Tasik Chini is one of Unesco's Biosphere Reserves (BR), and the second largest natural freshwater lake in Peninsular Malaysia. However, since it was designated as reserve in 2009, the lake reportedly started to endure pollution as the byproduct of deforestation, mining, and plantation activities.
The Malaysiakini news portal visited the lake in June 2022, where it learned from Tasik Chini locals that they no longer will be able to depend on it as a water source due to alleged heavy contamination. It has come to the extent that villagers face water shortage problems despite living right beside a massive lake basin.
In this project, journalist Hariz Mohd engages an independent laboratory to conduct analysis on water samples from Tasik Chini and a water expert to get a better understanding of the extent of water pollution at the lake. They will try to establish how safe, or unsafe, the lake water is for human consumption and for the lake's flora and fauna.
