Strengthening Water Security in Penang via Self-reliance and Stakeholder Engagement
By Dr. Chan Ngai Weng
March 2022 FEATURE
MALAYSIA IS RICH in water resources, having 990 Billion Cubic Metres (BCM) of rainfall which translates into a surface runoff (mostly rivers) of 566 BCM. Its per capita annual renewable water of about 20,000m3 is nearly 12 times that of the international water stress line of 1,700m3.In contrast, Penang is a “water-poor” state, having only 2.58 BCM of rainfall and 1.03 BCM of surface runoff (Table 1), with its per capita annual renewable water at about 600m3, a third of...
Dr. Chan Ngai Weng
is a professor at Universiti Sains Malaysia. He is also currently president of Water Watch Penang, a member of the Malaysian Water Partnership and Malaysian Water Association, and previously vice-president of the International Water Resources Association (2013-2015). He is very active in civil society work, and has published 29 books and more than 100 journal papers. He is affectionately known as “Malaysia’s Waterman”.
