Integrating Environmental Issues into Spatial Planning - Local Plans in Sabah

1. Awareness-Raising &Public Participation: Final Analysis Integrating Environmental Issues into Spatial Planning - Local Plans in Sabah Boyd Joeman, AR & PP Adviser ELP Project Conference 14 Dec 2004, STAR

2. Awareness-Raising & Public Participation Outline • Part 1: Briefly explained – History of the AR & PP campaign • Part 2: The Achievements of the AR & PP campaign • Part 3: Results of the ELP Project Survey – SO FAR • Part 4: Recommendations – Doing AR & PP the Sabah Way (beyond the ELP Project Sabah)

3. Awareness-Raising & Public Participation Part 1: Briefly explained – History of the AR & PP campaign • A simple but systematic approach • Quality plan preparation = quality planning

4. AR & PP: October 2002 & 2003 Conferences & Exhibitions Techniques Practicalities

5. Planning Milestones Resolution to prepare District and Local Plans Formal Awareness-raising & Public Participation. “What can you tell us about your area?” Informal dialogue continues with Community Stakeholders Formal Awareness-raising & Public Participation. “What are your comments on these proposals?” Presentation to Local Authority Technical Process Establish Organisational Framework Data Collection: Regional Demography Employment Land Issues Dev. Pressures Infrastructure Services Eco-systems Land Use Topography Geology/Soils Drainage/Floods District Plan Data Analysis Constraints & Opportunities Generation of Alternatives Evaluation of Alternatives Details of District Plan Revisions of District Plan Refinement of Tools, Methods, Procedures & Guidelines. Processes Manual. Development of Tools, Methods, Procedures & Guidelines Define Local Plan areas Refine Local Plan areas Define Scope of Plans Local Plan Data Analysis Constraints & Opportunities Details of Local Plans Revisions of Local Plans Plan Timing 15 months Note: 1) After presentation to Local Authority (for Districts 1 & 2), includes promotion of agency co-operation for implementation activities if the plans are approved during the project life. Plan Preparation Process Note: 1)

6. AR & PP: A systematic approachWhat? When? Where? Why? How? • Objective: to get the public involved at the very beginning of the plan preparation process • Meaning: before the formulation of the policies and proposals • Purpose: to get feedback on what the public, esp. the local community, wanted us to consider during the plan preparation and to include those that were relevant in the new Plans

7. Who got involved? Everyone! • Government Depts. and Agencies • Community leaders • Private Sector • UMS, Colleges & Schools • NGOs • Local residents • Knowledge • Information • Expertise • Experience • Networking • Capacity-building

8. Implementing the Techniques “MYCOMMUNITY MYDISTRICT PLAN”

9. AR & PP: So what did we do? Started a campaign • Information gathering – site visits; fact-finding trips • Meetings with the District Officers & officials; departmental representatives • Briefings – Tuaran MP, ADUN, Ministers, community leaders, NGOs etc • Set up AR & PP Task Forces (local participation) • Capacity-building & Networking: Computers to the District Councils

10. What we did? Started a campaign • T-shirts, banners, balloons, information leaflets, calendars, mugs, car stickers etc • Newspaper campaigns & coverage; TV & Radio broadcasts • Exhibitions, Public Forum & Workshops • UMS; Colleges; Schools

11. Awareness-Raising & Public Participation Part 2: The Achievements of the AR & PP Campaigns

12. AR & PP Achievements • 16 separate public exhibitions – central role: c4000 people. • 130 weeks of public consultations (Sept 2002 to June 2004); • 280 (A0 size posters); 152 (A1s) and 128 (A3s) posters for the exhibitions, conferences and workshops; • Public forums – Sandakan and Tuaran; • Exhibition information booklets (in English, Bahasa Melayu, Kadazandusun & Chinese);

13. Exhibitions: “Planning for and with the Local Community”

14. Community Participation: Sandakan & Tuaran Districts Public Forum – Listening & Understanding

15. AR & PP Achievements • 1,815 separate comments; • Survey:‘In 5 Short Sentences’ Survey: on what people liked or didn’t like about their District, town, village or neighbourhood; • Booklets on the Results of all the Exhibitions in the 4 pilot Districts. BOOK • c500 CDs about the ELP Project given to Government officers; Districts; the public;

16. AR & PP Achievements • Involvement of cabinet ministers and ADUN (electoral constituencies) – YB Datuks Hajiji bin Hj. Mohd. Noor; Salleh Mohd Said, Wences Angang, John Ghani, Louis Rampas, Wilfred Tangau MP Tuaran District; Edward Linggu; Wilfred Mojilip Bumburing; • Networking/Capacity-building – the Districts, Government, the PACOS Trust, Kadazandusun Language Foundation, UMS, EAC, NGOs, business & interest groups; • Presentation briefings (progress and advice) – ELP Project committees (Project Steering, Technical, and Project Management Group);

17. Briefings & Meetings with key community leaders

18. Planning with Young People

19. Schools’ involvement

20. AR & PP Achievements • 58 newspaper reports (special reports) in 8 state and local newspapers; • Press releases for the exhibitions; • Media (newspapers and TV) interviews at the exhibitions: YB Puan Hajjah Azizah DSP Hj. Mohd. Dun; YB Datuk Tham Nyip Shen; and YB DSP Lajim Hj. Ukin; • Newspaper interviews – ELP Project team officers and advisers; Datuk Dayang Adeline Leong, the President, Sandakan MC; and Ms. Inge-Marie Lorenzen, the then Counsellor (Environment) from the Danish Embassy in Kuala Lumpur;

21. “The benefits of seeking local inputs were the intimate local knowledge of the area, greater awareness of what is going on in their area and local issues, problems and opportunities.” Borneo Mail

22. “Sandakan takes good lead in ‘planning with the people’” – DE 22/9/02 Berita Harian Merdeka

23. AR & PP Achievements • 15 newspaper advertisements (in E, BM, KD & C) informing the public about the ELP Project and the plan preparations; • Media Champions - Kan Yaw Chong (The Daily Express), Michael Teh (New Sabah Times); Francis Cham (Asia Times) and June Lai (RTM Radio Sabah). • 20 RTM Radio Sabah 92.7fm (Live and pre-recorded appearances; BM and Dusun channels);

24. Awareness-Raising: Media Campaigns

25. AR & PP Achievements • Posters: ‘Stop Lighting Fires!’ and ‘My Community My Environment My World’; • Info Leaflets: ‘What are District and Local Plans?’; ‘Awareness-Raising and Public Participation’; ‘District in Numbers’; ‘Urban Design for Sabah’; and a leaflet on the ELP Project Sabah 2001 to 2005; • The use of banners to inform the public of the exhibitions

26. AR & PP Achievements • Thousands – Polo and t-shirts, hats, car stickers, pens and pencils; • 900 calendars (2004); • 300 desk planners (2005); • 600 ELP Project mugs; • 600 Conference bags; • 200 balloons – ATC flights; towards Kinabalu (Pekan Nabalu), Kundasang, Tamparuli

27. AR & PP Techniques: Newspapers, RTM Radio Sabah, TV3, posters, banners, t-shirts, balloons, car stickers, calendars etc. Daily Express; New Sabah Times; Borneo Post; Borneo Mail; Asia Times; Berita Harian; Overseas Chinese Daily News; See Hua Daily News, Berita Harian Merdeka

28. Taking Planning to the Community Kg. Lokos Kiulu Kuala Penyu Kg. Pahu

29. Community Briefing & Participation: With Community Leaders & NGOs With Federal Minister With ADUN Kiulu With KKs & JKKKs – Kuala Penyu District

30. AR & PP Achievements • Policy & Proposals formulation – feedback from the public through the exhibitions, workshops, meetings etc: • Policy on Major Development Proposals; • Policy on Village Appraisals; and • Planning Brief Template. • Emails • www.townplanning.sabah.gov.my/elp

31. AR & PP Achievements – The Public’s response Part 3: The Results of the AR & PP Survey SO FAR … Annie Ong, AR & PP Unit ELP Project Conference 14 Dec 2004, STAR

32. The ELP Project Questionnaire A survey of the effectiveness of the Awareness-Raising & Public Participation Campaigns carried out as part of the preparation of District and Local Plans in Sandakan, Tuaran, Kuala Penyu and Beaufort.

33. PURPOSE to find out how much the public know about district and local plans following their involvement in or knowledge of the preparation of such plans in the 4 pilot districts.

34. Results of the ELP Project Questionnaire

35. 9% 25% 12% 17% 19% 18% How much do you understand by the term ‘environment’ in the context of District and Local Plans?

36. 5% 5% 38% 26% 26% What do you think of your environment before the new District Plan was prepared?

37. 6% 23% 7% 11% 21% 16% 16% How did you know that a District Plan was being made (prepared) for your District?

38. 4% 9% 35% 9% 17% 26% What made you come to the exhibitions?

39. 11% 25% 16% 21% 25% What new things did you learn about your District at the exhibitions?

40. Was there enough information at the exhibitions to help you decide how to make comments on the planning issues highlighted?

41. YES [ ] Why? Lengkap dan mencukupi kerana pelan yang disediakan dan perancangan menepati keperluan semua pihak berkepentingan. Tempoh masa untuk memberi komen dan cadangan juga mencukupi. NO [ ] Why? Perbanyakkan lagi pameran-pameran yang meluasdi kampung-kampung di Sabah dan merangkumi kawasan-kawasan kampung yang ingin dimajukan.

42. What do you consider to be the main planning issues in your district? 24% 12% 10%

43. INFRASTRUCTURE • Komen saya terhadap perkara no.1 iaitu infrastruktur khasnya jalan raya dan jambatan sangat-sangat diperlukan di daerah Kuala Penyu. • Kalaulah jalan raya dinaik taraf, masa perjalanan dari Kota Kinabalu ke Kuala Penyu akan menjadi lebih singkat. • Jambatan yang menghubungkan Kg. Palu-Palu dengan Kuala Penyu sangat sangat diperlukan kerana perkhidmatan feri sedia ada selalu rosak dan ini menyusahkan penduduk yang bergantung kepada perkhidmatan tersebut.

44. COMMUNITY FACILITIES • The issues I want to comment is the infrastructure, without any of the infrastructure, I would believe the rest of the planning will not be possible. • If roads and bridges are not built to connect remote villagers to the central district, children would have difficulty in going to schools or even hospital. With power lines, even the remote area would be able to tune into the radio/television in order to update themselves with the latest news or development.

45. I consider the provision of basic infrastructure, which include ensuring a steady supply of water and power, as most important in any Council Planning. With this, should come affordable housing (but this does not have to mean small space for crowded living condition), and community facilities as well as for recreation and leisure. • The planning should not be only to provide the basics, but also to ensure proper planning of the layout of roads and buildings.

46. 8% 54% 35% When the new District Plan policies and proposals are implemented, my District will be better off than it is now?

47. How will you continue to play an active part in the future planning of your District? 28% 25%

48. Awareness-Raising & Public Participation Part 4: Doing AR & PP … The Sabah Way? “MYCOMMUNITY MY DISTRICT PLAN”

49. AR & PP: The Sabah Way? • Guidance Manuals – Best Practice for Sabah • TRPD & the Local Planning Authorities (District Councils) – Continue working with your communities: keeping the people regularly informed & involved • The Planning System Online – TRPD Website • The TRPD Planning Reception Office – 5th Floor (Feb 2005)

50. AR & PP: The Sabah Way? • The Radio – language sections: regular features, rural areas & the radio • The Newspapers – Press releases, conferences and articles: Champions • The Kg. Bayangans of Sabah: Gotong Royong spirit of community (sense of belonging) – Village Appraisals