37 / 130
[
] 37
A B
et ter
W
or ld
Strategic collaboration, networking, awareness
and succession planning for capacity building
towards water security in Malaysia
Ir. Abdullah Isnin, Ir. Rohani Ahmad, Dr. Norlida Mohd Dom, Zaliffah Ayop, and Sandra Ligong,
Department of Irrigation and Drainage, Malaysia
O
ur forefathers understood and appreciated the
balance of natural systems and of the environment.
The devastation caused by carelessness, greed and
irresponsibility was brought to international prominence in
Rachel Carson’s 1962 book
The Silent Spring
in which she
urges the global community to recognise its proper respon-
sibility for the environment. This idea is endorsed in the
Brundtland Report
1
which promotes socially inclusive and
environmentally sustainable economic growth, encompassing
economic and social development as well as environmental
protection beyond local, intergenerational frameworks to
better focus on the common interest of mankind.
Some Malaysian organisations that adhere to the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) have compiled key sustainability-
focused publications and translated them for use in primary
education. The International Science, Technology and
Innovation Centre for South-South Cooperation (ISTIC), has
also been instrumental in translating valuable documents to
further sustainability education in Malaysia. This emphasis
on education is of primary importance.
However, in achieving the SDGs, Malaysia needs to move
at a faster pace towards addressing water resource challenges
and attaining a secure water system. An inadequate supply
of water, both in quantity and quality, limits the capacity
to alleviate poverty and boost economic recovery, result-
ing in poor health, low productivity and food insecurity.
Thus, water security is at the heart of SDG 6, whereby the
improvement of water resources is recognised as a catalyst
for environmental well-being and the national development
of environmental sustainability.
The Malaysian Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID),
acting under the auspice of the Ministry of Natural Resources
and Environment, has been given a mandate to manage
national water resources and to meet the SDG 6 target by 2030.
DID Malaysia has begun to undertake a comprehensive and
integrated approach in addressing the issues in a sustainable
and equitable manner. This includes strengthening Integrated
Water Resources Management (IWRM) implementation,
improving water security, addressing water quality and pollu-
tion and enhancing collaboration, networking, awareness and
capacity-building at national and international levels.
Enhancement of strategic collaboration and networking
Stakeholder inclusiveness and collaboration are essential in
ensuring the security and sustainability of water resources
as well as in achieving the common goal of managing multi-
ple water sources. This applies beyond the country’s border
where scientific collaboration in the development of water
networks should be reinforced and enhanced. DID has made
this possible via the Malaysia International Hydrological
Programme (MIHP) together with the Regional Humid
Tropics Hydrology and Water Resources Centre for Southeast
Asia and the Pacific, also known as the Humid Tropics
Centre, Kuala Lumpur (HTC KL).
HTCKL, in its capacity as aUNESCOWater Centre, Category 2
(UNESCO-WC2) organisation, has been instrumental in encour-
aging regional and international collaboration such as jointly
organising a training workshop, in 2009, on Flash Flood Risk
Assessment and Mitigation Strategies with the International
Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management (ICHARM) and
the Regional Centre on Urban Water Management, Tehran. In
2016, HTC KL also collaborated with UNESCO’s Jakarta office
and Malaysia’s local universities network in conducting the
International Workshop on Comparative Studies of Applying
Ecohydrology and Integrated Water Resources Management
for Upscaling Water Security in Asia and Africa. The workshop
stands as a contribution to South-South Cooperation through
the UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (IHP)
as it involved three of the Least Developing Countries (LDCs)
– Nigeria, Sudan and Ethiopia; and three of the developing coun-
tries – Malaysia, Indonesia and Iran.
HTC KL also facilitated UNESCO’s visionary flagship
programme, Sustainable Water Management Improves
Tomorrow’s Cities’ Health (SWITCH-in-Asia), that addresses
the non-sustainability of current water management prac-
tices in cities, and sets the scene for the development of
solutions in managing water for the city of the future.
The showcase project, Integrated Stormwater Management
Ecohydrology (MSMA-ISME), was launched at HTC KL in
May 2013 by Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO.
MSMA-ISME covers all aspects of integrated urban water cycle
management which comprises a rainwater harvesting system;
green roof system; bio-retention system; porous pavement;
greywater reuse system and constructed wetland.