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Being a former environmental science student, the preceding video strikes me as a very large problem. In class last year, we did an activity that demonstrated the harmful effects of mining land. The activity involved us "mining" for chocolate chips in cookies with toothpicks. After mining, we had to "reclaim" land and hypothetically try to reculture the area that we had affected. In the real world, however, reclaiming land is not as easy as it seems.
Mining in Malaysia is becoming a very large environmental problem because it affects the whole layout of the land. By illegally mining, the miners are polluting local rivers and streams, causing a massive case of soil erosion, as well as damaging tree roots of the natural forests. Granted, many of these people have been mining for gold in the state of Johor for decades, but they do not realize the harm they are causing to the environment. The Malaysian forest officials have warned against mining, however, it does not seem as though they are actually enforcing any laws against mining for gold in forest areas.
The increased price of gold along with the falling economy of today causes many people to mine more frequently, and their actions are understandable seeing as they simply want to support their families. However, in the environmental persepective, what these people are doing to the land causes much more devastation than they could even imagine. I really hope that the Malaysian government will be able to find a way to stop illegal mining in Johor.
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