ECO646 ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS

INDIVIDUAL REFLECTION PAPER:

‘LET’S CLEAN UP OUR BEACH’

PREPARED FOR : MADAM SHAHARIAH BINTI ASMUNI

NAME : MUHAMMAD AMERUL AKMAL BIN AMER

STUDENT ID : 2017177783

GROUP : BA250 5A
 Assalamualaikum. My name is Muhammad Amerul Akmal bin Amer and I’m currently a
student of UiTM Puncak Alam pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Business Economics. In this
semester, we are required to study on Environmental Economics. This course teaches on
environmental issues, the problems that arise from economic development towards the
environment due to human activities and industrialization.

United Nations Development Programme, UNDP under its Sustainable Development Goal
suggests the urgency to end poverty, to protect the planet and ensure that everyone lives in peace
by the year 2030. In SDG 14: Life Under Water, it highlights the need to conserve and sustain
the use of oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. Its target include
reducing marine pollution, protect and restore the ecosystem, reduce marine acidification and to
conserver coastal and marine areas among many others.

In line with the call that was adhered by all United Nations Member States, we were instructed
by our course lecturer, Madam Shahariah Asmuni to conduct a beach clean-up project as part of
our assignment for the course. We proceeded with the set-up of a project committee among
members of the classroom and collaborated with a few nonprofit organizations, The Bulb On
Project, Reef Check Malaysia and students from the Faculty of Shariah and Law, Islamic Science
University of Malaysia, USIM.

Prior to the programme, we have shortlisted a few of the beaches in the state of Selangor and
Negeri Sembilan, namely Pantai Kelanang, Pantai Bagan Nakhoda Omar and Pantai Tanjong
Gemok in Selangor and Pantai Cahaya Negeri, Pantai Teluk Kemang and Pantai Tanjung Biru in
Negeri Sembilan. After thorough discussion with the committee members, we have decided to
conduct our programme in Pantai Teluk Kemang in Negeri Sembilan. The date selected was on a
sunny Saturday, 19 October 2019 and the date coincides with the International Clean-Up Coastal
Day.
During those meetings with the committee members which comprises of our classmates, we were
assigned to specific bureaus to ensure the flow of the programme was buttery smooth. Among
those bureaus are activity, catering, technical and logistics, multimedia, special task, souvenir
and certificates, medic and sponsorship. Each one of us were given specific set of tasks to be
completed prior, during and after the programme has ended. I was channeled into the multimedia
group with 2 other highly skilled groupmate.

The task that was assigned to us prior to the event was to come up with a design of the poster and
banner for the programme. After numerous alterations and consultations with the project
manager, Siti Nadjida, we decided to put a stop to the mouse clicking and the overheated laptop
running Adobe Illustrator and finalised the design for it. The images below are the said poster
and banner for our project which includes the details of the programme and the supporting
organisations that made this project a reality.
We were also instructed to design a certificate of appreciation to be given to the collaborating
team from The Bulb On Project and the students from Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM).
This task was undertaken by fellow group member, Danish Hafiz who came up with the beautiful
design of the certificate.
 On the day of the event, we gathered at the bus stop in UiTM at 6 in the morning to avoid
traffic congestion and to ensure that we arrive at the location early in the morning, We departed
at 6.30 and were given a light breakfast on the bus whilst on our way to the beach. The journey
took 2 hours when we arrived in Teluk Kemang at 9am and we assembled at a designated area
with TBOP and USIM students for a brief of the programme.

We started the day with a prayer recitation led by Asyraf and the floor was taken by Athifah
Najla for further briefing. We were divided into 10 groups and each group was assigned to
specific locations along the coastal area covering 400 meters per group. The total area covered
was 4km.

We were also handed out masking tape to write our name on and to be stuck onto our shirt for
easier recognition of the team members. Apart from that, each of us were given a set of gloves to
be worn for the entirety of the programme to ensure the safety of all members during the project
as there are hazardous materials and sharp objects that were to be found in the coastal area. Each
group was also given a few large sized heavy duty trash bags for trash collection. Each group
member was also instructed to install the Clean Swell app on their smartphone for data collection
purposes. The app will estimate the weight of the trash according to its categories and will be
shared across researchers for further actions to be taken.
Apart from collecting trash, we also engage with the locals who spent their weekend on the
beach, primarily kids to spread awareness on cleanliness of the beach and to ensure the
environment is to be kept safe for future generations. The waste collected can be categorized as
non-point source of pollution as we cannot identify whether the waste comes from the fisherman,
villagers or tourist who litters. On a side note, the waste found can be categorized as local
pollution as they are found not far from the common area where people gathered. It is also a
man-made pollution (anthropogenic) whereby the pollution is caused by us, humans.
During mid-day, we gathered at the initial assembly point to count and separate the trash
collected into its categories and the data was recorded. We found out that the total weight of the
trash collected for our group is roughly 3 kilograms.
As soon as the sorting of the trash and data collection was done, we gathered for a debriefing
session with every member who participated in the event. A token of appreciation was
exchanged by our dear lecturer, Madam Shahariah Asmuni, Puan Zuraidah Ismail, course
coordinator and the representatives from USIM and TBOP.
Before we wrapped up the programme, we gathered for a group photo session and lunch was
handed out shortly after. In my opinion, this programme really opened up my eyes on the
importance of cleanliness and to not litter as it will bring more harm than good. It will pollute the
environment as well as ‘pollute’ our eyes with unpleasant view of the nature. Each part of the
nation from governments to organisations as well as students and the general public should take
action and preserve the environment as it is vital to care for the one and only planet that has
endured thousands if not millions of years before humankind. Let’s not make our species the
reason this beautiful piece of land loses its resources.