Citing Biodiversity Loss Ngo Calls For Further Study On Tioman Airport

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Environmental group Reef Check Malaysia today called for more studies to be conducted on the highly controversial Tioman airport, following the Department of Environment’s (DOE) announcement that it was reviewing the project’s environmental impact assessment (EIA).
Its general manager Julian Hyde said that studies should not just include the immediate physical impacts of the site but how an increase in visitors will affect the island’s biodiversity and community. 
“Reef Check Malaysia is deeply concerned about the long-term damage to biodiversity that will result from the construction of the proposed new airport on Tioman Island.
“At a time when the international community is starting to realise the implications of biodiversity loss, we are worried that the long-term effect on the island’s natural resources - and community - will be substantial,” he said in a statement.
According to the EIA report, sighted by Malaysiakini, the proposed airport would cover an area of 186.36ha, of which 76 percent - 142.70ha - will involve reclaimed land.
Tioman already overwhelmed
Lying just off the coast between Kampung Paya and Kampung Genting, the airport proposes a runway of 2.5km in length and 45m in width to cater to Code 4C aircraft with a flight range from 5,100km to 6,100km.
“The project aims to cover flights to and from airports in Malaysia, Asean countries, eastern India, south to mid-China, and west Australia, read the report.
The project is planned for development in seven years, from 2024 to 2030, and projects that tourist arrivals will grow to around 976,000 million by 2036.
Hyde said that Tioman island - which currently receives roughly 250,000 visitors annually - already faces many difficulties during peak season as it is.
“The EIA suggests that up to 20 flights per day will operate at the new airport, with a capacity of up to 2,500 people.
“(That is) three times the current volume. Where will they stay? How will they get there? How will that increase in waste and sewage be managed?
“What about the water supply? The answers to these questions have important implications for the island’s biodiversity,” he said.
Marine Park no more?
The EIA revealed a larger proposed airport from an earlier draft of the project’s terms of reference, which stated that the project will be 94.49ha in size, of which 65.77ha will involve reclaimed land from depths of 5m to 30m.
The EIA states that the increase in area was to accommodate sea slopes underwater and that the additional acreage was communicated to PLANMalaysia in August 2022.
“The additional acreage was for the embankment of the cut slopes and rock revetment; both areas being at the outer edge of the airport plinth, and mostly underwater in the sea,” it said.
Meanwhile, the portion of the project involving reclaimed land sits in waters within the Tioman Marine Park boundaries.
In order to proceed with the airport project, Tioman’s marine park status will have to be changed.
However, the EIA states that the project proponents were granted approval by the Agriculture and Food Ministry in March 2022 to conduct the EIA prior to seeking approval by the National Advisory Council of Marine Parks and Marine Reserves to change the park’s status.
According to the Department of Town and Country Planning’s (PlanMalaysia) draft report titled “Special Area Planning on Tioman Archipelago 2030”, the area concerned is also a Level 1 environmentally sensitive area (ESA).
Under PlanMalaysia’s guidelines, Level 1 ESA areas should not be developed.
The EIA also notes that there would be a potential degradation of the marine ecosystem and biodiversity, especially off the Kampung Paya-Kampung Genting coasts. 
It adds that this would also reduce tourists to the area, causing hardships to resort and local business communities.
Its recommendation for the issue was to offer incentives in the form of tourist tax reductions to all resort operators and related businesses for at least the next five years. 
Airport a ‘catalyst for growth’
Meanwhile, the EIA states that the project will create 300 to 400 job opportunities during the construction phase and 5,000 to 6,000 more during operations in 2030 onwards.
It asserted that Tioman Island could support a higher population as its current population could not sustain structural and economic growth.
“Presently, its population of 3,347 over an area of roughly 133.6km2 has a density of only 1 person per 4ha, which is low, with hardly any critical mass to sustain structural and economic growth, and much less in terms of priorities in future provisions of public infrastructure and amenities such as schools and services on the Island.
“With foresight that Tioman island could remain in the backwash of future development, the Rompin district local plan has included the development of a new and larger airport as a catalyst for growth for the future of the Island.
“In view of this, the development of the Tioman Airport is seen as a necessary catalysing infrastructure entity to bring to fruition this policy and strategy in the Special Area Planning on Tioman Archipelago 2030.”
‘What’s the point of an airport?’
News of the EIA being submitted to the DOE did not sit well with several locals who have long protested against the proposed airport.
When contacted, scuba diving instructor Anita Atan said she was against the airport for environmental reasons.
“If the project proceeds, the noise from the land machinery throughout these seven years will prevent turtles from coming to land, the coral reefs will be affected and there will be no attraction (to the island) during that period.
“What is the point of an airport if no one is attracted to come to Tioman Island?” she questioned.
Anita opined that better resources and infrastructure should be provided for the existing tourists and locals instead.
“Instead of worrying about a new airport, there should be more resources for locals like electricity, water, and connectivity. The current resources we have are inconsistent,” she said.
Meanwhile, Kampung Genting headman Azman Awang Mohd said that his stance on the matter has remained the same, ever since talk of a new airport began to swirl years ago.
“I do not support the development of a new airport for Tioman by reclaiming land in front of Kampung Genting and Kampung Paya,” he told Malaysiakini.
Last August, former transport minister Wee Ka Siong told the Dewan Rakyat that it would take at least another year before Putrajaya could decide on whether to approve the construction of the Tioman Airport.
He said that apart from approvals from various government agencies, Putrajaya also had to consider the viability of the proposed Tioman Airport under the National Airports Strategic Plan (NASP). - Mkini

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