ISU HAKISAN DAN GERAKAN JISIM CAMERON HIGHLANDS: PERKARA LAMA YANG BERULANG
oleh Profesor Dr. Wan Ruslan Ismail
Setelah sekian lama isu lama ini kini datang menghantui kita lagi dengan terjadinya aliran lumpur baru-baru ini pada 6 Nov 2014. Ini bukan kali pertama sebab beberapa insiden tanah runtuh sering dilaporkan di Cameron Highlands. Hakisan dan aliran lumpur adalah antara beberapa agen yang bertanggungjawab dalam mengubah pandang darat. Di Cameron Highland dengan terdedahnya permukaan bukit yang digondolkan untuk pertanian menyebabkan kawasan ini rentan kepada hakisan dan gerakan jisim (lambat atau cepat)
Kajian awal oleh Shallow (1956) lagi telah mendapati Sg Telom di Cameron Highland menghasilkan sedimen pada kadar 53 tan/km2 setahun atau sebanyak 4081 tan setahun. Ini data lama pada tahun 1956.
Tahun demi tahun bebanan sedimen di Cameron Highlands ini meningkat.
Excerpt from Ekhwan Toriman et al., 2010 entitle "Use of InfoWork RS in modeling the impact of urbanisation on sediment yield in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia" has shown a serious erosion due to urbanisation and other land clearing in Cameron Highands.
"For decades, Cameron Highlands rapid land development and human activities like agriculture,
urbanisation, infrastructure development, deforestation and etc. have contributed to severe upland soil
erosions. These activities have led to tremendous pressure to the existing river system and water courses. Forest coverage in Cameron Highlands has reduced quite tremendously in the last 5 years.
From the current land use, almost 2,000 hectares of forest have been converted to agricultural lands within the catchments of Upper Telom and Upper Bertam. This is a reduction to 51% from the total land area in the two catchments compared to 62% in 1997.
For years during heavy rainfall rivers in Cameron Highlands have to imbue the high rate of eroded sediments coming from these sources. Agricultural activities generate most of the eroded soils in Cameron Highlands. Activities like market gardening, floriculture, mixed agriculture, tea and orchard constitute more than 11,000 hectares of active land that produces silts to the water courses. Agricultural activities almost 36% of the total land use in Upper Telom and Upper Bertam catchments while constitute of more than 16% of the total land area in Cameron Highlands"
Tew (2003) also reported the lists of land use activities which significantly generated the sediment
loading to the existing river systems in Cameron Highlands (Table 1).
Table 1: The lists of activities, which identified as the major sediment contributor to the
existing rivers in Cameron Highlands
____________________________________________
Activities Estimated Soil Loss (Tons/yr)
____________________________________________
Agriculture 218,150
Mixed Residential 14,260
Road 10,642
Private Bungalows 10,117
Water Body/River 8,887
Govt. Institution/Quarters 7,945
Apartment/Hotel 5,070
Forest 2,573
Commercial 1,597
Golf/Recreational 1,381
Orang Asli Settlement 941
____________________________________________
Source: Tew (2003)
Sumber kajian ahli sains telah lama dijalankan hanya ianya tidak digunapakai dalam perancangan pemuliharaan, atau adakah pihak berwajib sukar untuk menyelesaikan tugas mereka kerana ada agenda lain? Wallahuaalam. Adakah suruhanjaya di raja dapat menyelesaikan masalah ini??
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/utusan-wants-rci-on-cameron-highlands
Adakah perlu banyak lagi kerosakan harta benda dan kehilangan nyawa untuk menyelesaikan masalah lama ini??
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/5-dead-in-cameron-highlands-mudslide-bernama
