Two incidents last month reminded us about the absurd juxtaposition when it comes to environmental security in Malaysia.
On Sept 3, water disruptions affected 1.2 million households in the Klang Valley, due to the act of river pollution. On Sept 10, Kuala Lumpur was hit by flash floods, with one widely shared twitter photo of Masjid Jamek seemingly "floating" in a sea of water.
In other words, in a short span of a week, Klang Valley residents experienced both too little and too much water. Projections continue to show a growing and more affluent population that will consume more in the future.
Urbanisation was also blamed for the flash floods, with paved and impermeable roads covering large parts of the city and affecting the natural hydrological cycle. Furthermore, climate change means that we will likely see more frequent and extreme climate-related events, such as the massive rainfall that occurred on Sept 10.
These mega trends point to the fact that natural resources will likely become more scarce, and the link between environment and our livelihoods will also likely be more pronounced. The water disruption, for example, is not a one-off event.
Data from the National Water Services Commission (SPAN) Water and Sewerage 2018 report showed a total of 11,074 unscheduled water interruptions in 2018 in just Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.
Nonetheless, environmental issues have arguably yet to become a priority. Water tariffs remain extremely low and overall annual budgets for the environment remain below one per cent of the overall budget.
Due to this, there have been many, both in Malaysia and abroad, that have called for environmental issues to be seen as a security matter, including Science and Technology Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who called for water resources to be categorised as a matter of national security.
While practitioners and scholars alike debate whether natural resources and the environment should indeed be a security matter, as there is a fear that "securitising" is equivalent to "militarising" natural resources, it is clear that the environment has clear linkages with human security.
Nonetheless, by categorising an issue under security, it is assumed that it will be given higher priority. Security, in this sense, generally refers to freedom from the risk of loss or damage to something that is important to survival and well-being.
And therein lies the important point — that there is a need for society at large to internalise that the environment and nature are an important element for our livelihoods.
While there is no doubt that laws need to be strengthened and institutions need to be enforced better, what is more important than semantics is awareness at all levels on the urgency of the matter.
In this time of crisis, there may be a silver lining. The Covid-19 pandemic has, of course, brought with it both suffering and setbacks for Malaysia and the world.
However, the pandemic can bring with it necessary overdue changes. And perhaps one of the best examples of where progress had indeed been made was on the issue of the environment.
A study carried out by the Boston Consulting Group found that more than 70 per cent of the participants said they were more aware now than before Covid-19 that human activity threatens the climate, and that the degradation of the environment also threatens humans.
In Malaysia, there has also been a shift in environmental consciousness with the positive impacts of the restriction on movements being shared widely in social media.
The reaction to the water disruption case also demonstrated increased understanding between the cause and effect of pollution to our livelihood.
The setting up of the Environmental Crime Unit should be lauded as a step in the right direction as it explicitly links the notion that environmental destruction affects human security.
Moving forward, it is an opportune time to take advantage of the momentum to take steps to safeguard the environment.
The authors are researcher and director, respectively, in the Technology, Innovation, Environment and Sustainability (TIES) division, ISIS Malaysia
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times