Persatuan Pengguna Pulau Pinang (CAP) amat bimbang dengan kesan projek Laluan Rel Pantai Timur (ECRL).
Pertimbangan utama Kementerian Pengangkutan dan Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd semasa merancang laluan ECRL adalah kos, bukannya habitat hidupan liar, yang terganggu sehinggakan haiwan terpaksa meninggalkan persekitaran semula jadinya.
CAP sebelum ini telah mendedahkan bahawa kes konflik manusia-hidupan liar yang meningkat secara beransur-ansur daripada 7,925 pada 2018 kepada 13,670 pada 2023 dan 11,341 pada 2024.
Menurut Nik Nazmi, Menteri Sumber Asli dan Kelestarian Alam Sekitar, sejumlah 80,375 kejadian konflik manusia-hidupan liar dilaporkan sepanjang 665km ECRL antara 2018 dan 2024. Turut dilaporkan bahawa fasa pertama ECRL antara Kota Bharu dan Gombak melalui beberapa hutan simpan mesra hidupan liar.
Kesan ekologi daripada jalan kereta api dan kereta api terhadap hidupan liar dan alam sekitar adalah kebimbangan yang sangat ketara. ECRL boleh membawa kepada kehilangan habitat, peningkatan konflik, pemburuan haram dan halangan kepada penghijrahan hidupan liar.
Kementerian Sumber Asli dan Kelestarian Alam Sekitar sebelum ini melaporkan bahawa hutan simpan yang besar di seluruh Terengganu, Pahang dan Selangor akan dikorbankan bagi pembangunan, menyebabkan kerosakan alam sekitar yang besar.
Walaupun penilaian kesan alam sekitar, alat yang direka untuk mengenal pasti dan meramalkan kesan sesuatu projek, telah dilakukan untuk ECRL, pada hakikatnya yang pasti akan ada penebangan pokok, sungai berkelodak akibat kehilangan hutan, risiko banjir dan tanah runtuh di kawasan yang terjejas dan kesan kepada habitat hidupan liar.
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Laluan kereta api kebanyakannya terletak di habitat hidupan liar yang semakin mengecil, menimbulkan risiko kepada kelangsungan hidup haiwan ini. Pembersihan kawasan ini meningkatkan kebolehcapaian spesies terancam seperti harimau Malaya, gajah dan tapir kepada pemburu haram dan mereka yang terlibat dalam perdagangan hidupan liar haram.
Landasan kereta api melalui hutan dan kawasan perlindungan menghalang akses hidupan liar kepada sumber makanan dan air, memaksa haiwan liar ini menghadapi kereta api yang bergerak pantas semasa pergerakan semula jadinya.
Bukan sahaja hidupan liar terjejas, tetapi skop dan skala ECRL juga telah menyebabkan perpindahan masyarakat, dengan kampung-kampung di Gombak terpaksa berpindah.
Di hutan simpan Kemasul di Temerloh, Pahang, pagar penghadang gajah akan dibina kerana laluan itu merentasi beberapa ladang pertanian dan habitat gajah bagi mengelak perlanggaran kereta api hidupan liar.
Walau bagaimanapun, pagar ini akan memberi kesan kepada pergerakan hidupan liar, terutamanya laluan gajah berhijrah yang telah sebati dalam sejarah gajah sejak turun-temurun.
Mengenai pembinaan terowong, ia menimbulkan persoalan sama ada struktur ini benar-benar memudahkan pergerakan hidupan liar dan ketersambungan merentasi landskap yang berpecah-pecah.
Penyelidik Gopalasamy Reuben Clements, pengasas bersama kumpulan penyelidik Rimba, yang menyiasat jalan sepanjang 70km melalui koridor hidupan liar Kenyir di pinggir timur laut Taman Negara, mendapati hanya 14 daripada 42 spesies mamalia yang hidup di hutan sekitar menggunakan jejambat itu.
Beliau memerhatikan bahawa haiwan terutamanya harimau, mengelak jejambat kerana kekurangan semak yang menyediakan perlindungan, menekankan kepentingan mengekalkan hutan dan tumbuh-tumbuhan di kedua-dua belah jalan atau kereta api.
Jika penebangan hutan berterusan di satu pihak, seluruh jejambat akan menjadi tidak boleh digunakan kerana haiwan ini tidak mempunyai sebab untuk menyeberanginya.
Jejambat boleh menjadi perangkap maut jika tidak dikawal secara kerap, memandangkan penyelidikannya mendapati ia adalah pintu masuk dan tapak perkhemahan yang popular bagi pemburu haram.
CAP menyokong perundingan dengan komuniti tempatan, pemegang taruh, NGO, Jabatan Hidupan Liar, Jabatan Perhutanan, kerajaan tempatan dan pihak berkuasa kereta api untuk menangani isu ini dan melaksanakan penyelesaian untuk mengurangkan kesan sosial dan alam sekitar pembinaan ECRL. – CAP
Mohideen Abdul Kader ialah presiden Persatuan Pengguna Pulau Pinang (CAP).
English version
CAP raises alarm over ECRL’s environmental and wildlife impact
The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) is very concerned about the impacts of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project.
The primary consideration of the Ministry of Transport and Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd when planning the ECRL routes is cost, rather than wildlife habitats, which are being disturbed to the extent that animals are forced to leave their natural environment.
CAP had previously highlighted that human-wildlife conflict cases have steadily increased, from 7,925 in 2018 to 13,670 in 2023 and 11,341 in 2024.
According to Nik Nazmi, the Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister, 80,375 human-wildlife conflict incidents were reported along the 665km ECRL line between 2018 and 2024.
It was also reported that the first phase of the ECRL, between Kota Baru and Gombak, passes through several wildlife-friendly forest reserves.
The ecological impact of railways and trains on wildlife and the environment is a significant concern. The ECRL could lead to habitat loss, increased conflict, poaching and barriers to wildlife migration.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability previously reported that large forest reserves across Terengganu, Pahang and Selangor will be sacrificed for development, causing substantial environmental damage.
Although an environmental impact assessment, a tool designed to identify and predict the impact of a project, was done for the ECRL, in reality there will be a definite felling of trees, subsequent river siltation due to forest loss, risks of flooding and landslides in affected areas, and impacts on wildlife habitat.
Railway routes are predominantly located in shrinking wildlife habitats, posing risks to their survival. The clearance of these areas increases the accessibility of endangered species such as Malayan tigers, elephants and tapirs to poachers and those involved in the illegal wildlife trade.
Railway tracks through forests and protected areas obstruct wildlife access to food and water sources, forcing them to encounter fast-moving trains during their natural movements.
Not only is wildlife affected, but the scope and scale of the ECRL have also led to community displacement, with villages in Gombak being forced to relocate.
In the Kemasul forest reserve in Temerloh, Pahang, an elephant barrier fence is set to be constructed since the route cuts through several agricultural plantations and elephant habitats to prevent wildlife-train collisions.
However, fencing will affect wildlife movement, particularly elephant migratory routes, which have been deeply ingrained in elephant history for generations.
The construction of tunnels raises the question of whether these structures genuinely facilitate wildlife movement and connectivity across fragmented landscapes.
Researcher Gopalasamy Reuben Clements, co-founder of the research group Rimba, who investigated a 70km stretch of road through the Kenyir wildlife corridor on the northeastern edge of Taman Negara, discovered that only 14 of the 42 mammal species living in the surrounding jungles used the viaducts.
He observed that animals, particularly tigers, avoided the viaducts due to a lack of bushes providing cover, highlighting the importance of maintaining forest and vegetation on both sides of the road or railway. If deforestation continues on one side, the entire viaduct will become unusable because animals would have no reason to cross it. Viaducts could become death traps if not regularly patrolled, as his research found that they are popular entry points and camping sites for poachers.
CAP advocates for consultation with local communities, stakeholders, NGOs, wildlife departments, forestry departments, local governments and railway authorities to address issues and implement solutions to reduce the social and environmental impact of the ECRL’s construction.
Mohideen Abdul Kader is president of the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP).
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
