malaysian naturalist, march 2018
THE Malaysian Nature Society’s proposal to create the Urban Community Forest (UCF) Network is based on its commitment towards protecting the architectural and natural heritage of Bukit Persekutuan, where its headquarters is based, says Ar. John Koh, the MNS Board of Trustees Chairman.
Speaking to the Malaysian Naturalist after the Networking Session at the ninth edition of the World Urban Forum (WUF2018), Koh says MNS’s location within building JKR641 on Jalan Kelantan, itself a Federal Hill heritage landmark, led to the Society’s commitment towards its surroundings.
“Ten years or so ago, I mooted the idea that MNS should work with other interest groups interested in saving Federal Hill,” which resulted in Badan Warisan Negara sitting down with MNS on this initiative, he says. And despite a failed bid to get the Museum of Natural History to be set up in the area (it is now in Putrajaya), he hopes there will still be opportunities to boost architectural restorations and natural heritage protection for the area.
Speaking to the Malaysian Naturalist after the Networking Session at the ninth edition of the World Urban Forum (WUF2018), Koh says MNS’s location within building JKR641 on Jalan Kelantan, itself a Federal Hill heritage landmark, led to the Society’s commitment towards its surroundings.
“Ten years or so ago, I mooted the idea that MNS should work with other interest groups interested in saving Federal Hill,” which resulted in Badan Warisan Negara sitting down with MNS on this initiative, he says. And despite a failed bid to get the Museum of Natural History to be set up in the area (it is now in Putrajaya), he hopes there will still be opportunities to boost architectural restorations and natural heritage protection for the area.
Bukit Persekutuan is one of the last remaining green lungs in Kuala Lumpur, and the only low-rise forested areas in the highly developed Bangsar-KL Sentral-Damansara triangle. It is a historical site dating back to the formation of the Federated Malay States, with representation of eight states in the road names and its build up in the British Colonial era. The buildings were erected from early in the 1900s, and used as government offices and residences for British officers. JKR641 itself once housed the National Science Centre and was marked in area maps as far back as the 1920s, while prominent buildings are the Galeria Sri Perdana on Jalan Terengganu, the former residence of the Prime Minister now run as a museum, and the palaces of the states of Kedah, Perak and Negeri Sembilan.
UCF Bukit Persekutuan is an initiative to empower local communities to protect their green spaces, and is a novel endeavour for the city centre, offering city dwellers a place to appreciate nature, in doing so improve their well-being. The initiative now boasts new forest trails, a nursery focusing on forest trees to assist in replanting efforts across the country and a resource centre for the use of the community.
Things to see and enjoy within this 74.4ha of regenerated forests include an impressive range of flora and fauna within such a small area, as found by a survey in 2007. They include bats, six species of amphibians, 65 types of birds, 39 types of butterflies and moths, and two types of fireflies.
Koh says MNS has become the custodian of these treasures, and seeks to boost the participation of a wide range of people in its protection. This includes local communities, young children and uniformed groups as well as MNS members, volunteers and corporate sector supporters, coming together for recreational and CSR activities at UCF Bukit Persekutuan, such as treeplanting and nature walks.
His hopes also go far beyond this, with ambitions for green connectors linking UCF Bukit Persekutuan to the Perdana Botanical Gardens, Taman Tugu and Carcosa Seri Negara to create an extensive green network and flyway. Koh is also proposing JKR641 to be upgraded into Rumah Tapir, a central meeting point that is welcoming to MNS members, local communities, resident associations and anyone keen on promoting and living a green life.
To some, Kuala Lumpur may seem to still be verdant, but its green lungs currently stand at a depressing 6.2% of the total land area of the city (demarcated as “open space”, and not necessarily forest cover, as noted in the KL Structure Plan). This, MNS believes, is not enough to ensure the health and wellbeing of those who live in, and breathe the air of, Kuala Lumpur.
MNS wants to impel a change in people’s mindset about cherishing urban forests to make a city truly liveable and healthy. “If we want to be a developed nation, it’s not about high income. It’s the ability to inculcate environmental values that raises us beyond merely ‘making a living’ ,” Koh says.
UCF Bukit Persekutuan is an initiative to empower local communities to protect their green spaces, and is a novel endeavour for the city centre, offering city dwellers a place to appreciate nature, in doing so improve their well-being. The initiative now boasts new forest trails, a nursery focusing on forest trees to assist in replanting efforts across the country and a resource centre for the use of the community.
Things to see and enjoy within this 74.4ha of regenerated forests include an impressive range of flora and fauna within such a small area, as found by a survey in 2007. They include bats, six species of amphibians, 65 types of birds, 39 types of butterflies and moths, and two types of fireflies.
Koh says MNS has become the custodian of these treasures, and seeks to boost the participation of a wide range of people in its protection. This includes local communities, young children and uniformed groups as well as MNS members, volunteers and corporate sector supporters, coming together for recreational and CSR activities at UCF Bukit Persekutuan, such as treeplanting and nature walks.
His hopes also go far beyond this, with ambitions for green connectors linking UCF Bukit Persekutuan to the Perdana Botanical Gardens, Taman Tugu and Carcosa Seri Negara to create an extensive green network and flyway. Koh is also proposing JKR641 to be upgraded into Rumah Tapir, a central meeting point that is welcoming to MNS members, local communities, resident associations and anyone keen on promoting and living a green life.
To some, Kuala Lumpur may seem to still be verdant, but its green lungs currently stand at a depressing 6.2% of the total land area of the city (demarcated as “open space”, and not necessarily forest cover, as noted in the KL Structure Plan). This, MNS believes, is not enough to ensure the health and wellbeing of those who live in, and breathe the air of, Kuala Lumpur.
MNS wants to impel a change in people’s mindset about cherishing urban forests to make a city truly liveable and healthy. “If we want to be a developed nation, it’s not about high income. It’s the ability to inculcate environmental values that raises us beyond merely ‘making a living’ ,” Koh says.