The losses are the economic “trade-offs” the state is willing to bear in exchange for the mega reclamation project to build three man-made islands off the coast of Permatang Damar Laut, Sungai Batu, Gertak Sanggul and Teluk Kumbar.
Trade-offs are allowed under the Environmental Quality Act when the economic benefits outweigh the natural services provided by the sites, said Professor Sharifah Mastura Syed Abdullah, who heads the panel of experts working on the project’s environmental impact assessment (EIA) report.
Speaking at a dialogue on reclamation and dredging works for the PSR project today in Teluk Kumbar, she said the state government was confident it would bring more benefits to the people.
“So part of the mudflats, turtle landing areas and fishing areas will be lost,” she said when presenting the EIA report to almost one thousand people, including fishermen, at a hotel in Teluk Kumbar today.
In the assessment report, the loss of coral reefs and mudflats due to reclamation and dredging will potentially impact fishermen as these were also marine life habitats.
The report estimated the loss of the coral reefs at over RM9,500 on average. Coral reefs have food, medical, aesthetic and building material uses, as well as prevent erosion, and help in climate control and storm protection for marine life.
The loss of the mudflats due to reclamation are valued at RM12.5 million a year, and between RM1.1 million to RM2.3 million due to dredging.
Sharifah also said the turtle landing sites in Gertak Sanggul, Pantai Pasir Belanda, Teluk Kumbar, Pantai Medan and Teluk Tempoyak were not major sites.
“Of landing sites in Penang, these don’t even make up 1%. We can assume the turtles don’t land in the southern part of Penang Island but rather up north,” she said.
Touching on the issue of fishing spots, she said fishermen still had access to the sea but would have to travel further out. She proposed a study on designing artificial reefs and where best to locate these in order to breed fish so the livelihood of the fishing community could be preserved.
The trade-offs were still subject to the Environmental Department’s approval, Sharifah said.
Areas where there would be “controlled impact” were hatcheries, water quality at the estuaries, the fishing community, the fishing industry, beaches, land and marine traffic.
The EIA also stated there would be “insignificant” impact on aquaculture, mangrove forests, forest reserves, fish landing sites, some historical structures, villages and recreational fishing platforms.
The PSR project will give Penang a huge economic gain – RM40 billion in gross domestic product.
The project is expected to also contribute another 20% to Penang’s GDP each year from investments in the manufacturing and services sectors from 2050.
“The (project’s) impact for life is the change in landscape with the three man-made islands,” Sharifah said at the start of her long presentation of the EIA in the over four-hour dialogue.
Sharifah also said the EIA report would soon be sent to the Environmental Department for approval and feedback from affected groups was being compiled. The report would be ready for public viewing in about a month.
“We have the draft in three volumes now, but we have not put in what the people are saying. Over the next two weeks we will put in the questions raised by the people, and the answers given in a separate volume,” she said.
The EIA will also be published for three weeks in two major newspapers.