KOTA KINABALU: World Wildlife Fund-Malaysia and city hall are organising a workshop to train people in Inanam here to become river rangers.
Mayor Datuk Yeo Boon Hai said the local authority supported the River Rangers programme as it was in line with its vision to make the city clean, green and more livable by 2020.
“We need to realise that rivers are not dumping sites, as disposing waste will negatively impact the environment. We must join hands to look after our rivers,” he said.
“Instilling love and care for our rivers is the long-term solution to the problem.”
During a recent two-day programme, participants learned about environmental issues, water resource management, freshwater ecosystems and scientific river monitoring techniques.
They will conduct monitoring and submit monthly reports to WWF-Malaysia.
One of the participants, Fatimah Munsin, said she was excited to be a river ranger and was keen to apply her newly-gained knowledge in river monitoring.
“I would like to share my knowledge with other communities, including those beyond Inanam.
“Now that we have the River Ranger programme in Inanam, more people, especially our youths, will see why we need to protect our rivers.”
The Inanam catchment, which is 13.4km long, is located in the northeast of the state capital and is one of the state’s key river basins.
The three major rivers in the catchment basin — Sungai Inanam, Sungai Likas and Sungai Darau — are affected by unsustainable development and polluted by drainage and industrial waste.
As of August this year, there were 293 potential sources of water pollution along Sungai Inanam.
The pollution is traceable to small- and medium-sized industries and residential areas in Inanam.
Indiscriminate dumping of waste is the main reason why Sungai Inanam is polluted.
WWF-Malaysia started the River Ranger programme in 2015. The first 16 river rangers were recruited in the Upper Sugut river basin in Ranau to look after their water catchment area.
WWF-Malaysia executive director and chief executive officer Datuk Dr Dionysius Sharma said the programme promoted greater appreciation of rivers and reminded people that clean water was a valuable and limited natural resource.
“Our experience with the River Rangers of Ranau has taught us that the programme is a powerful community-driven initiative and a great example of working together to make everything possible.”