The Problems of Rubbish Pollution in Sungai Brunei & Its Impact.

Environmental Impact

According to an article cited in the Brunei Times (2007), the effort to keep the Brunei River clean has become a very difficult task for the local government. According to the author, the pollution is worst in Kampung Ayer, a water village of more than 40,000 inhabitants whose houses in quite a large number has a direct drainage system into the river. In addition to that, there is also a significant amount of pollution caused by increased wastes coming directly from the capital city of the country. Solid wastes are the most visible form of pollution that can be observed and seen in Kampung Ayer. These mainly comprises of kitchen garbage and trashes, cans, bottles, plastic bags and discarded household goods that range from furniture, freezers, television sets, to washing machines. This gives a bad image to peoples not residing in the area and worse, to the non-Bruneians or the tourists which would affect the revenue and many others from the tourism industry.

The excessive pollution of the river also creates some other problems as it does not only give a bad image to the country, but also affecting the fish resources and the biodiversity of the surrounding environment. The Brunei River flows its way up to the Brunei Bay before it reaches to the South China Sea. The Brunei Bay is where a concentration of unique mangrove forests is found in the country. ASEAN Regional Centre for Biodiversity Conservation (ARCBC) has warned that mangroves in the area are slowly destroyed by the untreated domestic sewage and urban waste run-off.

It has been estimated that the mangrove swamps initiate a food chain by depositing sufficient plant material to allow each hectare to support up to 90 kilograms of prawns each year. Some six to 7,000 tonnes of prawns and finfish are produced in the Brunei Bay yearly by some 10,000 full-time and part-time inshore fishermen. Thus, the destruction of the river mangroves and Brunei Bay means the death of fishing resources and poses ecological threats. Finfish, prawns, and green mussels which provide food for local markets will eventually vanish. The mangroves, used for firewood and for the production of charcoal and tannin as well as in recent years for piling material to resist waterlogged soils, once removed will make Brunei susceptible to tsunami and it will no longer be able to provide breeding grounds for fish and prawns in the country.

In an article of the Brunei Times (2007), a local Bruneian who were happened to be with a tourist witnessed the workers of the municipal department who were suppose to clean the area of the capital city, threw the rubbish they have collected into the Brunei River. This is an evidence of how awareness of this problem should be taken into serious account as it could harm the administrative institution of the country. Such behaviour from the employee could be seen by foreigners to be a normal “ethics” of Bruneians when in fact, it is not.

In another case, a research have found out that about 80 percent of interviewed tourists found that unsightly rubbish in Kampung Ayer would discourage them from visiting again and they would not recommend it to their families and friends. However, this does not mean actions should not be done and the existences of the rubbish are not a question. The tourists were not able to see this rubbish because most tours are carried out during the high tides which hide the rubbish from the eyes of the tourists, Brudirect (2007).

From the same article, it was mentioned that the amount of rubbish in Kampung Ayer could require anywhere from five millions to 50 millions black sacks or garbage bags. Using a 24 inch by 35 inch black plastic rubbish sack, they had estimated that a single sack could contain a manageable amount of one square metre of "flat" rubbish, or the top layer of rubbish and not including waste that had already sunk deep into the muddy river bed. Mukim Saba and Mukim Peramu, which cover an area of 36 hectares, would require 100,000 to 200,000 of these bags. With Kampung Ayer spanning about 1,616 hectares, they calculated that rubbish over the whole area of the water village could require anywhere from five millions to 50 millions black sacks.

The research had also conducted a survey where they interviewed 206 tourists of their experiences after having visited the water village or Kampung Ayer. From the survey, a majority of the tourists found the water village itself to be clean but it was the river that was full of rubbish. In the article, it is said that apart from symbolising the nation's historical origins, the water village plays a major role in Brunei's tourism image. The author further said that since the country is concentrating on diversifying its economy through areas such as the tourism industry, efforts to maintain Kampung Ayer as an attraction to tourists are highly important, he stressed.

Administrational Impact

Administrational impact which could occur from the pollution of the Brunei River includes the violation of the agreement between Brunei and its neighbouring country i.e. Malaysia. Brunei and Malaysia especially from the two neighbouring states, which are Sabah and Sarawak, has been working hand-in-hand in maintaining as well as controlling the water condition of the Brunei Bay as well as the quality and quantity of the pristine mangrove forests. Other importance of the area includes its inclusion of the regional project to conserve the Green Heart of Borneo as well as preserving the existence of the world’s largest monkey, which is the proboscis monkey. Other administrational impact would include bad impression of the public towards the local government in handling environmental issues such as the case put forward previously in this writing.

Social Impact

In terms of social impact, the pollution of the river could harm the health of the population of Kampung Ayer. The ongoing careless waste dumping could affect the image and culture of Kampung Ayer. The younger generation might think that throwing rubbish into the river is right when actually it is not. This could also harm the identity of Bruneians especially the dwellers of Kampung Ayer. Tourists would think that the people in the area are less hygienic. As cited in the Brunei Times, an article which is written by a foreigner said that “as Many Bruneians, with all their money, are known to buy almost everything they fancy but are failing with regards to being environmentally-conscious and responsible, which explains the many number of people who dispose of their wastes mindlessly.”

Economic Impact

Apart from the environmental, social and administrational impacts that the Brunei River have caused, it also poses several other problems in several other aspects of our life. The pollution of Brunei River affects us economically and destroys the image of our culture as well as embarrassing our society. The economic impact that it could do is, first of all, which is mentioned previously, that is the depletion of the marine and the fishing resources which contribute to the overall fishery and tourism resources.

There have been a lot of initiatives taken by the government in solving the problems of the high intensity of waste dumping in the Brunei River. The government has subsidized the fee for house-to-house rubbish collections in Kampung. Ayer, but the problems still persisted until now.

Under the National Development Plan (NDP) or the Rancangan Kemajuan Negara (RKN) 2007-2012, a total budget of B$182,500,800 million (1.9%) is allocated for the Public Facilities and Environment sector, which is quite a lot of money. The main issue and challenge under this is the lack of comprehensive legislation and enforcements of the laws and regulations. It is thus necessary for the government to formulate legislations and laws which can protect the environment in-line with the international or global standards. Efforts to collect and dispose solid wastes nationwide are still inadequate particularly for Kampung Ayer. And thus, measures are needed to be improved to ensure a systematic and effective solid waste management particularly for Kampung Ayer. This is in-line with the country’s long-term goal of sustainable environment.