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Official Website of Department of Irrigation & Drainage Sabah |
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Shangrila Rasa Ria Resort, Pantai Dalit, |
Coastal Engineering
Due to concern of serious coastal erosion problem along the coastline of Malaysia, the Federal government has carried out the National Coastal Erosion Study, which was completed in 1985. Under the study, coastal erosion sites have been classified as:
Category 1 - Critical
Category 2 - Significant
Category 3 - Acceptable
Sabah has a total of 1,743 km of coastline, out of which there are approximately 295.5 km of eroding coastline. It has been identified that 12.8 km is classified as Catergory 1, 3.5 km as Catergory 2, and 279.2 km as Catergory 3.
In view of the increasing incidences of coastal erosion and rapid pace of development in the coastal zone, the National Coastal Erosion Council in 1995 has requested federal Economic Planning Unit (EPU) to form a committee to formulate guidelines for erosion control for development projects in the coastal zone. This guideline "Guidelines on Erosion Control for Development Projects in the Coastal Zone" was done by federal DID and was subsequently approved by Federal Cabinet on 29th January, 1997, to be implemented.
Coastal Protection with Rock Groynes in Kudat |
It is a strong concern of the State government of Sabah that development of any marine reclamation project is undertaken with the aim of minimising the negative impact on the physical-chemical and biological-ecological environment, with an overall positive effect upon socio-economic properties, and within a sustainable operational frame. To overcome this, the Ministry of Environment, Tourism Development, Science and Technology, Sabah, together the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID), and the Town and Regional Planning Department (TRPD) have established an overall Shoreline Management Plan (SMP). The SMP has delineated areas suitable for development purposes and areas to be conserved along the West Coast of Sabah from Ambong Bay in the North to Menggalong River in the South for conservation and development purposes based upon the existing environment, resources and potential environmental impact associated with development in the given areas. A Terms of Reference (TOR) for Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment for Marine Reclamation has been developed by the State government as a guide for developers in order to ensure a standard of Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) conformance and in compliance to Federal and State EIA requirements for approval of marine reclamation projects. Supporting TOR for Environmental Monitoring and Management of Marine Reclamation projects are also available as guidelines.
DID Sabah works closely with its federal counterpart, for the planning and designing of coastal erosion control, river mouth improvement works and the cleaning of recreational beaches as well as collection and dissemination of data related to coastal engineering.
DID Malaysia, with co-ordination from DID Sabah, has carried out three feasibility study projects by consultant for three areas namely Tinagat-Batu Puyong near Tawau, Tungku near Lahad Datu and Tanjong Aru-Kinarut coastal zone near Kota Kinabalu which are classified as Catergory 1 in the State of Sabah.
DID Sabah is also working closely with other goverment departments/agencies involved in coastal zone management.