River Rangers Cultivate Green Culture

BATU KURAU: The Sungai Terap Neighbourhood Watch Community (KRT) here is strengthening its environmental preservation efforts by incorporating educational and river care elements for residents through the establishment of a river ranger team, or River Ranger.

Established in 2022, the KRT Sungai Terap River Ranger Programme focuses on efforts to preserve the cleanliness and sustainability of rivers, particularly along the Sungai Kinta waterway within the KRT’s administrative area, thus encouraging active community participation in environmental conservation efforts.

The programme’s Chairman, Mohamad Shahrani Zainal Abidin, 41, said River Ranger serves as a platform to encourage active involvement of volunteers and youth to collectively demonstrate their commitment to preserving natural treasures, while also fostering a love for the environment and social responsibility.

He, who is also a committee member of the KRT, said among the visions of KRT Sungai Terap is to empower the community towards environmental sustainability oversight, including rivers, in addition to cultivating practices towards the green agenda and moving towards sustainability.

He said participation in River Ranger is voluntary, involving local residents who play a role in monitoring the condition of Sungai Kinta, including reporting any pollution incidents, as well as organising gotong-royong programmes to clean rivers and drains, especially during flood seasons.

“However, most of the KRT’s activities here are based on green practices and environmental sustainability, including the collection of used cooking oil as well as competitions to produce products from recycled materials, which also involve the participation of school students,” he told BH.

Mohamad Shahrani said KRT Sungai Terap is the sole participant in the River programme, which was originally established through the Sungai Kinta Catchment Sustainability Monitoring project implemented by the Global Environment Centre (GEC) with the support of Yayasan Hasanah and the Ministry of Finance Malaysia.

According to him, the programme organised by the KRT river rangers has been joined by approximately 130 volunteers, mostly from among the residents of Kampung Sungai Terap, with most programmes also receiving cooperation and support from the local authority, namely the Batu Gajah District Council (MDBG).

He said the establishment of the river rangers received close cooperation from the Perak Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID), with a focus on ensuring that the entire Sungai Kinta Catchment area remains healthy and sustainable through community involvement.

“KRT Sungai Terap has close cooperation with MDBG because every time they organise a programme, we participate, and vice versa. In fact, the local authority also participates and assists in terms of logistics in programmes organised by our KRT.

“For example, in the mega clean-up programme in conjunction with World Cleanup Day (WCD) organised by our KRT, MDBG allocated a budget for logistical needs such as providing a stage and other necessary items for the programme,” he said.

He said, in addition to curbing criminal activities and social ills, particularly through the Voluntary Patrol Scheme (SRS), the role of KRT should also be seen as being able to place emphasis on the implementation of various development programmes for community well-being, including in the green agenda.

According to him, the green programmes by KRT Sungai Terap are considered ‘out of the box’ compared to other KRTs which typically focus on unity elements. Meanwhile, the National Unity and Integration Department (JPNIN) also supports the initiatives carried out by KRT Sungai Terap.

“JPNIN also praised the initiatives carried out by KRT Sungai Terap, even though in other KRTs, the activities or programmes focused on may be more about unity and nationhood.

“At the same time, our KRT also organises many other programmes based on dates gazetted by the UN (United Nations) related to climate, the environment and sustainability,” he said.

The Perak Sejahtera Community, under which the KRT falls, is one of the flagship initiatives of the Perak Sejahtera 2030 development plan, conceived by Perak Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad; with JPNIN positioned as the lead agency.

Environmental Sustainability and Biodiversity are also placed among the main agendas in the Perak Sejahtera 2030 plan, in addition to Local Authority Empowerment.

Berita Harian