by Jeremy Veno, 8 March 2024

NREB staff are seen in a group photo with the media. – Photo by Kong Jun Liung

KUCHING (March 8): The first phase of transferring scheduled waste management to the Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) can be expected to be completed by Jan 1, 2025.

NREB environmental quality controller Jack Liam said NREB will gradually take charge of managing scheduled waste under the transfer of environmental autonomy of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) from the federal Department of Environment.

“At the moment, we are still preparing the five main aspects, which involves legislation, systems development, human resources, operations, and the infrastructure,” he said during NREB’s media night.

Within the next five to 10 years, he said NREB will also undertake new and expanded roles such as conducting a greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory by registering energy and oil and gas-based industries.

“These are some of the activities assigned to NREB to ensure Sarawak achieves net zero emissions by 2050,” said Jack.

He said this is part of the Sarawak government’s new direction towards a green economy in line with the Environment (Reduction of GHG Emission) Ordinance 2023.

For Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS), he said NREB will ensure that the carbon reaching Sarawak’s waters will not have an adverse environmental impact.

He said those supplying or transporting carbon for storage must also have an agreement with a licensed agency in Sarawak.

In his speech, Jack said NREB oversees over 1,200 construction projects in Sarawak related to the issuance of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Management Plan (EMP) every year.

“Eighty-two projects are being monitored under the Environmental Management Guideline (EMG),” he added.

Besides construction projects, NREB also monitors the quality of water at 66 river stations across Sarawak.

Five Air Quality Monitoring System have also been set up along the state’s border to monitor transboundary haze.