GENEVA (22 April 2013) – “We continue to fail to protect and conserve our environment in many respects, often with dire consequences for the enjoyment of human rights, despite great progress in some areas,” today warned a group of United Nations independent experts on the occasion of Earth Day 2013.
“In the decades since the first Earth Day, on 22 April 1970, the international community has taken great strides to address pressing environmental issues,” noted the UN human rights experts on environment, toxic waste, health, water and sanitation, food, indigenous peoples and human rights defenders. “It has come together to address ozone depletion, the loss of endangered species, marine pollution, and many other environmental threats.”
“However, when governments around the world fail to restrict emissions of greenhouse gases leading to global climate change,” said the UN Independent Expert on human rights and the environment, John Knox, “they fail to protect many human rights, including rights to life, health, property, development, and self-determination, of people living in vulnerable communities such as those in low-lying coastal areas and in the polar region.”
“The right to health is an inclusive right that extends to such underlying determinants as healthy environment,” stressed UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Anand Grover. Thus, “when toxic substances are dumped or leak and people living near the waste sites become ill and even die, those individuals’ human rights, such as their rights to life and health, have been infringed,” underlined the UN Special Rapporteur on toxic waste, Marc Pallemaerts.
“When untreated human waste which is threatening our environment is killing and making millions of people, in particular children, sick,” explained UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to water and sanitation, Catarina de Albuquerque, “the right to sanitation, which includes the safe disposal of human waste, is being violated”.
“When our rivers are being depleted and polluted, the livelihoods of many vulnerable groups are put in jeopardy,” explained UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier de Schutter, “including the ability for those groups to access sufficient and safe drinking water, grow food, and harvest from traditional fisheries.”
“When mining and other extractive activities take place within indigenous territories without adequate environmental safeguards”, said UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, James Anaya, “a wide array of those communities’ human rights are usually violated or put at risk.”
“When many individuals around the world who peacefully advocate against the environmental impact of projects are harassed, intimidated, stigmatised, criminalized, beaten and even killed,” said Margaret Sekaggya, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, “then their right to life and to physical integrity have been violated. Similarly their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, which are necessary to claim other fundamental rights, have been severely infringed. Those who advocate for a clean and healthy environment necessary for the enjoyment of human rights should be able to speak up without fear of persecution or intimidation of any sort.”
“When we pollute the Earth and waste resources, we violate the rights of future generations and undermine an international order based on democratic participation and equitable sharing of the planet’s wealth,” said the UN Independent Expert on the promotion of an equitable and democratic international order, Alfred de Zayas. “International solidarity by governments and civil society is required to safeguard the Earth, including by seeking the development of penal measures under international law.”
“These are but a few examples of the many challenges continuing to face the international community due to the deterioration of the environment,” the group of experts said. “The international community must cooperate to collectively address these and the many other pressing environmental problems that continue to have severe impacts on the enjoyment of human rights.”
The first Earth Day, on 22 April 1970, marked the beginning of the modern environmental movement, and its anniversary has become a global event that reaffirms the critical need to protect and conserve our natural environment, the experts noted.
“Now it is time to take this occasion to recognise the fundamental link between a clean and healthy environment to the realisation of a wide array of fundamental human rights,” they said. “It is also essential that the international community recognise the critical role that human rights law can play to ensure environmental protection.”
For more information log on to:
Environment: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Environment/IEEnvironment/Pages/IEenvironmentIndex.aspx
Toxic waste: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Environment/ToxicWastes/Pages/SRToxicWastesIndex.aspx
Health: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Health/Pages/SRRightHealthIndex.aspx
Water and sanitation: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/WaterAndSanitation/SRWater/Pages/SRWaterIndex.aspx
Food: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Food/Pages/FoodIndex.aspx
Indigenous peoples: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/IPeoples/SRIndigenousPeoples/Pages/SRIPeoplesIndex.aspx
Human rights defenders: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/SRHRDefenders/Pages/SRHRDefendersIndex.aspx
International order: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/IntOrder/Pages/IEInternationalorderIndex.aspx
For further information and media requests, please contact Mr. Ramin Pejan (+41 22 917 9159 / rpejan@ohchr.org) or write to ieenviroment@ohchr.org
Artikel Penuh: http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2008&dt=1215&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Impak_Alam&pg=al_02.htm#ixzz2RBJTmjO2
© Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd
“In the decades since the first Earth Day, on 22 April 1970, the international community has taken great strides to address pressing environmental issues,” noted the UN human rights experts on environment, toxic waste, health, water and sanitation, food, indigenous peoples and human rights defenders. “It has come together to address ozone depletion, the loss of endangered species, marine pollution, and many other environmental threats.”
“However, when governments around the world fail to restrict emissions of greenhouse gases leading to global climate change,” said the UN Independent Expert on human rights and the environment, John Knox, “they fail to protect many human rights, including rights to life, health, property, development, and self-determination, of people living in vulnerable communities such as those in low-lying coastal areas and in the polar region.”
“The right to health is an inclusive right that extends to such underlying determinants as healthy environment,” stressed UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Anand Grover. Thus, “when toxic substances are dumped or leak and people living near the waste sites become ill and even die, those individuals’ human rights, such as their rights to life and health, have been infringed,” underlined the UN Special Rapporteur on toxic waste, Marc Pallemaerts.
“When untreated human waste which is threatening our environment is killing and making millions of people, in particular children, sick,” explained UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to water and sanitation, Catarina de Albuquerque, “the right to sanitation, which includes the safe disposal of human waste, is being violated”.
“When our rivers are being depleted and polluted, the livelihoods of many vulnerable groups are put in jeopardy,” explained UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier de Schutter, “including the ability for those groups to access sufficient and safe drinking water, grow food, and harvest from traditional fisheries.”
“When mining and other extractive activities take place within indigenous territories without adequate environmental safeguards”, said UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, James Anaya, “a wide array of those communities’ human rights are usually violated or put at risk.”
“When many individuals around the world who peacefully advocate against the environmental impact of projects are harassed, intimidated, stigmatised, criminalized, beaten and even killed,” said Margaret Sekaggya, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, “then their right to life and to physical integrity have been violated. Similarly their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, which are necessary to claim other fundamental rights, have been severely infringed. Those who advocate for a clean and healthy environment necessary for the enjoyment of human rights should be able to speak up without fear of persecution or intimidation of any sort.”
“When we pollute the Earth and waste resources, we violate the rights of future generations and undermine an international order based on democratic participation and equitable sharing of the planet’s wealth,” said the UN Independent Expert on the promotion of an equitable and democratic international order, Alfred de Zayas. “International solidarity by governments and civil society is required to safeguard the Earth, including by seeking the development of penal measures under international law.”
“These are but a few examples of the many challenges continuing to face the international community due to the deterioration of the environment,” the group of experts said. “The international community must cooperate to collectively address these and the many other pressing environmental problems that continue to have severe impacts on the enjoyment of human rights.”
The first Earth Day, on 22 April 1970, marked the beginning of the modern environmental movement, and its anniversary has become a global event that reaffirms the critical need to protect and conserve our natural environment, the experts noted.
“Now it is time to take this occasion to recognise the fundamental link between a clean and healthy environment to the realisation of a wide array of fundamental human rights,” they said. “It is also essential that the international community recognise the critical role that human rights law can play to ensure environmental protection.”
For more information log on to:
Environment: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Environment/IEEnvironment/Pages/IEenvironmentIndex.aspx
Toxic waste: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Environment/ToxicWastes/Pages/SRToxicWastesIndex.aspx
Health: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Health/Pages/SRRightHealthIndex.aspx
Water and sanitation: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/WaterAndSanitation/SRWater/Pages/SRWaterIndex.aspx
Food: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Food/Pages/FoodIndex.aspx
Indigenous peoples: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/IPeoples/SRIndigenousPeoples/Pages/SRIPeoplesIndex.aspx
Human rights defenders: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/SRHRDefenders/Pages/SRHRDefendersIndex.aspx
International order: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/IntOrder/Pages/IEInternationalorderIndex.aspx
For further information and media requests, please contact Mr. Ramin Pejan (+41 22 917 9159 / rpejan@ohchr.org) or write to ieenviroment@ohchr.org
Apabila bukit-bukau ditarah
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Gambar atas, SISTEM akar tunjang yang sempurna membantu tanah menyerap jumlah air yang banyak pada hujan lebat. Gambar bawah, Sebaliknya, tanah bukit yang gondol tanpa sistem akar tidak mampu menahan muatan air berlebihan dan limpahan luar biasa larian air sehingga memungkinkannya tergelongsor.
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Cuba anda memandu dan perhatikan dari Hulu Selangor, Gombak dan Selayang, Cyberjaya hingga ke Sepang dan bandingkan pemandangannya dengan keadaan kira-kira 15 tahun lalu.
Jika anda perasan, sepanjang laluan lebuh dan jalan raya utama di negeri Selangor, jelas kelihatan tiada lagi pohon-pohon hijau di sekelilingnya tetapi digantikan dengan ‘hutan-hutan batu’ atas nama pembangunan.
Maka tiada lagi, bukit bukau dan hutan menghijau yang mampu memberikan ketenangan kepada pemandu dan juga melindungi bumi daripada dilanda bencana seperti tanah runtuh.
Tanah runtuh berlaku akibat pembangunan tanpa mengambil kira atau memahami peranan hutan dan bukit bukau sebagai kawasan tadahan hujan yang penting.
Secara ringkas, kejadian tanah runtuh Bukit Antarabangsa dua minggu lepas berlaku kerana kejadian gelongsoran tanah apabila kawasan berkaitan yang telah sedia longgar tidak dapat menampung penambahan berat akibat tepu dengan air hujan.
Sokongan sistem akar
Faktor penyebab bencana itu ialah lapisan tanah yang longgar dan ketiadaan sistem akar bagi memegang partikel tanah.
Ketua Bahagian Ekologi dan Akuatik, Pusat Sains Kajihayat, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Mohd. Hifni Mohd. Baharuddin, membantu wartawan Mega mempermudahkan konsep ini.
Katanya, hutan di kawasan bukit secara semula jadi mempunyai peranan penting sebagai kawasan tadahan hujan, manakala sistem akar tunjang yang terdapat di dalam ekosistem hutan yang sihat berfungsi memegang dan menetapkan partikel tanah untuk kukuh di tempatnya.
Dalam keadaan semula jadi, limpahan air hujan akan jatuh pada kanopi pokok terlebih dahulu, sebelum tiba dan diserap ke dalam tanah dan seterusnya mengalir melalui kitaran hidrologi yang normal.
Jelas Mohd. Hifni, tanah berperanan bak ‘span’ yang menyerap lebihan air hujan. Sistem akar tunjang dari pokok-pokok besar yang berada jauh ke lapisan tanah yang lebih dalam akan memegang ‘span’ tanah ini bagi membolehkannya menyimpan serta melepaskan lebihan air sedikit demi sedikit.
“Oleh itu, kita dapat lihat banyak larian air yang kecil seolah-olah keluar dari mata air di kawasan bukit-bukit berhutan,” terang pakar ekologi itu.
Sebaliknya, tanpa hutan, kawasan tanah tinggi yang mana tanahnya terdedah tanpa akar-akar tunjang dari pokok-pokok besar, limpahan hujan lebat akan terus jatuh dalam jumlah yang besar ke atas tanah.
Justeru, tanah terpaksa menyerap jumlah air yang banyak dengan segera.
‘Span’ tanah
“Masalahnya, partikel tanah ini telah longgar berbanding tanah yang kaya dengan sistem akar semula jadi, mengakibatkan ‘span’ tanah cepat menjadi tepu,” tegas beliau.
Tanpa sokongan daripada sistem akar, ‘span’ yang telah tepu itu tidak mampu menampung berat air berlebihan, lalu tergelongsor sebagai tanah runtuh.
Contoh yang dipermudahkan, pertimbangkan satu keluasan dan kedalaman tertentu tanah kawasan berbukit. Selepas hujan lebat beberapa hari, tanah itu mungkin hanya mampu menampung berat partikel tanah bercampur air seberat 10 tan sahaja dan mula menggelongsor menjadi tanah runtuh.
Sebaliknya, tanah dengan keluasan dan kedalaman sama yang disokong dengan kehadiran sistem akar tunjang daripada beberapa pokok besar, mampu menyerap malahan menampung dua atau tiga kali ganda daripada berat tersebut.
Inilah sebabnya bukit yang ditarah mempunyai risiko tanah runtuh yang sangat tinggi akibat lapisan tanahnya yang lebih terdedah.
Selain mengawal tanah runtuh, konsep ‘span’ tanah dan sokongan daripada sistem akar tunjang turut berperanan mengawal limpahan air yang boleh menyebabkan banjir kilat.
“Inilah sebabnya kawasan tadahan hujan amat perlu dipulihara dan dikekalkan sebagai satu entiti besar semula jadi tanpa gangguan pembangunan,” jelasnya lagi.
Meliputi tanah tinggi yang ditarah dengan rumput atau tumbuhan renek (misalnya, tanaman sayur) juga tidak membantu span tanah. Ini kerana sistem akar tumbuhan sebegini hanyalah akar rerambut yang dangkal dan tidak mampu memegang lapisan tanah yang lebih dalam.
Di Tanah Tinggi Cameron Highlands misalnya, hutan semula jadi boleh dikatakan hampir tidak lagi wujud ekoran terlalu banyak tarahan bukit menjadi ladang-ladang sayur.
Liputan sebegitu hanya melindungi bukit daripada hakisan akibat hujan ringan tetapi risiko tanah runtuh tetap tinggi semasa hujan lebat.
Selain itu, membajak tanah untuk pertanian juga melonggarkan tanah.
Justeru, Mohd. Hifni berharap supaya kawasan tanah tinggi dipulihara dan dilindungi sepenuhnya.
“Lagipun, membangunkan kawasan tadahan hujan sudah tentulah berbahaya dan berisiko tinggi, jadi untuk apa membahayakan rakyat dengan mengganggu kawasan sebegini?” soal beliau.
Pendek kata, jadikanlah kejadian Bukit Antarabangsa sebagai satu pengajaran untuk kita khususnya kepada pihak-pihak yang melobi, memaju dan meluluskan projek pembangunan kawasan bukit.
© Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd
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