Water is the most important source for the survival of human life systems and the biosphere system (Singh, 2020). The source of clean water is the rivers and lakes, which are important for daily uses such as cleaning, farming, and drinking. If we lose the resources of clean water in this world, all life will die out. The source of clean water in rivers and lakes is decreasing due to water pollution. According to the Environmental Quality Act of 1974, water pollution is any direct or indirect change in the physical, thermal, biological, or radioactive characteristics of any part of the environment that results in a hazardous condition and adversely affects the health, safety, and welfare of the public or other living things such as birds, wildlife, fish and aquatic life, and aquatic plants. The natural resources of the lake, such as Tasik Chini, need to be conserved as they are important contributors to the sustainability of biodiversity, water resources and local characteristics of the residents. For this reason, the sustainability of these ecosystems and subsystems must be maintained in accordance with the Environmental Quality Act of 1974 (Mustaffa Omaret al., 2011).
Tasik Chini in Pekan, Pahang is a natural lake designated as a Biosphere Reserve in 2009 under the Human and Biosphere Reserve program (MAB) at the initiative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Price, 2015). The Tasik Chini basin is fed by four rivers, Sungai Datang, Sungai Gumum, Sungai Perupok and Sungai Melai. The 4.8-kilometer-long Sungai Chini is also connected to the Tasik Chini and the Sungai Pahang. In fact, Tasik Chini is surrounded by 700 freshwater swamps and forests (Tasik Chini Research Center, 2013). Tasik Chini is rich in herbs and trees for making perfumes such as agarwood and candan. These plants used to be used only by the locals for their own purposes. Now, with outside intervention, they are beginning to exploit the herbaceous plants economically and on a large scale. For example, perfume made from agarwood and candan is also exported to foreign countries such as East Central (Cahyo, 2011).
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| Figure 1. Tasik Chini in the past |
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| Figure 2. Tasik Chini at present |
There are other settlements near Tasik Chini, namely the people of Kampung Cendahan, Tanjung Puput, Melai and Ulu Melai. In this regard, the involvement of indigenous people is necessary because they have inhabited the area of Tasik Chini for centuries and know more about Tasik Chini (Mustaffa Omar, 2011). For this reason, the role and importance of those community should not be neglected as they have more knowledge and experience regarding the local characteristics, geo-culture and content of these lake resources.
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| Figure 3. Kampung Gumum in Tasik Chini, Pahang |
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| Figure 4. People of Kampung Gumum |
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| Figure 5. Environment in Kampung Gumum |
SOURCES OF WATER POLLUTION
Logging
Activity
Logging,
or commercial logging, involves cutting down trees to sell as lumber or pulp.
The lumber is used to build houses, furniture, etc., while the pulp is used to
make paper and paper products. Logging is generally divided into three
categories: selective logging, shelter-wood, and clear-cutting. The logging of Tasik
Chini is done by clear-cutting. Many large logging companies use the clear-cutting
method to harvest timber. Clear-cutting involves cutting down all the trees in
a given area (usually a patch of forest). The reason many logging companies
practice clear-cutting is simply because it is fast and cheap. Of course, there
is always a trade-off. Although timber is a renewable resource, many
environmentalists oppose clearcutting for several reasons. First, clear-cutting
can destroy wildlife habitat. Also, while most companies have regeneration
strategies, some do not.
The impact of rapid deforestation around Tasik Chini has resulted in
locals losing forest resources that are used for medicinal purposes.
Deforestation also has an impact on the environment in the form of slope
erosion, which causes parts of the cliffs to erode easily and cause muddy
runoff into water bodies. According to Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar (2017), no
logging license is allowed in permanent forest reserves or tourism reserves or
on government land near Tasik Chini, Pekan, Pahang.
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| Figure 6. Logging activities in Tasik Chini |
Mining
Activity
Mining
can be defined as process of extracting useful minerals from the surface of the
Earth, including the seas (Britannica, 2011). Mining can involve the extraction
of various resources, including coal, metals, limestone, potash, clay, and
more. Mining is done for the purpose of extracting materials that cannot be
extracted from the surface, nor can they be artificially produced in an
economically feasible manner. There are four types of mining: surface mining,
underground mining, in-situ mining, and placer mining. The type of mining that
has been practised in Tasik Chini is surface mining. Surface mining is a form
in which the soil and rock covering the mineral deposits are removed near the
surface of the Earth (Britannica, 2010). It is the counterpart of underground
mining, in which the overlying rock is left behind and the required mineral
deposits are extracted through shafts or tunnels (Luminita et al., 2014).
This mining activity has a very big impact on the water bodies as this
activity is carried out without observing the actual legal standards,
considering the aspect of removing a project. In fact, the situation has
worsened without any follow-up action being taken by the parties involved. This
is supported by previous studies such as that of Cahyo (2011) that the
deterioration of water quality in Tasik Chini is due to illegal or unlawful
mining of iron ore. Illegal and conducted iron ore mining near the lake results
in pollution of lake water by metal bearing iron ore. The beauty of Tasik Chini
and the sustainability of its economic resources may be but a memory of the
past when the lake is becoming smaller and murkier due to the mining
activities. According to Maketab Mohamad, who has been studying the lake for 30
years, the Tasik Chini ecosystem actually began to shrink in 2000 due to the mining
activities (MalaysiaNow, 2021).
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| Figure 7. Illegal mining activities near Tasik Chini |
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| Figure 8. Mining equipment lies at an abandoned site, near a tunnel bored through one of the hills around the lake |
EFFECTS OF WATER POLLUTION
Affects
Domestic Use
Global
water consumption is estimated at 4.3 trillion cubic meters annually (WWF,
2021). This is equivalent to 530 tons per person per year or 1,500 liters per
day. Much of the water is used in agriculture (70%) and industry (20%), with
households accounting for the remaining 10%. Water pollution contributes to the
lack of water available for these activities. According to WHO, billions of
people around the world do not have access to clean water, especially in rural
areas, and they have no choice but to use contaminated water.
In the old days around the 60s to the 80s, Tasik Chini’s water can be drink just like that because clean however, since 2000 the situation of the water is getting turbid and no longer safe to drink. But the people had to use the water that is pumped into the well for domestic purposes. However, when it rains persistently, the lake water is more turbid following mud from the directed hill flows in to the lake causing water disturbance to residents. Pak Karim, a resident from Tanjung Puput, said “Various mining activities near the lake have blighted the lake water. The lake's water has become murkier due to sediments. Over time, parts of lake have been drained by incessant mining. We used to be able to bathe and drink the lake's water, but now we cannot,” said he, who has lived near Tasik Chini, Pekan, Pahang for over 30 years (MalaysiaNow, 2021).
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| Figure 9. A dry area due to mining activities in Tasik Chini |
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| Figure 10. The water of Tasik Chini became cloudy and dirty |
Loss
of Source of Income
According
to UNESCO, local businesses are concerned because if they use the polluted
water, it could contaminate their products, especially in fishing and
agriculture. This could be very costly because it would set them back in their
production. The effects of the pollution of the Tasik Chini have not only left
deep marks on the quality of the water, but the sources of income of the local
people have also been affected by this problem. Some locals who harvest and
consume traditional foods (such as fish and wildlife, which can be affected by
pollution) to sell to the outside world are affected by this water pollution. A
study by researchers has revealed that the water quality of Tasik Chini is
muddy and silted up, endangering life in them and leading to dead aquatic
plants. As a result, several species of fish, which are a source of income for
local people, especially those living in five villages in the district, are
threatened with reproduction and extinction. According to a report by BH Online
(2019), the source of income of the locals there is reportedly affected by the
impact of logging, which is said to affect several sections of the reserved
forest near Tasik Chini.
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| Figure 11. A man waits for a fish to take his bait at a spot that is on its way to becoming a swamp |
In addition, water pollution of the lake also affects the income of
local residents who depend on the operation of the boats. For example, because of
the polluted water, the boat operator has lost many tourists from abroad who
used to go around the lake by boat to visit the local villages. Nowadays, not
many tourists come to Tasik Chini. This is because tourists no longer include
Tasik Chini among their destinations because the environmental problems around
the lake are worsening and the locals are losing their source of income as a
result.
Affects
health levels
Water
pollution can cause public health problems, such as when people downstream use
the same contaminated water for drinking or bathing. It can also affect other
uses, such as irrigation activities. According to United Nations Human
Settlements Programme (2020), contaminated water can harbor bacteria
responsible for diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, hepatitis A and polio,
for example. Every year, about 297,000 children under the age of five die from
diseases caused by poor sanitation, poor hygiene or unsafe drinking water.
Similar cases happened in Tasik Chini where, the water pollution in the
lake causes residents who use the lake's water to suffer from health problems
such as diarrhea and vomiting. This problem is considered trivial, but for the
residents of Tasik Chini, the impact on their health is very serious as it
occurs frequently among them. In addition, some residents of Tasik Chini also
suffer from itching and scabies when they use the water of the lake to bathe
and cleanse their bodies. The effects of water pollution have also caused
aquatic life, especially fish, to struggle with problems such as scabies. This
fish disease is believed to be caused by contaminated waste in a water body.
However, the fish disease is not a chronic disease as it can still be consumed
by the locals.
CONCLUSION
To
sum up, Tasik Chini, which was once magnificent, is on the verge of
destruction. Water pollution that occurs in Tasik Chini is caused by man -made
activities such as logging and mining. To this day, these two activities are
still widespread in this lake. This pollution has had many adverse effects on
the population of Tasik Chini from affecting domestic uses, loss of source of
income and affecting the health of the population. According to the residents
of Tasik Chini, the logging and mining activities must stop immediately to
restore and prevent the death of the lake.
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