9th June 2011,
My family, we all, had a trip to Bakun. It was a nice, close to nature and exciting trip indeed. Yet, the whole journey would throw you into a deep thought :- the price we, the human and the Mother Nature have to pay for what we call as- Development.. Well, let the pictures tell most of the story to you... (Actually there are more pics, but I guess these are enough already.. hihi.. :p)
Early in the morning, about 8am, we set off to Bakun with a long-boat..
The journey along the river was so fascinating. Since I was small, I have always love to watch the nature, especially the forests and the trees that line up the river banks.. For me, the panorama from this viewpoint is just so peaceful and soothing... At some part of the river, the water was so calm, acting like a mirror, reflecting the sunray from the sun that gradually rises that peaceful morning..
So, here's the journey along the river that my brothers manage to capture..
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| Some logging activities... Haiz.... |
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| The clouds look like fish scales.. :) |
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| Beautiful rocks |
The journey along the river with the long-boat was undeniably an enjoyable and pleasant one.... For me, it's something words and even pictures couldn't describe... It's something you have to experience it yourself. With the wind gently brushing through the face and hair, and the panoramic view, everything was just so mesmerizing...
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| Zon Larangan 2km di Hadapan??? o.0 Who cares? hahaha... xD |
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| Bakun dam from the outside view... |
Around 9am, finally after about 1 hour journey, we reached Bakun.
We get on the land, and continue our journey with another boat and another boat-driver....
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| 2400 MEGAWATTS energy to be generated |
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| Going to take another boat.. |
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| Looks like city above water... haha.. The dying lone tree somehow looks attractive |
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| Zoom in! |
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| Long-boats (perahu panjang) |
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| Once a very tall tree, now, without climbing, you can easily touch the top of the trees...But for sure, you'll need a boat :p |
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| Currently the water level inside the reservoir is around 204m.. |
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| The place where the Eight Giant Dynamo (or Turbine? idk..haha) are placed |
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| Once a peaceful land, the people's village, now, it looks like a big ocean |
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| Dying trees... Drowned by the water |
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| Awesome! |
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| I'm dying...I'm drowning!!! Help me!! |
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| A fish rearing place by the locals-the place floats on the water! |
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| Fishing |
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| Next stop: waterfall... |
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| What's that? A frog? A toad??? o.0 |
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| Another dying tree... |
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| The next waterfall... |
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| Refreshing!! |
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| Beautiful! |
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| This looks like two hands, holding together, refuse to let go one another... xD |
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| Breathtaking! |
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| The sky, slowly turns darker.... |
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| On the way home... |
We reached home around 7pm... I'm seriously tired of this journey... Climbing the waterfall ^^ and all other stuff.. We also manage to catch a lot of fish, well, small fishes to be exact. :)
Along the way home, I've been thinking...WoW! It was really a very very big land that have been flooded for the construction of this dam! From what I've been told, upon completion, the whole thing will cover the area as big as or even bigger than Singapore..
Think about the trees that have been drowned and will be drowned soon... Think about the pity animals that loses their homes and also the natives which have to be relocated, forced to leave their homeland in order to give way to the completion of this dam..Ya, it's true that this dam may lead to a cleaner and more sustainable energy...But in the process, a huge area of forests had also been flooded.. And I bet, the beautiful waterfall will not exist anymore upon the completion of this project.
Here is also some extracts from Wikipedia:
"The rainforest of this part of Southeast Asia (Bakun) has some of the highest rates of plant and animal endemism, species found there and nowhere else on Earth, and this dam has done irreparable ecological damage to that region."
"Construction of the dam required the relocation of more than 9,000 native residents (mainly Kayan/Kenyah) of the indigenous peoples who lived in the area to be flooded. Many Sarawak natives have been relocated to a longhouse settlement named Sungai Asap in Bakun. Most of them were subsistence farmers. Each family were promised 3 acres of land but many families still have not been compensated."
"Concerns were raised also about such things as the relocation of people; amount of virgin tropical rainforest which had to be cut down (230 km²); possible dam collapse issues; increase in diseases with water-borne vectors such as schistosomiasis, opisthorchiasis, malaria, and filariasis; and sediment accumulation shortening the useful lifespan of the dam."
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakun
See the environmental damages resulted from Bakun dam construction?? How long can it actually last? Can it last, long enough to make up for the submersion of the floras and faunas and also the natives' ancestral land?
There are actually tonnes more issues regarding this mega-project, and I'm tired of reading it... If you are interested you may google it up or read more from the links I've provided at the bottom..
It is not that I'm objecting this mega-project. It has been started, is in the progress and will be completed soon after all. I just hope that it can really contribute to our society, last, really long enough to compensate what have been lost, and please never ever collapse until the day it cannot been used anymore, or else, who knows what will happen...A disastrous flood maybe??
Anyway, I had a wonderful trip with my family that day.. It brings us even closer together after months of not-being-together since my brother and I are away from home during school time :) Hope we can have more sweet memories together.. xp
Love,
LiXian
Bakun Dam Fast Facts:
- The Bakun Hydroelectric Dam is the second highest concrete faced rockfill dam in the world.
- Bakun dam is 207 metres high with a reservoir surface area of nearly 70,000 hectares, about the size of Singapore.
- Bakun Lake will be the biggest lake in Malaysia by storage volume.
- Bakun Lake will be the largest lake in Malaysia by surface area, even though it is not apparent on the map, due to the sliver shape of the various lake tributaries, as a result of location in the highland valleys.
- Bakun Power Station will be the largest hydroelectric dam in Malaysia, surpassing the currently largest Pergau Dam's power station in Malaysia.
- Bakun submarine power cable will be the longest in the world, surpassing the current Norway to Netherland submarine cable. (not sure whether this proposal will be continued)
- Experts, engineers, specialists and consultants worldwide are involved in this mega-project.
- Upon completion, the Bakun Dam will generate 2400MW of clean electricity.
- Bakun Dam is emission-free and has a 0% impact on global warming.
More about Oppositions & Critics on Bakun Dam at:
References & External links:
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