Bernard looking at the processed effluents at Genting Sekong Mill.

25/07/2012 (Borneo Post) - The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) has set up a task force to strengthen its efforts in ensuring the palm oil mill effluent from mills in Kinabatangan are properly managed.

According to Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, the joint effort which also includes the Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA) and Department of Environment (DOE), will take necessary action against mills that infringe on the law.

“MPOB and DOE officers will investigate any such occurrences to see if they are intentional, due to negligence or accidents and take the appropriate actions,” said Dompok at a press conference in Genting Sekong Estate here on Monday.

He added that the task force would be monitoring the mills once in six months and a technical team would be acting as as watchdogs on a quarterly basis.

The current law on effluent discharge in Malaysia limits the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), a measure of effluent strength, to 100 parts per million (PPM).

However, Dompok said in environmentally sensitive areas of Sabah and Sarawak like the Kinabatangan River, DOE had imposed a more stringent condition.

“For example, for new mills, a 20 ppm BOD requirement coupled with land irrigation has been imposed in Sabah. In very sensitive areas,

the DOE has even imposed a zero discharge requirement,” he said.

But the MPOA is worried the BOD limit for the sensitive areas can be difficult to meet, especially with no existing technologies that are cost effective.

“MPOB, MPOA and the DOE are working closely on this and are conducting an evaluation of the existing treatment plants to ascertain their ability to consistently meet the 20 ppm BOD requirement,” he said.

Dompok said the Federal Government, in accordance to the three Ps (People, Planet, Profits), is concerned about palm oil sustainability.

“The RM80 billion industry is one of the main pillars of the national economy. However, in pursuit of profits, we must also ensure that the environment is conserved for generations to come,” he said.

There are 124 mills in Sabah, with 35 in the Kinabatangan Basin.

“In Sabah and the Kinabatangan Basin in particular, the river is very important as it is a source of livelihood for the people being a main water source, as well as for fisheries and eco-tourism,” said the minister.

However, organic pollution from palm oil mills may not be the only threat to the Kinabatangan eco-system.

HUTAN director Dr Isabelle Lackman raised the issue of the dying habitats for Orang Utans, saying “there is no primary forest left in Kinabatangan”, a prime source of living for the Orang Utans.

“It is the responsibility for oil palm plantations and the government to participate in ensuring the safety of the Orang Utans,” said Isabelle, adding that Orang Utans are precious because they are the only great apes found in Asia, particularly Sumatra and Borneo.

She said that the government is only responsible for 32% (1,125) of the Orang Utan population because the remaining 62% live outside of strictly protected areas.

The 62% of Orang Utans in Kinabatangan live in fragmented areas which make it difficult from them to procreate and spread out, said Isabelle.

Isabelle’s key note speech was part of MPOB’s tour of the mills around Kinabatangan which began in Genting Sekong Estate and ended Melapi Resort, on Monday.

They continued their tour to Orang Utan nesting areas, proboscis monkey sanctuary, elephant track and palm landscapes and the Riparian reserve yesterday.