BFC 32202 Engineers & Society Chapter 4 (Student Copy)

BFC 32202 – ENGINEERS & SOCIETY
HUMANISATION OF
ENGINEERING
CHAPTER FOUR
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HUMANISING THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
• An article in the New York

Times once argued that
“airports are built for
everyone – the city, the
airlines and the retailers –
except for the people who
use them the most, the
passengers”.
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• The writer went on to say that the new modern airports designed by high-profile
architects suffer from poor sensory experience, ranging from ambient noise to glare
to uncomfortable furniture.
• The writer suggested that architects should spend more of their creative energies
on the traveler’s experience, and criticised that the team of specialists required to
actually design and build the airport – the specialised engineers (structural, lighting,
HVAC, landscaping, etc.), interior designers, surveyors – who are even less
concerned with the passengers’ comfort than architects are, also need to focus on
the traveler’s experience.
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• There is a need to include

humanism in the built environment.
• Our buildings and cities have
become alienating and dehumanising
spaces that are totally out of touch
with human reality.
• Public spaces are now more likely to
cater to corporatisation than to
humanisation.
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What is “humanising”?
• To humanise is to make something
less unpleasant and more suitable for
people.
• To engineer something is to solve
societal problems. To solve societal
problems is to understand the
society. To understand the society is
to know the dynamics of humanity. Cheonggyecheon, Seoul
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• The practice of architecture, engineering, interior designing and urban planning need
to become more humanistic. The human element needs to be reintroduced to their
work and made central. They have an obligation and commitment to making buildings
and public spaces for people, and the environment at large.
Concern for the man himself and his fate

must always form the chief interest of all
technical endeavours.
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GROUP EXERCISE 3
• Form a group consisting of five (5) members.

• Discuss and share your thoughts on the following:
There are just too many vehicles in Malaysian cities. Are cities being designed to
accommodate vehicles and not people?
How can we reduce the number of private vehicles in the city, and what are
the benefits of this approach?
As engineers, we should design our built environment to include all people;

young and old, abled and disabled. Do you agree, and how can we do it?
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ENGINEERS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
• The relationship between engineers

and the environment is complex:
• Engineers have solved many
environmental problems and
designed projects, products and
processes that reduce threats to
environmental integrity.
• At the same time, engineers have
also played a part in causing
environmental problems that
affect society.
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• Many engineering codes now make reference to the environment.

• The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) code encourages
engineers to adhere to the principles of sustainable development in order to
protect the environment for future generations.
• The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) code says that engineers should
be committed to improving the environment by adherence to the principles of
sustainable development so as to enhance the quality of life of the general
public.
• The Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE) code tells its members to show due regard
for the environment and for the sustainable management of natural resources.
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• An article titled Today’s Engineers – Caretakers of

the Environment summed up the following:
What elevates engineering to a profession

is its duty to safeguard and serve the
public ahead of personal and employer or
client interests. From this flows our role as
caretakers of the environment.We have a
larger social responsibility. We can no
longer limit ourselves to designing,
implementing and soundly managing within
our disciplines.
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Attitudes Towards The Environment

• Engineering firms’ attitude toward the environment can be divided into three groups:
• Subminimal attitude – doing little as possible and sometimes less than required in
meeting environmental regulations. Often, there are no full-time personnel
assigned to environmental issues, minimal financial resources are devoted to
environmental matters, and have disagreements with environmental regulations.
• Compliance attitude – accept governmental regulation as a cost of doing business,
but their compliance is often without enthusiasm or commitment. There is
scepticism about the value of environmental regulation, but these firms have in
place policies that regulate environmental matters and have established separate
units devoted to them.
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• Progressive attitude – very responsive to environmental concerns and has the

complete support of the management leaders. These firms have well-staffed
environmental divisions, use state-of-the-art equipment and have good
relationships with governmental regulators. They have long-term interests to go
beyond legal requirements because doing so generates good will in the
community and avoids lawsuits. They may be genuinely committed to
environmental protection and enhancement.
• A fine example of the “progressive attitude” is the CERES Principles. CERES is the
acronym for Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies. It is an alliance of
leading environmentalists with the goal of changing corporate environmental
practices.
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CERES Principles
• A 10-point code of corporate environmental conduct endorsed by CERES companies,
and called the CERES Principles (formerly known as Valdez Principles).
Protection of the Sustainable use of Reduction and Energy

Risk reduction
biosphere natural resources disposal of wastes conservation
• Reduce and make • Make sustainable • Reduce and if • Conserve energy • Strive to minimise
progress toward use of renewable possible eliminate and improve the environmental
the elimination of natural resources waste, and handle energy efficiency of damage and health
any environmentally such as water, soils and dispose of all operations, and and safety risks to
damaging substance, and forests, and waste through safe attempt to use employees ad
safeguard habitats make careful use of and responsible environmentally surrounding
and protect open non-renewable methods. safe and sustainable communities, and
spaces and resources. energy sources. be prepared for
wilderness, while emergencies.
preserving
biodiversity.
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CERES Principles (cont’d)

Safe products and Environmental Informing the Management
Audits and reports
services restoration public commitment
• Reduce and if • Promptly and • Inform those who • Implement these • Conduct an annual
possible eliminate the responsibly correct may be affected by principles in a self-evaluation of
use, manufacture or conditions the the actions of the process that ensures progress in
sale of products and company has caused company that affect that the board of implementing these
services that cause that endanger health, health, safety or the directors and CEO principles, and
environmental safety or the environment, and are fully informed complete and make
damage or health or environment, redress refrain from taking about the public an annual
safety hazards, and injuries and restore reprisals against environmental issues CERES report.
inform customers of the environment that employees who and fully responsible
the environmental has been damaged. report dangerous for environmental
impacts of products incidents. policy, and make
and services. demonstrated
environmental
commitment a factor
in selecting members
of the board of
directors.
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ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Pollution
• Industry and motor vehicle exhaust are the
number one pollutants. Heavy metals, nitrates and
plastic are toxins responsible for pollution.
• While water pollution is caused by oil spill, acid
rain, urban runoff; air pollution is caused by various
gases and toxins released by industries and
factories and combustion of fossil fuels; soil
pollution is majorly caused by industrial waste that
deprives soil from essential nutrients.
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Global Warming
• Global warming is the result of human practices
like emission of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide,
methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons, etc.)
• Global warming leads to rising temperatures of the
oceans and the earth’s surface causing melting of
polar ice caps, rise in sea levels and also unnatural
patterns of precipitation such as flash floods,
excessive snow or desertification.
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Intensive Farming
• Intensive farming or intensive agriculture is being
practiced, where a lot of capital and labour are
used to increase food production as demand
increases due to overpopulation.
• The use of large amounts of chemical fertilizer,
pesticides and insecticides has brought damage to
the environment.
• Also, intensive animal farming has caused pollution
and health issues, as well as criticism towards
treatment of animals.
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Depletion of Oil Resources

• Oil accounts for 40% of the energy we use (for
manufacturing, construction, transportation, mining,
etc.)
• Due to industrial boom, increased population and
energy wastage, our oil reserves have reduced
drastically.
• Oil is a non-renewable resource and we have oil
reserves that is predicted to last for only 25 years
more.
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Waste Disposal
• The overconsumption of resources and creation of
plastics are creating a global crisis of waste
disposal. Excessive amounts of waste are being
produced and dumped in the oceans and in some
cases, in less developed countries.
• Nuclear waste disposal has tremendous health
hazards associated with it. Plastic, food packaging
and cheap electronic wastes threaten the well
being of humans and animals.
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Climate Change
• Climate change occurs due to rise in global
warming which occurs due to increase in
temperature of atmosphere by burning of fossil
fuels and release of harmful gases by industries.
• Climate change has various harmful effects but not
limited to melting of polar ice, change in seasons,
occurrence of new diseases, frequent occurrence
of floods and change in overall weather scenario.
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Loss of Biodiversity
• Human activity is leading to the extinction of
animal and plant species. 10-30% of the mammal,
bird and amphibian species are threatened with
extinction.
• Loss of biodiversity can be attributed to the
influence of human beings on the ecosystem, by
intentionally altering the environment, exploiting
the species directly (fishing and hunting) and
transferring species from one area to another.
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Deforestation
• Deforestation simply means clearing of green cover
and make that land available for residential,
industrial or commercial purpose.
• Our forests are natural sinks of carbon dioxide and
produce fresh oxygen as well as helps in regulating
temperature and rainfall.
• At present forests cover 30% of the land but every
year tree cover the size of Panama is lost due to
growing population and the demand for more food,
shelter, gadgets and clothing.
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Ocean Acidification
• Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is absorbed by
the ocean, breaking down into carbonic acid and
hydrogen ions.
• Carbonate ions, which are required for marine life
growth (shells and corals), bond with the hydrogen
ions, thus reducing carbonate ions.
• Ocean acidity has increased. By 2100, it may shoot
up by 150%. The main impact is on shellfish and
plankton in the same way as human osteoporosis.
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Depletion of the Ozone Layer

• Depletion of the ozone is attributed to pollution
caused by chlorine and bromide found in chloro-
fluoro carbons (CFC’s). Once these toxic gases
reach the upper atmosphere, they cause a hole in
the ozone layer, the biggest of which is above the
Antarctic.
• CFC’s are banned in many industries and consumer
products. Ozone layer is valuable because it
prevents harmful UV radiation from reaching the
earth.
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Acid Rain
• Acid rain is caused by natural and man-made
sources that release sulphur dioxide and nitrogen
oxides into the atmosphere.
• These pollutants are transformed into acid
particles that travel long distances and fall to the
earth as wet and dry deposition (rain, dust, etc.)
• Acid rain is a known to have serious effect on
human health, wildlife, aquatic species and stone
structures.
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Water Scarcity
• Only 3% of the world’s water is fresh water. As a
result, some 1.1 billion people worldwide lack
access to water, and a total of 2.7 billion find water
scarce for at least one month of the year.
• Water sources are drying up or becoming too
polluted, while agriculture consumes a lot of water
and wastes much of that through inefficiencies.
• Climate change is altering patterns of weather and
water around the world, causing shortages and
droughts in some areas.
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Genetic Engineering
• Genetic modification of food results in increased
toxins and diseases as genes from an allergic plant
can transfer to target plant.
• Genetically modified crops can cause serious
environmental problems as an engineered gene
may prove toxic to wildlife.
• Another drawback is that increased use of toxins
to make insect resistant plant can cause resultant
organisms to become resistant to antibiotics.
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
• Environmental protection is a practice

of protecting the natural environment
for the benefit of both the environment
and humans.
• Governments have begun placing
restraints on activities that cause
environmental degradation.
• Environmental movements have created
awareness of the various environmental
problems.
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Global Initiatives For Environmental Protection
Intergovernmental United Nations Earth System

Global Environment
Panel for Climate Environmental Governance Project
Facility (GEF)
Change (IPCC) Programme (UNEP) (ESGP)
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Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC)

• IPCC is the leading international body for the assessment of climate change. It was
established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World
Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide the world with a clear
scientific view on the current state of knowledge in climate change and its potential
environmental and socio-economic impacts.
• IPCC’s functions are to provide comprehensive scientific assessments of current
scientific, technical and socio-economic information worldwide about the risk of
climate change caused by human activity, its potential environmental and socio-
economic consequences, and possible options for adapting these consequences of
mitigating the effects of climate change.
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United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP)

• UNEP is an international organisation that coordinates United Nations (UN)
environmental activities by assisting developing countries in implementing
environmentally sound policies and practices.
• UNEP’s main activities are related to:
• Climate change • Harmful substances
• Disasters and conflicts • Resource efficiency
• Ecosystem management
• Environmental governance
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Earth System Governance Project (ESGP)

• ESGP is an interdisciplinary social science research programme originally developed
under the auspices of the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global
Environmental Change.
• ESGP aims to:

• Use cutting-edge science to address the large, complex challenge of governance
in the face of intensifying global environmental change and earth system
transformation.
• Create a better understanding of the role of institutions, organisations and
governance mechanisms by which humans currently regulate their relationship
with the natural environment and global biochemical systems.
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Global Environment Facility (GEF)

• GEF a partnership for international cooperation, bringing 183 countries,
international institutions, civil society organisations and the private sector together
to address global environmental issues.
• GEF provides grants to developing countries and countries with economies in
transition for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters,
land degradation, the ozone layer and persistent organic pollutants.
• These projects benefit the global environment, linking local, national and global
environmental challenges and promoting sustainable livelihoods.
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ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
• Environmental ethics is a branch of ethics that

studies the relation of human beings and the
environment and how ethics play a role.
• Environmental ethics believe that humans are
a part of society as well as other living
creatures, which includes plants and animals.
• These items are a very important part of the
world and are considered to be a functional
part of human life.
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• With environmental ethics, we can ensure that we are doing our part to keep the
environment safe and protected.
• With the rapid increase in world’s population, the consumption of natural resources
has increased significantly. This has degraded our planet’s ability to provide the
services we humans need. The consumption of resources is going at a faster rate
than they can naturally replenish.
• Environmental ethics builds on scientific understanding by bringing human
values, moral principles, and improved decision making into conversation with
science.
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Environmental Ethics in Engineering

• Engineers are partly responsible for
technology that has led to damage of the
environment, but at the same time are
working to find solutions to the problems
caused by modern technology.
• The environmental movement has led to
an increased awareness among engineers
that they have a responsibility to use their
knowledge and skills to help protect the
environment.
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• Sometimes an engineer’s responsibility for the environment is denoted with phrases

such as “sustainable design” or “green engineering”. These concepts incorporate
ideas about ensuring that our designs do not harm the environment.
• By using sustainable design principles, engineers will help to maintain the integrity of
the environment and ensure that our quality of life can be sustained. Sustainable
design includes not only ensuring that a product has minimal environmental impact
during its use, but also that it can be manufactured and disposed of without harming
the natural world.
• These concepts have been incorporated into some of the engineering codes of ethics
which specifically use the word “sustainable.”
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Resolving Environmental Problems

• There are several approaches that can be taken to resolve environmental problems.
Interestingly, these approaches mirror the general approaches to ethical problem
solving.
• Cost-oblivious Approach
• Cost is not taken into account, but rather the environment is made as clean as
possible. No level of environmental degradation is seen as acceptable.
• However, there are problems with this approach. It is difficult to uphold and is
also very difficult to enforce, since the definition of “as clean as possible” is hard
to agree on, and being oblivious to cost is not practical in any realistic situation.
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• Cost-benefit Approach
• The problem is analysed in terms of the benefits derived by reducing the
pollution (e.g. improvements in human health) and the costs required to solve
the problem. The costs and benefits are weighed to determine the optimum
combination.
• In this approach, the goal is not to achieve a completely clean environment, but
rather to achieve an economically beneficial balance of pollution with health or
environmental considerations.
• Problems with this approach include:
• There is an implicit assumption in cost–benefit analysis that cost is an
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important issue. But what is the true cost of a human life or the loss of a
species or a scenic view? These values are difficult, if not impossible, to
determine.
• It is difficult to accurately assess costs and benefits, and much guesswork
must go into these calculations.
• This approach does not necessarily take into account who shoulders the
costs and who gets the benefits.
• It does not necessarily take morality or ethics into account. The only
considerations are costs and benefits, with no room for a discussion of
whether what is being done is right or not.
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IfIfyou
youthink
thinkthe
theeconomy
economyisismore
moreimportant
important
than the environment, try holding your
than the environment, try holding your
breath while counting your money.
breath while counting your money.
Guy McPherson
Earth provides enough to satisfy every

man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.
Mahatma Gandhi
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Making Decisions on Environmental Issues

• An engineer can appeal to both professional and personal ethics to make a decision.
Of course, the minimal requirement is that the engineer must follow the applicable
federal, state, and municipal laws and regulations.
• Professional codes of ethics tell us to hold the safety of people and the environment
to be of paramount importance. So clearly, engineers have a responsibility to ensure
that their work is conducted in the most environmentally safe manner possible.
• This is true certainly from the perspective of human health, but for those who feel
that the environment has moral standing of its own, the responsibility to protect the
environment is clear.
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• Often, this responsibility must be balanced somewhat by consideration of the

economic well-being of our employer, our family, and our community.
• Our personal ethics can also be used to determine the best course when we are
confronted with an environmental problem. Most of us have very strong beliefs
about the need to protect the environment.
• Although these beliefs may come into conflict with our employer’s desires, we have
the right and duty to strongly express our views on what is acceptable.
• An engineer should not be compelled by his employer to work on a project that he
finds ethically troubling, including projects with severe environmental impacts.
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• For many environmental issues,

engineers are not fully competent to
make decisions.
• Therefore, engineers should seek the
counsel of others, such as biologists,
public health experts, and physicians,
who have the knowledge to help
analyse and understand the possible
environmental consequences of a
project.
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Environmental Impact of Buildings and Construction of Buildings

• It is not just the methods and materials used to construct a building that affects the
environment. How it is built to operate also has a huge impact as well.
• Energy Use
• Buildings account for an average of 41% of the world’s energy use. Part of this is
due to the huge amount of electricity that buildings tend to use. In the United
States, buildings are responsible for 73% of the country’s electricity
consumption. A building’s lighting system, heating and cooling system, and outlet
use are major consumers of electricity.
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• Greenhouse Gas Emission

• In buildings, people use natural gas and petroleum for heating and cooking, thus
are responsible for a huge percentage of the greenhouse gas emissions that have
been causing climate change. In fact, the buildings are responsible for 38% of all
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
• Water Use and Wastage
• Buildings are responsible for not just a large percentage of the world’s water
use, but a large percentage of wasted water as well. It is estimated that
buildings use 13.6% of all potable water, which is roughly 15 trillion gallons of
water per year.
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• Construction Materials
• Materials used in the construction of buildings may be produced in a non-
sustainable way. The factories that make the materials produce damaging CO2
emissions.
• Materials that are not produced locally are often shipped from across the
country or even from overseas. The transportation required for shipping these
materials has a considerable impact on air quality.
• There is a huge environmental impact associated with the extraction and
consumption of raw materials for the use of building materials, not to mention
the actual production of those materials in their final form. 40% of the world’s
raw materials are used in the construction of buildings.
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• Waste From Building Construction and Demolition

• Building waste often includes concrete, metals, glass, plastics, wood, asphalt, and
bricks, which is often disposed of in either landfills or incinerators.
• Not only does this pollute the land and the air, but the transportation required
to remove such waste has a major impact on the environment as well.
• According to the Environmental Protection Agency, in 2003 over 170 million
tons of debris were generated from the construction and demolition of
buildings in the U.S. alone, 61 percent of which were produced by non-
residential buildings.
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Green Buildings
• “Green building” or “sustainable building”
may seem like a trendy way to be
environmentally friendly, but it is actually
an important factor in lowering the
negative impact we have on the
environment.
• Green buildings not only benefit the
environment, but are also beneficial to the
people working in the building and has a
Malaysian Energy Commission, Putrajaya relatively lower overhead costs.
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• The benefits of green buildings can be grouped into three categories; environmental,
economic and social.
• Environmental Benefits
• One of the most important types of benefit green buildings offer is to our
climate and the natural environment. Green buildings can reduce or eliminate
negative impacts on the environment – by using less water, energy or natural
resources, and have a positive impact on the environment by generating their
own energy or increasing biodiversity.
• At a global level:
• The building sector has the largest potential for significantly reducing
greenhouse gas emissions compared to other major emitting sectors.
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• This emissions savings potential is said to be as much as 84 gigatonnes of

CO2 (GtCO2) by 2050, through direct measures in buildings such as energy
efficiency, fuel switching and the use of renewable energy.
• The building sector has the potential to make energy savings of 50% or
more in 2050, in support of limiting global temperature rises to 2°C (above
pre-industrial levels).
• At a building level:
• Green buildings achieving the Green Star certification in Australia have been
shown to produce 62% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than average
Australian buildings, and 51% less potable water than if they had been built
to meet minimum industry requirements.
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• Green buildings certified by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC)

results in energy savings of 40 - 50% and water savings of 20 - 30%
compared to conventional buildings in India.
• Green buildings achieving the Green Star certification in South Africa have
been shown to save on average between 30 - 40% energy and carbon
emissions every year, and between 20 - 30% potable water every year, when
compared to the industry norm.
• Green buildings achieving the Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) certification in the US and other countries have been shown
to consume 25 per cent less energy and 11 per cent less water, than non-
green buildings.
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• Economic Benefits
• Green buildings offer a number of economic or financial benefits, which are
relevant to a range of different people or groups of people. These include cost
savings on utility bills for tenants or households (through energy and water
efficiency), lower construction costs and higher property value for building
developers, increased occupancy rates or operating costs for building owners,
and job creation.
• At a global level:
• Global energy efficiency measures could save an estimated €280 to €410
billion in savings on energy spending (and the equivalent to almost double
the annual electricity consumption of the United States).
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• Canada’s green building industry

generated $23.45 billion in GDP and
represented nearly 300,000 full-time jobs
in 2014.
• Green building is projected to account for
more than 3.3 million U.S. jobs by 2018.
• At a building level:
• Building owners report that green
buildings - whether new or renovated -
command a 7 per cent increase in asset
value over traditional buildings.
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• Social Benefits
• Green building have been shown to bring positive social impacts too. Many of
these benefits are around the health and well-being of people who work in
green offices or live in green homes:
• Workers in green, well-ventilated offices recorded a 101 per cent increase
in cognitive scores (brain function).
• Employees in offices with windows slept an average of 46 minutes more per
night.
• Research suggests that better indoor air quality (low concentrations of CO2
and pollutants, and high ventilation rates) can lead to improvements in
performance of up to 8 per cent.
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ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
• Environmental law means the laws that

regulate the impact of human activities on
the environment.
• Environmental law covers a broad range
of activities that affect air, water, land,
flora or fauna.
• It includes laws that relate to land use
and development, pollution, waste
management, climate change and
emissions, water resource management,
etc.
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ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
• The general functions of most environmental laws are to:

Set policies and standards
Set offences and penalties for how activities will be
Assess, control or stop
for causing harm to the controlled and how
certain activities before
environment that is not environmental decisions
they are carried out
authorised and approvals will be
made
Create regulatory
Enable members of the
structures for
public to take part in Create specialist courts
environmental
environmental decision- and tribunals
management, such as
making
regulatory agencies
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ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
National Policy on the Environment

• The National Policy on the Environment or Dasar Alam Sekitar Nasional (DASN) was
established in 2002 for continuous economic, social and cultural progress and
enhancement of the quality of life of Malaysians through environmentally sound and
sustainable development.
• The objectives of DASN are to achieve:
• A clean environment, safe, healthy and productive environment for present and future
generations,
• Conservation of country’s unique and diverse cultural and natural heritage with effective
participation by all sectors of society, and
• Sustainable lifestyles and patterns of consumption and production.
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ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
• The 8 principles listed under DASN to harmonise economic development goals with
environmental imperatives:
Continuous
Conservation of
Stewardship of the Improvement in the
Nature’s Vitality and
Environment Quality of the
Diversity
Environment
Sustainable Use of Integrated Decision- Role of the Private

Natural Resources Making Sector
Active Participation in
Commitment and
the International
Accountability
Community
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ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
Environmental Laws in Malaysia

• Environmental Quality Act 1974
• Environmental Quality (Clean Air) Regulations 1978
• Environmental Quality (Sewage and Industrial Effluents) Regulations 1979
• Environmental Quality (Motor Vehicle Noise) Regulations 1987
• Environmental Quality (Schedule Wastes) Regulations 1989
• Environmental Quality (Control of Emission from Diesel Engines) Regulations 1996
• Land Conservation Act 1960

• National Forestry Act 1984
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ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
• National Park Act 1980

• Pesticides Act 1974
• Protection of Wildlife Act 1972
• Sewerage Services Act 1993
• Town and Country Planning Act 1976
• Sarawak Biodiversity Centre Ordinance 1997
• Sabah Biodiversity Enactment 2000
• Sabah Environment Protection Enactment 2002
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ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
Department of Environment (DOE)

• Established in 1975, the Department of Environment (DOE) of Malaysia or Jabatan
Alam Sekitar is responsible for the prevention, control and abatement of pollution in
the country through the enforcement of the Environmental Quality Act of 1974 and
its subsidiary legislation.
• DOE is the federal authority in Malaysia that also monitors air and water quality and
noise, manages toxic and hazardous wastes based on the “cradle-to-grave” principle
and implements the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system.
• DOE aims to conserve the uniqueness, diversity and quality of the environment with
the objective of maintaining health, prosperity, security and well-being for present
and future generations.
BDD/FKAAS/UTHM
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

• EIA is a study to identify, predict, evaluate and communicate information about the
impacts on the environment of a proposed project, and to detail out the mitigating
measures prior to project approval and implementation.
• EIA ensures potential problems are foreseen and addressed at an early stage, thus
will avoid costly mistakes in project implementation either because of:
• environmental damages that may arise during project implementation, or
• modifications that may be required subsequently in order to make the action
environmentally acceptable.
BDD/FKAAS/UTHM
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
• In Malaysia, EIA is required under section 34A of the Environmental Quality Act
1974, which specifies the legal requirements for prescribed activities.
• It empowers the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment after due
consultation, to prescribe any activity that may have significant environmental
impact as a “Prescribed Activity”.
• It requires the project proponent of a prescribed activity to submit an EIA
report to the Director General of Environmental Quality before approval for
the proposed activity is granted.
• The EIA report must be in accordance with DOE guidelines, contain an assessment
of the impact of the prescribed activity on the environment, and detail the proposed
measures to prevent, reduce or control adverse impacts on the environment.
BDD/FKAAS/UTHM
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
The Project Cycle and Integration of Environmental Activities

Environmental screening, site
Project selection, project options, scoping of
Concept significant issues
Monitoring
and Pre-feasibility
Evaluation
Environmental monitoring and Assessment of significant impacts,
auditing, lessons for future projects identification of mitigation needs,
input to cost/benefit analysis
Implementation Feasibility
Implementation of mitigation Design and Detailed design of mitigation

measures and environmental Engineering measures, preparation of
management plan environmental management plan
BDD/FKAAS/UTHM
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
Prescribed Activities
• The following are activities that may have significant environmental impacts,
according to the Environmental Quality (Prescribed Activities)(Environmental Impact
Assessment) Order 1987.
Agriculture Airport Drainage and Irrigation

BDD/FKAAS/UTHM
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
Land Reclamation Fisheries Forestry
Housing Industry Infrastructure

BDD/FKAAS/UTHM
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
Port Mining Petroleum
Power Generation and Quarry Railway

Transmission
BDD/FKAAS/UTHM
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
Transportation Resort and Recreation Development
Waste Treatment and Disposal Water Supply
BDD/FKAAS/UTHM
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
Role and Interest of Groups / Agencies in the EIA Process
Group / Agency Role Interest

Plan, develop and/or manage
Mainly economic but also
Project Initiator the key sector development
socio-economic
project
Project investor (leading How impacts affect the
Investment in key sector
agency and purchasers of viability of the project and
project
land) liabilities to be incurred
Extent of impacts the
Department of Environment
Decision on EIA report project has on land use and
(DOE)
adjacent development
BDD/FKAAS/UTHM
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

Extent of impact the project
Town and Country Planning
Zoning and land use has on land use and adjacent
Department (JPBD)
developments
Other government agencies Implications of the proposed
(DID, JKR, DOSH, Health, Relevant inputs in respective project on other projects or
Sewerage Services, areas of expertise activities in which they have
Agriculture, Fisheries, etc.) interest or wish to promote
Impacts are to be within
Approving Authority Project approval acceptable levels with no
significant residual effects
BDD/FKAAS/UTHM
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

Extent of impact the project
Zoning and development
Local Authorities has on land use and adjacent
control
developments
Relevant inputs for Impacts of project and how
Local Community
protection of local interests they affect the quality of life
BDD/FKAAS/UTHM

BFC 32202 Engineers &amp; Society Chapter 4 (Student Copy)

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BFC 32202 – ENGINEERS & SOCIETY