The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is to develop an environmental performance index as a yardstick to gauge the environmental management performance of every state next year.

Minister Douglas Uggah Embas said the Malaysia Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2012 would be developed in collaboration with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) under the 10th Malaysia Plan (2011-2015).

He said the cabinet has agreed to the ministry's proposal which also had the support of the various federal agencies.

"At the moment, we do not have an indicator on the public response to environmental issues, like climate change, being discussed by a lot of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) at dialogues and conferences, or the performances of local bodies like the Kuching City South Hall in managing solid and sewage waste disposal and number of acreages on trees planted," he said.

Speaking to reporters after officiating at the Kuching Division Journalists Association (KDJA) Car Boot Sale and Sports Day at the Kuching Integrated Sports Complex, he said it would also help the ministry in terms of resource allocation and manpower needs.

Generally, Malaysia's standing is at 54th position among 163 countries worldwide under the Global EPI 2010 based on quantitative data obtained from the World Health Oganisation, United Nations Global Environmental Monitoring System, government agencies, NGOs and academia, he said.

The Malaysia EPI 2012 will also address issues pertaining to socio-economic sustainability as one of the data to include three categories of policy on resources efficiency, environmental governance as well as environmental awareness and behaviour.

On Budget 2012 announced by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak on Friday, Uggah said his ministry was happy to have received a 100 percent increase in allocation for flood mitigation to RM2 billion under the Second Rolling Plan of the 10th plan, and added that it reflected the serious need to address such calamities.

He said the ministry's 2003 River Study showed that 4.8 million of the Malaysian population was affected by floods from time to time but the number had since reduced following the implementation of various flood mitigation projects involving a population of one million throughout the country.

"Our flood mitigation programmes need to be intensified as there are some new areas which were never hit by floods before, including in northern Perlis, Kedah and during the recent by-election in Tenang, Johor," he said, adding that the ministry also received an allocation of RM136 million for river planning and upgrading programmes next year.

Out of the total 570 rivers nationwide monitored by his ministry, he said, 74 rivers were classified as polluted, 203 as moderately polluted and the rest as clean.

- Bernama