18 - The Struggle for Balance: Johor’s Environmental Issues, Overlaps and Future

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Johor has a multitude of natural treasures within its boundaries. The only state in Peninsular Malaysia that has a coastline on three sides of about 400 km, it faces the South China Sea in the east, the Melaka Strait in the west and the Tebrau Strait in the south. Johor's marine habitats run the gamut of intertidal mud flats to whitesand beaches and coral-fringed islands. Seagrass meadows and mangrove forests that host large megafauna such as dugongs and turtles can be found all along its shoreline. Within these marine borders, Johor's terrestrial habitats comprise peatlands, forests, hills and mountains, of which 12.4 per cent are protected as national parks or wildlife and forest reserves (UPEN Johor 2017, p. 3). These landscapes are host to myriad endangered and endemic species, including the Malayan tiger, Asian elephant and Malayan tapir.

Gunung Ledang (also known as Mount Ophir) is Johor's highest point at 1,276 metres and is the source for thirteen rivers and a key water catchment area for both Johor and neighbouring Melaka. Johor's ten main river basins are the mainstay of the state's water security as 97 per cent of its raw water supplies come from surface water sources. The Johor River alone provides 60 per cent of the state's water supply.

These natural habitats and features are not the only components to be considered in a discussion of Johor's environment. In studying Johor's environmental policies, other issues that need to be explored include: matters of energy sources and use; carbon creation and sequestration; environmental and carrying capacities; traffic congestion and urbanization impacts; land-use; pollution; resource optimization; waste management; and air quality (IRDA 2014). Technologies or infrastructural innovations that mitigate development impacts or enhance sustainability should also be considered (UPEN Johor 2017, p. 52).

This chapter discusses the main environmental issues faced by Johor and the action taken to mitigate some of the problems. It also examines the policies that govern environmental management and action in Johor, as well as complications that arise from overlapping legislation and jurisdictions at the federal level, and its effects, if any, on Singapore and the Riau Archipelago. The chapter also briefly discusses environmental decision-making under the past and current state government and ends with a look forward in terms of Johor's efforts for the environment and sustainability.