There has been a resurgence in commercial inland waterway transport, particularly for cargo, in Asia and Europe. The major rivers of India, China and Southeast Asia are being used as an alternative to road transport in order to achieve greater fuel conservation, reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, and lower road and vehicle maintenance costs.
Experiences of Asian countries, where more sparsely settled areas of rural population have historically relied on boats for passenger and cargo transport, such as Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand, are especially relevant to Sarawak. A natural resource, large rivers like the Mekong, Chao Phraya and Rajang, offer a viable option to difficult and expensive construction, maintenance and operation of roads, of bridges and vehicles, especially through steep and difficult terrain.
In Sarawak, the road network is still underdeveloped and, unlike Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia, there is no rail network passing through rural areas and connecting the main towns. Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan 2006–2010, RM702 million has been allocated to Sarawak to upgrade rural and village roads in order to improve accessibility and connectivity between rural and urban areas. But building roads is a slow and costly process and, meantime, the state’s rivers can serve efficiently as superhighways from coastal ports into the interior. In a recent comment reported in The Borneo Post (November 7, 2007), the Chief Minister of Sarawak, Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, reiterated this view when he said, ‘Sarawak has many rivers, and water transportation is always cheaper than land transportation. I think bulk transportation has to be undertaken by water.’
Efficient transport is essential for connecting the rural communities to Sarawak’s larger towns and cities, for reducing isolation, and for providing employment opportunities. And since human needs are not just physical, effective modes of transport can help increase community interconnectedness and social capital. Furthermore, the promotion of community-based ecotourism along rivers not only provides additional revenue for the State, but also generates income for poor communities and helps raise awareness of the need for sustainable river management.
As elsewhere in Malaysia, the water quality of Sarawak’s rivers is deteriorating. With development, river pollution has increased and water quality has declined. Polluted rivers affect the health of plants, animals, and human beings. According to data from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, there has been a steady deterioration in the water quality of rivers throughout the country, and the Ninth Malaysia Plan 2006–2010, has set aside a huge allocation to help clean them up.
River pollution is caused by discharges of sewage, wastewater, wood waste, toxic chemical waste, heavy marine and spilt oil waste, discarded plastic containers, thermal pollution, accelerated riverbank erosion, and natural river debris from trees and sedimentation. With appropriate discipline, care and attention, most of these undesirable impacts can be eliminated, so that we can enjoy and preserve the utility and beauty of our rivers.
The Sarawak Inland Waterway Transport System Study, which supports the preparation of an Inland Waterway Transportation Master Plan, aims to promote the development and use of community water transport, primarily for the benefit of the rural communities located in scattered settlements along the state’s navigable rivers. At the aggregate level, Sarawak has an enviable record of development, and an overall poverty level of just 8 percent in 2004. However, development in the rural areas is more limited, and the rural poverty rate was 14 percent in 2004. The poor tend to be scattered along the rivers, and it is these communities who potentially stand to benefit most from improvements in river transport.
Besides its advantages in making use of a major accessible resource that is available to all participating communities - the rivers - community water transport is an environmentally friendly, energy efficient and
low-emission mode of transport. Such development has the potential to enhance economic benefits through the increased market activity of more consumer goods moving upstream, and raw materials (coal, logs, agricultural output) and cottage-industry products moving downstream. Similarly, access to hospitals, clinics and schools can be improved, facilitating use of essential services and enhancing the daily lives of communities up and down the rivers.
But the management of community water transport is also a challenge given the unpredictable and sudden changes in the condition of the rivers, the threatening combination of king tides and heavy rainfall in the river watersheds, and low-water levels across rapids and shallow riverbeds during periods of little rainfall. Consequently, the carrying capacity of the boats, the prospective demand for services, and the boats’ operating costs and earning capacity, must all be taken into account.
The study reports on a UNDP supported project designed to encourage improvement in the safety of boat operations, and cargo and passenger movement on the rivers. As operators tend to favour large, high-powered boats and travel at high speeds of 15-25 knots (28–56 km per hour) or more, the risk of boat accidents and collisions is high. Furthermore, the supporting rural transport infrastructure is often in need of attention, as terminals, jetties and landing points are often in disrepair, and have precarious, eroded landward approaches and footholds. Services and the safety provisions need to cater for all users including both the very young and the elderly who are most likely to be accessing schools, clinics and hospitals.
This volume is the seventh in a series of periodic publications reporting on UNDP Malaysia’s work in its energy, environment and human development practice area. The large range of projects being undertaken in this portfolio is designed particularly to support Malaysia’s efforts to achieve high human development for all its people, to eradicate poverty and ensure environmental sustainability.
I would like to thank the Sarawak State Government, especially to the Sarawak Planning Unit, the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Communications, and the Sarawak Rivers Board for their support in implementing this project. I would especially like to thank members of the State Technical Working Committee and the stakeholders for their commitment to the project. I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to all project participants and members of the Project Team as listed on page ix, led by Dr. Chung Tsung Ping, for their commitment to the success of the project and for putting this publication together. I sincerely hope that it will be widely read and will increase awareness of the critical importance of rivers in Sarawak and its role in reducing extreme poverty.
