KOTA KINABALU: A silica sand mining proposal on an island off the northern district of Kudat concerns the World Wildlife Fund-Malaysia.
The mining was proposed on Pulau Balambangan which is located within the 900,000ha Tun Mustapha Park, the largest marine park in the country. There are also some 50 islands within the park.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal announced this during the State Legislative Assembly sitting, which ended on Wednesday.
In response to this, WWF-Malaysia Conservation director Dr Henry Chan urged the state government to turn down the silica sand mining proposasl.
“Balambangan is located within the biodiverse rich Tun Mustapha Park and any mining activities will have adverse impact on the environment," he said.
Balambangan’s coastal seas constitutes part of the marine park and it is marked as a Priority Conservation Area (PCA) under the Coral Triangle.
The Tun Mustapha Park is also home to the second-largest concentration of coral reefs in Malaysia, which contributes more than 12% of Sabah’s marine fisheries and aquaculture production with the value of RM184 million in 2017.
Sedimentation and soil erosion have unfavourable prevailing implications on the environment and the communities that rely on it.
Studies on silica sand mining from many parts of the world show negative impacts to coastal environments, such as land deterioration or sinking of an island, loss of biodiversity, siltation, sedimentation and run-off to the sea.
Mining activity can increase turbidity, which is harmful to organisms like corals and seagrasses that depend on sunlight. When the negative factors lead to the destruction of coral reefs, the dive and tourism including the fisheries industry will suffer.
“Based on a study published by SymbioSeas and WWF-Ocean with WWF-Malaysia in early 2019, it is projected that a huge percentage of coral reefs in park will experience annual severe bleaching in 15 years.
"Human stressors like island silica mining must be urgently addressed as it can lower the resilience of coral reefs, which further diminishes the capacity to resist and/or recover from disturbance events and maintain ecosystem function. This climate change impact is inevitable,” Chan said.
Even short-term silica sand mining would leave the area exposed to onset environmental degradation.
A 2011 Valuation Study of the Proposed Tun Mustapha Park by the Coral Triangle Initiative estimated that conservation and ecotourism expansion would bring in a value of RM343 million, exceeding extractive industries of limestone and silica mining at only RM100 million (sand mining standing at only RM8.6 million).
“Quarrying causes a chain reaction of geographic repercussions, in some cases leading to irreversible environmental deterioration.
"In the case of the proposed Balambangan mining project, operations are likely to impact the aesthetic value, water quality of the coastal areas and the rich fish stock around the coral reef areas,” Chan said.
The current fish landings in the Kudat region represent the highest concentration in the state of.Sabah. An estimated 100 tonnes of fish landed from Tun Mustapha Park are valued at about RM700,000 daily.
Prolonged quarrying activity will directly affect the fishing industry, as mining effluent will damage both land and aquatic biodiversity.
The economically viable decision would be to invest in preservation and sustainable tourism. Balambangan Island though small contains many scientific, aesthetic and cultural heritage values that must be protected from being indiscriminately exploited for short-term economic gains.
WWF-Malaysia said it believed that there must be pressure to protect these sensitive and high heritage value areas as the island could potentially provide income for local communities, fishermen, tourism players and others within and beyond TMP for a period spanning much longer than the mining project.