MIRI – Most Sarawakians believe that politicians are not doing enough to protect the state’s environment and ecosystem, according to a recent online survey conducted by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
The state-wide survey drew responses from 324 people aged in their early 20s up to their 60s.
“From the survey, 88.6% of the respondents are of the view that politicians in the state have not given enough attention and emphasis towards matters relating to the ecosystem and health of the environment we are living in.
“And 85.5% of these respondents are of the view that the state government and legislators need to come up with stricter laws to protect nature.
“They want stricter enforcement and tougher penalties for those harming or abusing the flora and fauna in the ecosystem.
“The respondents felt more deterrent measures are needed to protect the land, forests, air, rivers and mountains as well as the animals and wildlife that live there,” said the WWF report.
The respondents also expressed their deep concern about the current state of affairs regarding the environment and its ecosystem.
Among the key areas of concern are air, land, and river pollution, loss of trees and degradation of the forests due to human exploitation.
The air pollution is caused by open burning while the land degradation is due to large-scale development by humans.
Meanwhile, water sources are being polluted by waste while there is exploitation and abuse of wildlife on land, in the waterways and in the air.
Survey takers are also concerned about the poor management of wastes, especially plastics.
The respondents said climate change in Sarawak has become a more worrying phenomenon as can be seen by the increasing floods everywhere.
Issues concerning health – like the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic – are also things that politicians need to give more attention to, said the respondents.
The WWF has a regional office in Sarawak, with its head office in Kuching. – The Vibes, December 20, 2021
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