Kota Kinabalu: Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) and the Sabah Wetlands Conservation Society (SWCS) have joined forces to tackle pollution threatening the city’s only Ramsar site.
SWCS President Datuk Zainie Abdul Aucasa expressed his appreciation to Mayor Datuk Seri Dr Sabin Samitah and DBKK’s executive leadership for their swift response.
“On behalf of the SWCS and the Kota Kinabalu Wetland Ramsar Site Management Committee, I would like to convey our profound gratitude and highest appreciation to the Mayor and DBKK’s executive leadership,” he said.
Zainie said the two parties had swiftly formed a Joint Mangrove Clean-Up Task Force following the mayor’s working visit to the site.
Regarding the recent demolition of squatter units near the wetland, Zainie, when contacted on Tuesday, clarified that his appreciation for the mayor was not directed solely at the demolition.
He said the roughly 15 units demolished last week were part of a follow-up to a much larger demolition exercise about two months earlier, which saw a few thousand squatter units removed.
“It is good that they (DBKK) removed it because, apart from the security risk in the neighbouring area, contaminated water is coming into our place and that is eventually going to affect the health of the mangrove.
“That is what we worry about,” he said.
Zainie added that the wetland’s concerns were only one part of a bigger issue involving security and unlawful occupation in the area.
“This squatter issue is not only our problem. Our problem is just that part of the water. The rest, of course, is the issue of them staying over there, security and everything, that is bigger,” he said.
He pointed out that the problem had persisted for years despite repeated demolition exercises.
“After the government demolishes, it comes up again. After a few months, it comes up again. It is a recurring thing,” he said.
In an earlier statement, Zainie said the 24-hectare urban mangrove ecosystem, which is vital for coastal protection, biodiversity and eco-tourism, faced threats originating entirely from outside its perimeter.
“Our primary challenge originates entirely from outside our perimeter, washed downstream through municipal stormwater networks and tidal drift,” he said.
He identified commercial eateries and food premises, surrounding automotive workshops and unregulated settlements as the three main sources of pollution reaching the wetland.
“Oil, grease and food residue discharged by eateries into storm drains are smothering the mangrove’s breathing roots and depleting oxygen in tidal waterways,” he said.
“Workshops are washing engine oil and chemical degreasers into culverts during rainstorms, while settlements are sending untreated wastewater and refuse downstream through drainage corridors and high-tide sea drift,” he added.
To address the issue, the task force has mobilised four DBKK departments, namely the City Planning and Development Sector, Vehicle Management and Solid Waste Collection Department, Environmental Health Department and Landscape Department, to inspect drainage networks, food premises, workshops and settlement boundaries surrounding the wetland.
“Following these initial assessments, more joint site visits have already been planned for the coming weeks,” he said.
He said upcoming inspections would include re-inspecting food premises and workshops, surveying upstream monsoon culverts and finalising the installation of floating trash barriers.
Among the measures already being carried out by the task force is the installation of floating trash booms across drainage channels and water inlets to trap rubbish and plastics before they reach the mangrove boundary.
Other measures include routine water sampling and laboratory testing to trace pollution back to its sources, as well as stricter enforcement of grease-trap compliance among restaurants and workshops.
Zainie called for greater cooperation from the public and commercial operators to protect Kota Kinabalu’s only Ramsar site.
He urged restaurant operators, workshop owners and nearby residents to maintain grease traps, dispose of oil properly and stop littering in drains.
