Tuesday October 30, 2007
Still beneficial?
When completed, will the Bakun hydroelectric scheme be able to produce the power expected of it?
Stories by HILARY CHIEW
hnchiew@thestar.com.my
BAKUN dam, the controversial hydroelectric project mooted in the 70s, is nearing completion. Temporarily shelved in 1997 at the height of the regional financial crisis, construction is now going full-steam. Its anticipated 2,400megawatt (MW) electricity, once feared to be redundant, is now highly coveted.
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Controversial: Vast tracts of land have been cleared for the Shin Yang Forest Plantation scheme in the Ulu Belaga region, prompting critics to doubt the viability of the proposed 900MW Murun Dam, as the integrity of the catchment is destroyed. |
Early this month, Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd accepted the proposal by Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB) to build a RM108mil transmission facility. This development signals the Federal Government’s interest to carry out the 650km undersea cable project to secure the energy for the peninsula. The first 800MW cable is scheduled for 2013 and the second 800MW cable, by 2015. The RM7bil project is bankable only if it is assured of the power from Bakun which only has a firm capacity of 1,700MW.
Sarawak Hidro was set up by Finance Ministry when it took over the project from Bakun Hydroelectric Corp in 1997. However, it is reported that Sarawak Energy Bhd, which oversees electricity distribution in the state, will be in control of the generated power.
Missing the forest
While the tussle for the energy continues, one concern has been ignored: the power-generating potential of the RM8bil hydroelectric facility.
Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) warned that Bakun’s viability has been compromised as its catchment has degraded substantially. Some 320,000ha of forest has been carved out for oil palm and forest plantations, potentially accelerating siltation of the Balui river basin and jeopardising the dam capacity.
Penang-based SAM revealed in June that the state had issued three plantation licences within the catchment between 1999 and 2002, and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports for the projects were approved between 2000 and 2003.
One licensee, Shin Yang Forest Plantation (155,930ha), has begun planting oil palm. The other two, Bahau-Linau Forest Plantation (108,235ha) and Merirai-Balui Forest Plantation (55,860ha), are owned by RH Forest Corporation, a subsidiary of logging giant Rimbunan Hijau, and will establish pulp and wood tree monocultures.
“This is clearly in breach of prudent land-use policy within the catchment area, as recommended by the Bakun EIA. We have written to relevant authorities on this matter but have not gotten an answer,” said SAM council member Mohideen Abdul Kader. He added that the government has broken its promise to gazette 1.5million ha of the catchment to ensure the feasibility of the dam.
The Bakun EIA recommended controlled logging to reduce sediment from reaching the reservoir and to secure unpolluted water for the turbines.
A source familiar with the dam development cautioned that with changing rainfall patterns linked to global warming, there might not be enough water during dry seasons to maintain the volume for electricity generation. .
A Salco spokesman did not respond to questions about the uncertainty of the dam’s production capacity. A RH Forest Corp official who insisted on anonymity, maintained that the Merirai-Balui project was outside the catchment. He said the Bahau-Linau project fell “partly” in the catchment but would only have a planted area of 59,710ha as development was confined to slopes of less than 35 degrees.
Conservationists are concerned that pockets of hill forest created by such practices will mean the disappearance of a contiguous forest. Contrary to allegations of clear felling, the official said forest plantations, unlike oil palm, were carried out in phases. He said three compartments in Bahau-Linau have been planted with mixed indigenous species and not single species as alleged by SAM.
He said the EIAs met statutory guidelines, were approved by a panel and mandatory quarterly reports were duly submitted to Natural Resources and Environmental Board (NREB) since 2004.
SAM honorary secretary Meenakshi Raman said the EIA has flawed assessments and lacked scientific rigours, and was approved despite the proximity of plantations to the dam. SAM has called on the Finance Ministry, as owner of the dam project, to explain the failure to protect the catchment.
Following its investigation on complaints by two Penan settlements on Shin Yang plantation project, Malaysian Human Rights Commission also recommended that Sarawak reviews the EIA preparation and verification procedure.
Both Shin Yang Forestry and NREB did not response to media queries. However, in a Bernama report on Oct 9, NREB controller of environmental quality Dr Penguang Manggil dismissed the need for public participation in the EIA process as “the uneducated rural communities could be easily manipulated by certain non-governmental organisations to oppose development plan.”
“The government is satisfied with the existing system, which is fairly adequate to address environmental issues,” he said.
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