IMG_8449

 FullSizeRender     IMG_0875

A little mountain stream flows past our home in the hills .. The stream is a source of great pride and joy to me…..As I walk through the hills the sight of the jewel blue crystal clear water of the stream is a visual treat ..Whenever I am feeling sad, I sit by the stream and this sonic miracle drowns my worries as the water goes cascading down the rocks finding its path …

DR LIAU, is a REACH Regional Environmental Organization CAMERON HIGHLANDS veteran. HE IS A PASSIONATE ENVIRONMENTALIST.. His work with the NGO has been phenomenal to say the least..From the time of its inception to now he has been instrumental in many projects including the setting up of the biodiversity centre, the orchids book of Cameron Highlands and reforestation campaigns..In early 2000’s the RAPIDLY DETERIORATING WATER QUALITY in Camerons had become a topic of great interest and alarm..DOCTOR LIAU took the initiative and set up the local CSI program for water which literally stands for Community Stream Investigators..After extensive study and practical work with experts in this field, he has helped to set up a comprehensive mapping of key river systems flowing through Camerons..TODAY among other programs all the  CSI activities conducted by REACH  with the community come under DR LIAU’S PURVIEW…

SO when I very enthusiastically proposed to DR LIAU about doing a CSI at my LITTLE stream, I was of course confident of getting a an A STAR for my river and its water quality ..ON A DULL and dreary SATURDAY morning REACH members and friends gathered at the  waterfall to participate in the CSI by  the river…DR. KOH led a delegation of 20 enthusiastic youth from the orang asli village.. IT started off seeming like a picnic by the waterfall.. ARMED WITH large nets and our log books to record the different aspects of the river from physical assessment to both biological and chemical testing..WE waded in knee deep water looking  for the creatures that live  in the river and some apparatus for simple chemical analysis .AFTER PANNING the river water for a long time we only found two types of mcroinvertebrates .IMPORTANT MARKERS to determine the quality of water in the river.. TO MY DISAPPOINTMENT after all the various tests done by us we concluded that the quality of the water was extremely poor..SO ALTHOUGH the water looked crystal clear SADLY LOOKS can be deceiving . In terms of life forms they too were way below the standards set for a living river, to put it simply it was DEAD…BROKEN HEARTED I was to confront the bitter reality of CAMERONS WHERE ONLY about 10 or below of the the 100 plus rivers are still in a reasonable condition…BEFORE giving up hope I joined DR LIAU for another CSI further upstream where the river starts and realised that it was throbbing with life and activity and passed the chemical assessment with flying colours too …..ONCE AGAIN  HUMAN ACTIVITY like sewage disposal , deforestation,  the indiscriminate use of pesticides by farmers etc as the river flowed downstream had taken away the life of the river..AT THE END OF THE activity we had to share our thoughts on the measures  we can take to improve the water quality of our  rivers..Reducing plastic usage and gradually becoming plastic free, educating the farmers on the dangers of PESTICIDES ARE some of the initiatives that we can pursue.  THE CSI ACTIVITIES PROMOTED BY REACH under the guidance of DR LIAU are an important first step in creating awareness and making more people realize the gravity of the situation faced by us here in CAMERONS and the whole nation as some of the major Malaysian rivers start as little streams in these  mountains… CYBERFRIENDS I  LEAVE YOU WITH SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT. THE WATER THAT WASHED OUR WORRIES AND HELPED TO ENERGIZE US, THE WATER THAT WASHED THE DIRT OFF OUR BODIES AND EVEN HELPED TO DISSSOLVE OUR SINS … WHO IS GOING TO WASH THE FILTH OFF THAT WATER…….??????

 

 

 

 

\