Association hopes to play lead role in environmental issues
“It is my personal desire to see that poor environmental reporting be stopped among EIA practitioners with the formation of this association and the establishment of the code of ethics.”
- Dr. Francis Wong, Chairman of the Association of Environmental Consultants Sarawak (AECS)
Minister of Environment and Public Health Datuk Michael Manyin advised and encouraged project proponents throughout the State to engage themselves with the association.
KUCHING – The Association of Environmental Consultants Sarawak (AECS) hopes to play a leading and proactive role in improving the environment in the State.
Its chairman Dr. Francis Wong said the association, as a professional environmental organisation, wanted to promote effective process and practise to implement the environmental impact assessment (EIA) to ensure its objectives were met.
“In the context of EIA, adopting best practises that include embracing the principles of sustainable development and precautionary approach shall be encouraged. It is my personal desire to see that poor environmental reporting be stopped among EIA practitioners with the formation of this association and the establishment of the code of ethics,” he said at a media luncheon at Mango Tree Restaurant here yesterday.
Wong said the main constraints to an effective EIA process in Malaysia were related to fragmented authority among federal and state authorities, the government agencies and the ineffective regulatory framework.
“The ineffective regulatory framework includes inadequate standards and criteria for environmental values. It is thus vital that EIA process be guided by specific environmental criteria.”
The current criteria for environmental values were either too generic, inadequate or non-existence, he added.
He said that EIA system should be applied to all projects that “are expected to have a significant impact and address all impacts that are expected to be significant”.
“The current Environmental Quality (Prescribed Activities) (Environmental Impact Assessment) Order 1987 must be ammended in conjunction with the general spirit and intent of the Enviornmental Act and EIA itself,” he said.
Many project proponents tended to treat EIA documents as ends rather than the means for effective environmental management for their project, he said.
“A a result, the usefulness of the EIA is not always optimised. It is therefore crucial that the regulatory compliance on the terms and conditions of EIA report approval be strictly enforced by the Department of Environment or Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB).”
He said that an ideal EIA system should encourage consideration of environment in planning and decision-making besides being properly timed to provide the necessary information before any major decision was made.
The association’s committee members led by Wong also paid a coutesy call on Minister of Environment and Public Health Datuk Michael Manyin at his office in Petra Jaya yesterday morning.
According to Wong, Manyin advised and encouraged project proponents throughout the State to engage themselves with the association. Also present at the visit was the controller of NREB Dr. Penguan Manggil.
Meanwhile, the association’s overall mission is to improve the environmental profession and ethics as well as developing a better environmental culture in the society for enhancing environmental protection and natural resources conservation.
Its objectives, among others, are to cooperate with NREB and other environmental authority in sustainable development, conservation and wise use of natural resources in Sarawak besides setting up guidelines and prescriptions for the works and services of environmental consultancy.
Source: The Borneo Post
(2007-05-12)
Eco-Ideal Consulting Sdn. bhd. is a corporate member of the Association of Environmental Consultants Sarawak (AECS).
