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MALACCA STRAITS

Objective

To demonstrate the application of risk assessment/risk management for effective management of marine pollution at the sub-regional level.

Profile

• Littoral States (and their provinces bordering the Malacca Straits):

  • Indonesia: Provinces in the East Coast of Sumatra: Aceh, North Sumatra, Riau

  • Malaysia: Provinces in the West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia: Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, Johore

  • Singapore

• Total River Basin Areas Bordering the Malacca Straits:

  • Indonesia (East Coast of Sumatra): 225,944 square kilometers

  • Malaysia (West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia): 20,502 square kilometers

  • Singapore: 570 square kilometers

• Length of Straits: approximately 600 nm or 1,000 km long

• Depth of water: from 9.5 to 30 fathoms (17.1 meters to 54 meters)

• Coastline:

  • Indonesia:

  • Malaysia: 1,110 kilometers

  • Singapore: 193 kilometers

• Total Coastal Population (1994):

  • Indonesia: 10.9 million

  • Malaysia: 9.6 million

  • Singapore: 2.9 million

• Gross Domestic Product (GDP in Billion US$, 1994):

  • Indonesia: 163.8

  • Malaysia: 70.0

  • Singapore: 70.2

• GDP Growth Rate (1990-1994):

  • Indonesia: 6.9%

  • Malaysia: 8.7%

  • Singapore: 8.2%

• Main Economies:

  • Indonesia: fisheries (fishing, brackish aquaculture, mariculture), agriculture (e.g., palm oil, rubber, vegetables), industry (e.g., mining of sand quartz, oil and natural gas, metal processing, fertilizer plants, paper mills, and factories involved in the processing of palm oil, sago and tapioca), international trade, port and harbor development (e.g., ship repairs, storage and warehouses, oil loading and unloading, bulk cargo handling) and tourism.

  • Malaysia: fisheries (fishing, aquaculture), agriculture (rice, rubber, palm oil), port and harbor development (facilities for a diverse range of cargo including containerized, break bulk, liquid bulk, dry bulk and hazardous cargo), industry (e.g., rubber processing factories, marine products processing factories, palm oil mills, metal processing, food processing and chemical products), and tourism.

  • Singapore: port and harbor development (oil terminals, general and bulk cargoes handling, storage facilities) marine industries (shipbuilding, rig-building, ship repair) other industries (e.g., power generation, oil refineries, petrochemicals, iron and steel mills, cement making), banking and commerce, transportation and communications, and tourism.

Rationale

A unique, tropical estuarine environment, rich in renewable and non-renewable natural resources characterizes the Malacca Strait. For the local communities, the Straits hosts a large marine fishery sector and numerous aquaculture and mariculture ventures. At a national level, the three littoral states rely greatly either on the production of rich natural resources or on trades/shipping business associated with the Straits. Finally, the importance of the Straits to international users is reflected in the high tonnage of goods carried through the Straits. However, the Straits are considered highly vulnerable to pollution risks due to increased maritime activities and rapid industrial developments along the coastal areas causing deterioration of the marine and coastal ecosystems.

Managing and reducing pollution risks in the Straits will require concerted efforts among user and bordering littoral states. Such efforts must be directed toward compliance with international conventions on marine pollution and navigational safety, development of pollution preventive and mitigating measures, and the allocation of funds and manpower resources to implement them.

Environmental Management Issues

The major environmental issues in the Malacca Straits are:

• Impacts on the ecosystem: deterioration of habitat and fisheries; effects of sedimentation, metals, oils and hydrocarbons, tributyltin, and pesticides in the Straits.

• Impacts on human health: increasing levels of coliforms in coastal waters; possible pesticide and metal contamination of shellfish and seafood.

• Impacts on society (economic): brought about by the impairment or reduction of services provided by the natural resources of the Straits (e.g., fisheries, tourism, coastal development, lumber, shipping).

Project Summary

The project was initiated in 1995. Consultations with the three littoral states are being continuously conducted in the implementation of project activities. These activities include:

• development of an environmental profile of the Straits;

• conduct of a risk assessment analysis;

• the study of the Straits designation as a Special Area under MARPOL 73/78;

• resource valuation;

• formulation of effective marine pollution preventative measures;

• benefit-cost appraisal;

• development and application of common oil spill models for pollution risk management;

• development of an information system/environmental management atlas;

• capacity building and training in risk assessment/risk management; and

• development of sustainable financing mechanisms for marine pollution prevention and management programs in the Straits.

Main Project Achievements and Outputs (as of 1998)

• Draft report on the designation of the Malacca Straits as a Special Area under MARPOL 73/78, February 1997;

• Agreement reached between littoral countries on a joint effort to implement the Malacca Straits Demonstration Project during a consultative meeting in Cebu, Philippines, March 1997;

• Agreement reached between scientists of the three littoral states on common methodologies for resource valuation for the Malacca Straits, September 1997;

• Malacca Straits: Initial Risk Assessment, May 1997.

• Malacca Straits Coastal Environmental Profile, October 1997;

• Marine Electronic Highway workshop, Singapore 29-30 October 1998;

• Benefit-cost appraisal of tourism development and sustainability in the straits conducted, 1998;

• Oil spill trajectory and pollution fate models developed, 1998;

• The Straits of Malacca Environmental Information System is completed. 1998;

• A GEF/PDF Block B proposal on the Marine Electronic Highway is accepted in principle by representatives of the three littoral States of Malacca Straits, 1998;

• Environmental risk assessment (ERA) and natural damage risk assessment (NRDA) training conducted, 1998;

• Conference on marine pollution and ecotoxicology conducted, 1998;

• Numerous technical reports of subprojects listed above.