHLANDS, Feb 18 (Bernama) -- The water crisis that hit Cameron Highlands in the late 1990s prompted several concerned residents to form the Regional Environmental Awareness Cameron Highlands (REACH).

Against the many challenges that came its way, REACH continues to gain momentum, garnering support especially from the local residents in making its stance on the many environmental issues plaguing the highlands.

REACH president Ramakrishnan Ramasamy, 43, born and bred in Cameron Highlands, has been at the helm of this community-based body since the organisation took shape in 1998.And he has seen it all, the degradation and the deterioration of the highland he grew up with.

A LEGACY BORROWED

"Our main concern is the fast pace of development that is taking place in Cameron Highlands and its future if there is no proper check and balance," he told Bernama in an interview here recently.

Ramakrishnan strongly maintained that the highland is a legacy that is not inherited but borrowed from the future generations. Hence, its well-being needs to be protected and preserved.

This deep-rooted conviction is equally shared by his fellow committee members and also other supporters of the organisation including those from abroad.With many on-going sustainable programmes, REACH does not only get the much needed support and assistance from the people of Cameron Highlands but it also receives helping hands from volunteers from Kuala Lumpur and as far as Singapore.

Cameron Highlands is a popular holiday getaway for Singaporeans.

REFORESTATION

Deeply concerned with the repeated rape of the virgin jungles around Cameron Highlands, REACH with the support of Forestry Department has initiated a reforestation project in 2001.

According to Ramakrishnan, the project involvd 17 hectares of area in Gunung Brinchang.A local farmer cleared the site for agricultural activities and part of it was a forest reserve of Ulu Bertam.

The forest does not only contain diverse biodiversity of flora and fauna but also forms part of the water catchment area for the Sungai Burung water treatment plant. According to Ramakrishnan, the treatment plant supplies drinking water to the population of Brinchang and its surrounding areas.

"So you can imagine what happened when the site was cleared. Not only the forest was cleared, both its flora and fauna were also gone and the quality of drinking water was also affected."We managed to convince the Department of Forestry to have a smart-partnership with us, them giving us the technical assistance and we would reforest the illegally-cleared site," he said.

PAINSTAKING JOB

To date, REACH with the help of volunteers has managed to cover about 60 percent of the said site. At some locations, coconut husks had been added to create as the topsoil. Ramakrishnan described the replanting job as arduous.

"When the forest was cleared, the rain washed away the top soil consisting humus and organic materials. The land is almost barren and that slows down the growth of the plants. There is also the high altitude factor," he said.

Some of the local species that have been replanted including 'podo bukit' (podocarpus neriifolia), 'medang' (lauraceae spp), 'meranti bukit' (meranti bukit) and 'merapuh daun runcing' (swietenia penagiana).

In 2004, REACH started planting 'symingtonia (exbucklandia) populnea' at the site.All the seedlings, according to Ramakrishnan were obtained from the nearby-forested area and other locations.

"We hope with this reforestation project, it would instill not only a sense of awareness and responsibility but also ownership, at least within the community of Cameron Highlands."They must appreciate that they, too, have a role in safeguarding the forests and the water catchment areas," said Ramakrishnan.

LOVE OUR RIVERS

Rivers of Cameron Highlands are receiving the full brunt of the uncontrolled clearings of lands for agricultural activities particularly on steep slopes and water catchment areas as well as over-development or urban areas. And according to Ramakrishnan, because of the deteriorating conditions of the rivers, REACH has taken onto itself to educate the people of Cameron Highlands on the importance of good river water quality.

The project took off in 2005."First we started out by creating awareness and condition of the rivers. We began ith the secondary school children and this year, we will get the primary schools to be involved as well," he said.

Ramakrishnan is not deterred by the fact that the 'Love Our River' campaign mooted by the government has been dubbed a failure."That is why we are focusing on the children, at least they can go back and convince their parents about the river programme."We are making the programme more attractive. The kids will be Community Stream Investigators (CSI). They would go out in groups to investigate the health of our rivers."

By searching for specific small animals in the river and simple testing, they will learn whether the stream is healthy or polluted. This kind of teaching is more appealing to kids and is cheaper," explained Ramakrishnan.

He said the simple water testing kits given to the school children under the programme are provided by Water Environment Federation under its World Water Monitoring Programme.

RECYCLING PROJECTS

Another on-going sustainable programme by REACH is the recycling project initiated in 2003."We started with an awareness programme that involved school children and the local community which includes housing areas and villages. We also went to the Orang Asli settlements," said Ramakrisnan, adding that educational activities at schools involve bringing 5.0 kg of recyclable materials each week.

REACH also established collection centres for all the recycled items including newspapers, aluminum cans and plastics at specific location at Bertam Valley, Ringlet, Brinchang, Tringkap, Kuala Terla and Kampung Raja.

For this recycling project, REACH received good support from Cameron Highlands District Council which later provided a site for a compacting plant."The compacting plant is located on the lowland, near Simpang Pulai. It was opened last year. At the plant, all waste collected from the collecting centres are taken to be compacted before being sent to factories in Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur."

This project is moving on in a very positive manner. In a way, we are helping the local authorities to properly manage waste items," said Ramakrishnan.

FARMERS THE NEXT TARGET

He said this year REACH plans to proceed with the recycling programme on a much bigger scale."We are targeting the farms this year. We visited some previously but our efforts were hampered due to shortage of staff," he said.

According to Ramakrishnan, the farms use a lot of plastics and some have been indiscriminately dumping plastics and other wastes into the rivers."We are very much concerned with this lackadaisical attitude on the part of the farmers. I have caught many doing this. They even threw pesticide containers into the rivers."

One farmer even had the cheek to tell me that he threw rubbish into the river because many farmers are doing that when I caught him and his workers dumping rubbish into Sungai Parang after closing his temporary stall set for the Chinese New Year festival recently!" Ramakrishnan said.

THE ORCHID BOOK

Meanwhile, REACH would be coming out with a book on Wild Orchids of Cameron Highlands next month. The A4-size book is 205 pages thick, full colour with over 400 photographs of wild orchids, amidst the backdrop of some of the more untouched and unspoilt areas of the highlands."

This project involves a team of volunteers and many individuals who have supported this effort."Proceeds from the sale of this book will be channeled to our conservation projects in Cameron Highlands," said Ramakrishnan.The book's selling price is RM98.

He said REACH began documenting the wild orchids in Cameron Highlands about six years ago."Now we have a collection of 15,000 photographs and so far we have been able to describe 605 different orchids. Prior to this, there were only 305 orchids known in Cameron Highlands."The orchids are intact but their very existence is threatened by logging and also by indirectly local climate change brought about by immense clearing of lands for agricultural activities," he added.

Reflection Questions

1.Do you think that developemnt should slow down nin Cameron Highlnads?

2.Do you think that REACH is playing an important role in promoting sustainable development of Cameron Highlands?

Robust Farming Threatening Malaysia's Biggest Hill Station

Oleh Melati Mohd Ariff

CAMERON HIGHLANDS, Feb 17 (Bernama) --

"Malaysia should learn from what had happened in Europe. For the people there, the realization came too late and everything was gone, the damage has been done."

Those were the words of Anthony Van der Ent, a biologist and environment scientist from Holland.He said: "Most of the environment (in Europe) has been spoiled, polluted or degraded due to massive unsustainable development from the early 1950s.

The people of Europe are trying to restore everything back."Needless to say it involves a lot of work and money. For instance, it would take thousands of years to restore pristine forests."

According to Van der Ent, Malaysia and other Asian countries are in the same situation to what Europe experienced during the 1950s in terms of economic growth and robust expansion of the industrial and agriculture sectors.

"There are still quite a lot of areas left in Malaysia that are worth conserving but at the pace things are going right now, I am very much concerned that there would not be anything left especially in Cameron Highlands," he said, adding that in the 20 years to come Malaysia would be in the same 'boat' as Europe was in 15 years ago.

CONCERN FOR CAMERON HIGHLANDS

The Dutchman chanced upon Cameron Highlands during a visit to Malaysia with his globe-trotting parents seven years ago and the highland has captivated him so much that he has been coming back for brief visits each year ever since.

In 2005 Van der Ent, then a student at Saxion University Deventer, Netherlands together with another student, Chantal Termeer carried out a study on the river water quality of the 'Upper Bertam' water catchment zone.

Sungai Bertam is the most important river flowing into the TNB Ringlet Reservoir.The research project on the chemical and ecological water quality of the rivers of the Upper Bertam catchment was assigned to them by a community group of Cameron Highlands, Regional Environment Awareness Cameron Highlands or REACH.

The five months study showed serious pollution of organic compounds and silting being the two most significant causes for water quality deterioration of the Upper Bertam river catchment.

RIVERS IN CAMERON HIGHLANDS

Eight rivers drain Cameron Highlands with Sungai Bertam, Sungai Telom and Sungai Lemoi, being the main ones.The three rivers have a total of more than 123 tributaries. As such they have a very substantial role in not only supplying water for consumption but also to cater for the needs of the agricultural sector.

Cameron Highlands is also significant because it forms the water catchment for two major rivers of the lowlands -- Sungai Pahang and Sungai Perak.

"A water catchment is the land area in the upper reaches of a river system, normally in the highlands and mainly forested. The highlands and particularly the montane ecosystem forms some of the most important water catchment areas in Peninsular Malaysia."

The montane forests are water producers and the supply of this precious and most endangered and limited natural resource, both in terms of quantity and quality is very much dependent on forested water catchment areas in the highlands," explained Van der Ent.

He said that forest cover plays a vital role for a water catchment."Based on our study then, about 30 per cent of land cover in the Bertam catchment is used by agriculture and urban development", said Van der Ent.

WATER AS INDICATOR

Water quality is seen as the best indicator to benchmark the quality of an environment, as its deterioration can be a direct result of unsustainable development.How has it been since the 2005 study or since the water crisis that hit Cameron Highlands in 1998?

REACH's president Ramakrishnan Ramasamy told Bernama the overall water situation in Cameron Highlands is not getting any better."We are very much concerned about this and a lot of our efforts are focused on these issues.

REACH itself was formed because of water quality and quantity in Cameron Highlands."Even though it was only formalised in 2001, we had started to voice out our concern way back in 1998 when Cameron Highlands suffered a major water crisis," he said.

Ramakrishnan said as much as 80 per cent of available water resources in Cameron Highlands is being diverted for agriculture sector. He also estimated 80 per cent of the farms in Cameron Highlands are established on slopes higher than the 25-degree gradient permitted.

"Since 2000, we are facing 4.0 million litres shortage of water everyday for a population of 29,000. As of last year, the population has increased to more than 33,000."

To overcome this shortage, a reservoir was planned at Sungai Terla. At the start of the project there were only six farms above the proposed reservoir and by the time the project took off and completed, the number of farms had grown to more than 60," he said.

CONTINUED CONTAMINATION

For Ramakrishnan, the growing number of farms only spells trouble for water supply in Cameron Highlands. "Because there are too many farms in the area upstream the Sungai Terla reservoir, the water is contaminated, not only with agricultural wastes but also with human wastes as well. Most of the farms hire foreign workers and they do not have proper sanitation," he said.

A farm would have about 10 workers and most of them use chicken droppings as fertilizer."When we tested the water, we found E.coli bacteria and when the contaminated water is sent to the lab for further testing, it was found to contain human waste, " he said.

Ramakrishnan blames the local authorities for lack of enforcement and failing to control the opening of new farms located in the area upstream the reservoir.He said there was a major landslide due to illegal land clearing causing the silting of Sungai Terla in 2008 and the reservoir had to be shut down.

"When there is a reservoir, there should not be any human activity including farming. Due to the lack of enforcement, these farmers are encroaching into water catchment areas, further contaminating the water source."

The entire area of Cameron Highlands is a water catchment area and most of the forests here work like a sponge, they collect water and retain water. Streams flow from these forests. If you disturb the forests, it means you are cutting back on the water source," he explained.

According to Ramakrishnan, REACH conducts regular tests at least once in three months both for raw and treated water collected from all towns in Cameron Highlands.

"It was frightening, in treated water the presence of E.coli bacteria was too much to count," he said.Ramakrishnan said last year, REACH collaborated with a group of researchers from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) in Skudai, Johor to undertake a study on the water quality in Cameron Highlands.

"They did a test and they were shocked as well to see how contaminated our water was," he said.

WRATH OF MOTHER NATURE

There is one other issue that has got Ramakrishnan more than worried. He fears the wrath of Mother Nature on Cameron Highlands.And it is happening.He cited the many landslides that occurred especially end of last year were due to heavy rain.

"My biggest fear is that some of the landslides occurred on slopes that was free from human dealings," he said."In December last year, for just an hour's drive over for a stretch of less than 10 km around Pos Terisu (an Orang Asli settlement about 15 km from Kuala Terla) we lost count of the number of landslides that had occurred, big and small ones, " he said.

According to Ramakrishnan, at the rate the clearing of forests around Pos Terisu is being done, the agriculture activities there would surpass Bertam Valley in no time.

"The Orang Asli settlement is being surrounded by agricultural land now," he said.Ramakrishnan recalled a major landslide in Habu in the late 1990s when a farmer built his own reservoir in the area above the reservoir constructed by the Water Works Department (JBA).

"The (farmer's) reservoir burst and swept down the JBA's tank. The massive landslide that it caused killed two passers-by," he said.

Ramakrishnan then cited the floods that hit Kampung Raja and according to him, floods have becoming more frequent in Kampung Raja for the past two years.He also spoke on the flood that hit the big football field in Tanah Rata.

"The last time I remembered when the football field was flooded, it was in the 1980s. Last year it flooded again, one reason because of the severe silting in Sungai Bertam. The river could not cope and it was due to the rampant agricultural activities upstream of the river," he explained.

Ramakrishnan expressed his profound concern with the silting that is taking place especially in Sungai Bertam that flows into the Sultan Abu Bakar Dam.The capacity of the dam is only to hold water and not silt.

Ramakrishnan said he had highlighted this issue for the local authorities to check on activities at the upstream of Sungai Bertam.He estimated that 600,00 cubic metres of silt is being swept into the dam every year.

"If you do not slow down the activities on the upstream and if the dam is to burst, everything here until Lipis would be gone and the survival chance is almost none.I feel very sad and worried with what is happening. I participated in a lot of relief work during natural disasters, both locally (floods in Segamat) and abroad (earthquakes in Iran and China, Acheh after the tsunami)."

"I have seen the effect of all these disasters and I worry Cameron Highlands may suffer the same fate. This frustrates me more," said Ramakrishnan who is a member of the Malaysian Volunteers Fire and Rescue Association.

Reflection Questions

1.Explain how development has brings more problems then benefit to Cameron Highlnads.

2. Suggest some economic activities that can be conducted in Cameron Highlands without destroying the environment.

3.

No More Cool Mountain Air At Cameron Highlands?

By: Oleh Melati Mohd Ariff

CAMERON HIGHLANDS, Feb 16 (Bernama) - Agriculture is fast spoiling the landscape of Cameron Highlands, Malaysia's premier hill resort, according to residents.From tea planted on its fertile hills, Pahang's smallest district is experiencing intensive vegetable cultivation not only on the lowlands but also on its steep slopes and deep into the pristine forests.

On a dry but humid day, a gentle breeze carries the foul smell of fertilizers that permeates the air. This is a stark reality where visitors to this idyllic highland getaway could no longer boast of breathing cool fresh mountain-air.

START OF DEVELOPMENT

Founded in 1885 by British colonial government surveyor William Cameron, the highlands with its highest point standing 1,500 metres above sea level was developed as a hill station in 1925.

Drastic transformation of the highlands came about after the country's independence in 1957 and the years thereon when the cool mountain climate was found to be ideal for growing vegetables.

Subsequently, large tracts of virgin jungles were cleared to make way for tea and vegetable plantations.

Construction of roads, buildings and housing settlements was carried out also in an equally rapid pace.With an area of about 71,000 hectares and a population of over 30,000, Cameron Highlands has now eight towns namely Blue Valley, Kg Raja, Kuala Terla, Tringkap, Brinchang, Tanah Rata, Bertam Valley and Ringlet.

Most of the agriculture activities are centred in Bertam Valley while Blue Valley is noted for its tea plantations in which among them are the Blue Valley Tea Plantation and BOH Tea Plantation.

GOOD OLD DAYS
For the old folks of Cameron Highlands, they yearn for the good old days when they woke up to breathe in the cold crisp air and enjoying the tranquility and serenity of the lush, green surroundings.

However that peaceful and much adored highland has long been transformed into a bustling and crowded place, thronged with visitors particularly during the school or festive holidays.

"Life was so good and peaceful then. There were not many people and vehicles. The children could even play in the middle of the road."

Even though the air was so cold, it was really refreshing. We had to put on jackets to keep warm. It was so cold that the coconut oil coagulated and we could wrap it in newspapers," reminisced Zainal Abidin Shafie, 77, who came to Cameron Highlands in 1948, at the age of 18.

When asked to comment on the rapid development taking place here, Zainal Abidin who was chosen as 'Tokoh Maal Hijrah 2009' for Cameron Highlands, spoke with much concern."Some houses are being built right next to the roads and there are some constructed near rivers. Just look at the houses built in Tringkap (located about eight km from Brinchang)."

The other problem is traffic flow and parking. Take a look at Tanah Rata, stalls are everywhere, visitors have a hard time parking their cars. During holidays, the roads and most of the towns would be so congested."I really hope the local authorities would monitor the situation and do something fast," Zainal Abidin told Bernama, adding that usually he would purchase all his groceries well before any holiday seasons so as to avoid the crowds and the traffic snarl.

FOND MEMORIES

For 74-year-old Kolandapayan a/l Sengkali Kaundan, living in Cameron Highlands was filled with fond memories.Indian-born Kolandapayan came to Cameron Highlands in 1953 to work as a tea plantation labourer in the Blue Valley.The wage was RM2.30 per day and according to Kolandapayan, he spent RM1 for food and the balance was saved for rainy days."

It was so cold in those days but after awhile I came to like the place, after all there was nowhere else to go. It was quiet, not many people, not many cars and not many buildings too."There were thick jungles everywhere. I was afraid not of the wild animals but communist terrorists who frequently came out from their hideouts to our place," said Kolandapayan, who performed odd jobs including as a gardener after leaving the tea plantation.

When asked about his life now in Cameron Highlands, he was quick with these remarks, "Hot. Too many people and too many cars. Before it was hot only for one or two days in month but now it is hot all the time. Too many jungles and hills being cleared."

As for Francis Thangam, also 74, coming to Cameron Highlands at the age of 23 was a blessing in disguise. He heard about the place through a friend who operated a barbershop there."I paid RM1.80 for a bus ride to Cameron Highlands from Klang through Tapah. It was a small bus that could accommodate only 16 people. The journey through the winding roads was definitely tough."

When I first came here, the air was so cold, everybody had to wear jackets," he said.Perseverance paid for Francis and after doing several jobs, he landed a managerial position with Bharat Tea Plantation in 1963, a position he held until he retired in Dec 2004.

MISSING THE FOGGY DAYS

As for Zulkifli Mohd Ariffin, 67, who came to Cameron Highlands in 1981 after being promoted as chief clerk with the Land Office, the one thing that he missed most was the cool, foggy days."I was an avid sportsman and in those days, we had to stop our sports activities due to the thick fog. It could be happening at any time of the day and not necessarily on rainy days. That was how cold it was back then. You could see vapour coming out from your mouth as you spoke."

Now you may get a foggy day only once a month, but that it is also a rare opportunity except when it rains. Even the way the visitors to Cameron Highlands dress is a clear indication on the abrupt change in weather here. Some are walking around just t-shirts and shorts!"

Years before, you could not move around without jackets and at nights you had to put on several layers of clothing and and even socks," said Zulkifli.He,too,lamented on the improper way Cameron Highlands is being developed. "

Development has to be on a sustainable manner so as not to damage the ecosystem and well-being of the highlands. But what is happening here now, things have gone from bad to worse," he added.

WHAT THE ORANG ASLI SAYS

For the Orang Asli of Kampung Kuala Boh in Ringlet, despite their settlement situated away from the hustle and bustle of modern day living in the Cameron Highlands, they are still being affected by such development.

For one, Sungai Mensoon that flows past the village is moderately polluted due to large scale agricultural activities at the upstream areas.Bahdin Pulai, 67, recalled many happy moments during his younger days like fishing and swimming in the river near the Orang Asli settlement."

There were no vegetable farms then, the river water was crystal clear. You could drink the water right away, no pollution and there was so much fish."We were also blessed with many wild animals to hunt especially the deer. But our children now are no longer able to enjoy that good times. They even do not know how to make blowpipes," said Bahdin, who has to move around now using a walking stick due to gout.According to him, the river began to show signs of pollution around late 1970s with the opening of many vegetable farms in Ringlet.

SHARING THE FRUSTRATION

The Tok Batin (Orang Asli community head) of Kampung Kuala Boh, Nordin Abu Bakar shared Bahdin's frustration."We have not been able to catch fish in the past four years. There used to be several species of fish in Sungai Mensoon like kelah and tengas. The fish is gone. The river is polluted," he remarked.

There are 92 Orang Asli families in Kampung Kuala Boh and all of them are Muslims. The older folks earn their living by collecting rattan, growing bananas, tapioca and hill paddy while some of the village youths have gone to the big cities to work.Born and bred in Kampung Kuala Boh which spread over an area of 100 hectares, Nordin was named Tok Batin (Orang Asli community head) in 1992, taking over the position after the death of his father, Abu Bakar.

Despite the village being surrounded by jungles, Nordin said the weather now is different from his younger days."When we were young, we could not wear sleeveless t-shirt like what I am wearing now. It was too cold regardless whether it was morning or afternoon. But now, you can have iced drinks even in the morning.There are just too much lands cleared for vegetable farms. I hope there would not be any encroachment to this village," said the 45-year-old Nordin, who served as a commando for 12 years before he retired and returned to Kampung Kuala Boh.

For Zainal, Kolandapayan, Francis Thangam, Zulkifli, Bahdin and Nordin, Cameron Highlands hold a special place in their hearts.They have breathed the cool and fresh mountain air, enjoyed its serenity and tranquility. Now what they longed for is to be able to pass on that legacy to their children and the future generations.-- BERNAMA

Reflection Questions

1. Development has bring more benefit than problems in Cameron HIghlnads. Do you agree? Explain your answer.

2. Development must stopin Cameron Highlands.Do you agree? Explain your answer.