Cooperate to transform Iskandar Malaysia for sustainable living
11 Jul 2012 The Star
JOHOR BARU: All parties in Iskandar Malaysia have roles to play in transforming the economic growth corridor as a sustainable living place for the well-being of the society.
Iskandar Regional Develop-ment Authority (Irda) CEO Datuk Ismail Ibrahim said there should be a balance approach in development and sustainability as both were complementing each other.
“You can sacrifice one in order to achieve one and it needs
cooperation from all parties concerned to transform Iskandar Malaysia into a sustainable living place,’’ he said on Monday.
Ismail told reporters this at the opening of the 3rd International Symposium on Sustainable Low Carbon Asia Research and Policy Dialogue here by Domestic Trade and Tourism chairman Datuk Hoo Seong Chang.
The event was jointly organised by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Irda, Kyoto University, National Institute Environmental Studies (NIES), Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) and Japan Science Technology Agency (JST).
He said Iskandar Malaysia has been chosen as the case study for the low-carbon society and the data and statistics collected over five years would be used for other parts of the country.
“We are already in the second year and the guidelines will be useful for all stakeholders when implementing projects for quality living for Iskandar Malaysia residents,’’ said Ismail.
He said the study among others covered the total energy consumption and CO2 emission, potential mitigation measures and policy in the areas of building, transportation and solid waster management.
Ismail said Irda wanted to
promote awareness among all stakeholders in Iskandar
Malaysia that a robust growth should go in tandem with low carbon society.
The Iskandar Malaysia low carbon society project is supported by JST and Jica with a RM8mil budget.
The project involves UTM, which lead local researchers working closely with environmental engineers and researchers from Kyoto University, Okayama University and NIES.
