SMART RANGER PROGRAMME

SMART (Start Managing All Resources Today) Ranger is an Environmental Education Programme for schools, communities and organistions to learn about the environment with a focus on natural and non-natural resource management in Malaysia. The SMART Ranger Programme initially began with a focus on solid waste management, where GEC managed to develop a proper system for a recycling programme.

Visit the SMART Ranger website!

Where did it all begin?

The concept of SMART Rangers came about during the three-year Kelana Jaya Lakes Rehabilitation Programme where three working groups on pollution reduction, rehabilitation and education came together to work with the community in achieving a better environment.

This soon led to a School Environment Education Programme where one of the main activities were Environment Education Camps where students could learn more about the environment and its management. There was also a clear focus on solid waste management in Malaysia, which was seen as a major environmental issue.

From there, Global Environment Centre saw the potential of proper education for school children on solid waste management and decided to develop and initiate the SMART Rangers Programme with an objective to train students and teachers to be 'recyling experts'. Support for this project came from the UNDP-GEF Small Grant and DANIDA in 2004.

Why?

At present, there is a lack of information, knowledge and education for the general public to take action on solid waste management issues. The local government is currently spending up to 40-70% of taxpayer's money annually for solid waste management alone, and is facing considerable problems with the rising amount of waste that the nation is producing. Less than 5% of all waste is being recycled, when up to 70% can actually be recycled or re-used in some way. In general, the average individual Malaysian is producing up to 2kg of waste per day with a per capita generation rate of 1kg/day. Our landfills are reaching their maximum capacity in the near future, and the government is looking into building incinerators to cope with the waste generation.

Proper education on the issues and how to manage solid waste properly for our younger generations can help to build a greener nation - one that is conscious of solid waste issues, and how to manage their waste responsibly.

Objectives

1. Create and enchance students' awareness on managing their resources.
2. A way for them to contribute to environmental well being.
3. To teach them the importance of reducing their waste and recycling.
4. To initiate a systematic and scheduled recycling programme for the school.
5. To help generate revenue for classroom activities.
6. To set-up a Recycling Collection Centre, where possible, on the school's ground.

Contact the River Care Programme team for more information!

Dr K. Kalithasan (Coordinator - River Care Programme)
Azli Abu Bakar (Senior Programme Officer)
Jagedeswari Marriappan (Programme Officer)
Muhammad Khairul Muhamad Isa (Programme Officer)
Sharmini Sunasee (Programme Officer)