KUALA LUMPUR: Berjaya Sompo Insurance Berhad and Global Environment Centre (GEC) have embarked on a tree-planting project to protect water resources at the Klang River Basin via a river slope mitigation initiative.
Berjaya Sompo CEO Tan Sek Kee said it is being carried out in partnership with the Gombak district Department of Irrigation and Drainage, Gombak and Petaling district Orang Asli Development Department, Jungle School Gombak Malaysia and Friends of Sungai Gombak Batu 12.
“Some 40 volunteers from Berjaya Sompo and Orang Asli community members planted over 700 trees, including Senduduk, Simpoh Air, Gapis and erosion control plants like Vetiver and Buluh termiang, on the Gombak River slope in Kampung Batu 12.
“The Orang Asli community will also be engaged via the Friends of Sungai Gombak Batu 12 platform to monitor the river and trees.”
He said Berjaya Sompo and GEC are collaborating to mitigate damage to slopes through bioengineering, focusing on the Upper Gombak River Basin (the Gombak River is a tributary of the Klang River) to reduce potential riverbank erosion and landslides, apart from increasing biodiversity in the area.
Tan added that the initiative aims to foster stakeholder engagements with the Orang Asli community and to promote mainstreaming bioengineering in river management at the Upper Gombak River Basin.
“We recognise that environmental sustainability is not just about reducing our carbon footprint, but also actively contributing to the well-being of local communities. By addressing slope mitigation, we could prevent potential disasters and create a safer environment for our people, flora, fauna and rivers.”
He said 97% of the water supply in Malaysia comes from rivers, thus pollution reduction and river protection are vital to ensure the sustainability of water sources.
“Tree planting on slopes through the bioengineering method is one of the crucial nature-based solutions to protect water resources from riverbank erosions, improve the ecosystem and increase riverine biodiversity and water quality.”
