Roundtable Discussions
Integrated Watershed Management Stakeholders Roundtable Discussion
Title of event : Integrated Watershed Management Stakeholders Roundtable Discussion
Date & Day : 6 June 2013, Thursday
Time : 9am – 5pm
Place : Anggerik Room, Institute of Postgraduate Studies, University of Malaya
Introduction
Of late, issues of watershed governance are becoming more important.Universiti Malaya’s Sustainability Science Research Clusterthrough its Governance of Land-Use Conflicts in the Sungai Selangor Watershed project had organized Stakeholders Roundtable Discussion on the 6th June 2013 to focus on discussions about governance issues in the Sungai Selangor. Basically, the State of Selangor has 7 river basins. Sungai Selangor is the second largest river in Selangor measuring at 134-kilometre in length. The total watershed area of Sungai Selangor is about 2,200 km2. The main function of Sungai Selangor is as a source of water for the State of Selangor for domestic, industrial and irrigation purposes. The river basin forms part of the three districts, namely Hulu Selangor, Gombak and Kuala Selangor.
On June 6, 2013, a Roundtable Discussion was convened to discuss the issues, challenges and strategies to enhance a good watershed governance. The 45 participants included four stakeholder’s representatives from government agencies related to the watershed governance issues. They areMajlis Daerah Kuala Selangor (MDKS), Majlis Daerah Hulu Selangor (MDHS), MajlisPerbandaranSelayang (MPS) and LembagaUrus Air Selangor (LUAS).
The main objective of this Roundtable Discussion was to bring together the stakeholders to share ideas and to discuss management issues regarding the watershed governance of Sungai Selangor. The specific objectives are as follows;
i. To discuss the issues and problems encountered in relation to good governance in the water catchment area of Sungai Selangor;
ii. To identify conflicts of land use change impacts in the watershed and;
iii. To identify strategies improve the system of governance in the catchment area of Sungai Selangor
The Roundtable Discussion
Before the Roundtable Discussion, the Project Secretariat identified the key issues that need to be discussed in a form 12 guiding questions. The questions that were shared with the participants for deliberation at the Roundtable revolved around the following issues:
1. The definition of watershed governance from the stakeholders’ different point of views
2. Identification of the main actors (key players) involved in the governance of water catchment areas in Sungai Selangor
3. The main issues arising in the catchment area of the 3 districts in Selangor
4. Identification of major conflict faced by the Local Authority (LA) in their pursuit of physical development within the catchment area
5. Duplication of authority and responsibility between the agencies involved in the process of development in the watershed
6. The mechanisms needed to address the issue of land use conflicts in the major watersheds in the Sungai Selangor basin
7. Forms of control measures applied by other agencies and local authorities to identify the effects of environmental pollution due to land use activities those are not controlled (e.g, logging, mining, agricultural, and industrial)
8. Experiences that can be shared by the District / Municipality in managing / planning / advisory projects involving land use in the watershed
9. The ways the monitoring process are implemented
10. The laws and policies to manage development in the watershed and the efforts and new initiatives to manage a more sustainable catchment area
11. The role of civil societies (NGOs) and the local population in the context of watershed management and the efforts made to increase the participation of civil societies and local communities for engagement in the catchment area
12. The relevant strategies undertaken for improving watershed governance more systematically.
The Roundtable Discussion had successfully identified the following issues and challenges:
i. Environmental issues in the catchment area.
- Water and air pollution by the factories in the area of Bestari Jaya, Taman Suria and Kota Puteri, Rawang. For example, tire recycling factory in the Kota Puteri, Rawang was producing and emitting black smoke and dust that caused the pollution.
- Waste issues in the area of Bukit Beruntung and Sungai Buaya. There is a lack of awareness among residents, many would simply throw the wastes into the river.
- The local authority had addressed poultry issues in the Langat area. Approximately, there are 20 poultry farms in Kuala Selangor. The largest poultry farm for instance is about 700m adjacent to the housing areas. There was also environmental impact on the river caused by direct release of chicken manure into the river.
- The increasing demand of housing in the area of Kuala Selangor has resulted in river tributaries to be concretized
ii. Lack of monitoring process
- The staff is also shorthanded particularly in the monitoring and enforcement process. LUAS for instance only has 100 staffs to manage the three main rivers in Selangor.
- There are many projects without EIA.
iii. Lack of funding
- Local authority lacks funding to manage the issues in the watershed area. The State government needs to increase the funds.
iv. No integration between agencies. Enhancing co-operation among the multiple stakeholders is important.
The government agencies have undertaken the following actions in response to the issues highlighted above:
i. To address the waste issues, Kuala Selangor municipality adopted initiatives from Surabaya Municipal Authority using Composting Commodity System to convert organic waste into compost.
ii. LUAS had organized special meetings with related agencies to find the solutions to the issues confronting the watershed
iii. Kuala Selangor municipality had established STAR (SistemTalianAduan Rakyat) to enhance its complaints reporting system
iv. Selayang municipal council and the Selangor Land Office has used their authority to compound offenders of misused land
The Roundtable has identified the following strategies to strengthen watershed governance in the Selangor water catchment:
i. Strengthen the policies and implementation capacity
ii. Increasethe involvement from various stakeholders
iii. Increase the fund from Federal and State authorities
iv. Implement the Drainage Master Plan
v. Improve the river inventory systematically
As an outcome, the Roundtable Discussion has improved the two-way relationships between government agencies and the academia.
Conclusion
Absence of strong political support and interagency collaboration in managing the environmental issues constraina successful implementation of watershed governance in the Sungai Selangor. Other constraints include the lack of comprehensive policies, regulatory framework and financial sustainability. To advance the debate and action on water governance, the multi-actor groups must work together closely to resolve environmental problems at the watershed scale.
Welcoming Speech by Project
The participants actively participating in the Roundtable
YDP from Kuala Selangor Local Authority delivering the presentation
The Director of LUAS sharing his experience
Roundtable Stakeholders Discussion
Roundtable Discussion on Values and Park Tourism
Date: 10th August 2015 (Monday) 10am – 1.30pm
Venue: MARS Meeting Room, IPPP Level 7, Research Management & Innovation Complex
Chairperson: Dr. Goh Hong Ching, FRGS Project PI FP047-2013A, UMSERGE/Department of Urban & Regional Planning, Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Malaya
Committee: Wan Nur Syazana Wan Mohamad Ariffin, Ching Fei Ern
Description:
The discussion was held in conjunction with the research project funded under the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) titled “Articulating Tangible and Intangible Values in Protected Areas. The Kinabalu Model of Natural Heritage Site Management” (FP047-2013A) that is currently ongoing in Kinabalu Park and Taman Negara Pahang.
The primary aim of this discussion is to bring together all the researchers and different stakeholders from various fields to brainstorm ideas, to share their experiences, to establish networking and to explore potential future research collaborations.
Below is the list of the researchers and stakeholders and their topics discussed in this discussion: -
1. Dr. Rosilawati Binti Zainol (Department of Urban & Regional Planning, Faculty of Built Environment, UM)
2. Mr. Ludi Apin (Assistant Director, Head of Management & Operations Division, Sabah Parks)
3. Prof. Dr. Jamilah Binti Mohamad (Head of Centre, Spatial-Environmental Governance for Sustainability Research Centre, UMSERGE, UM)
4. Prof. Dr. Norman Backhaus (Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Switzerland)
5. Prof. Emeritus Dato’ Dr. Abdul Kadir Lebai Din (School of Tourism, Hospitality & Environmental Management, UUM)
Each of the researchers/stakeholders gave different topic of presentations and below is the title of the presentations for each of them: -
1. Appreciating a World Heritage Site Using Multisensory Elements: A Case Study in Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia by Dr. Rosilawati Binti Zainol
2. Governance and Management, Sabah Parks (The Board of Trustees of the Sabah Parks) by Mr. Ludi Apin
3. Park Governance and Pangkor Island Development: The UMSERGE Spatial-Environmental Governance Approach by Prof. Dr. Jamilah Binti Mohamad
4. The Swiss Park System: Strictly Bottom-up? and Value Generation through Tourism in Swiss Conservation Areas by Prof. Norman Backhaus
5. The Relevance of Islamic Values in Park Tourism by Prof. Emeritus Dato’ Dr. Abdul Kadir Lebai Din
Figure 1: Presentation by Sabah Parks Assistant Director, Mr. Ludi Apin.
Figure 2: Discussion
Figure 3: Group photo. From left is Dr. Rosilawati, Prof. Dr. Jamilah, Prof. Dato' Dr. Abdul Kadir, Prof. Norman, Mr. Ludi and Dr. Goh.
.jpg)
