The Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) aims to create a network of ecological and physical pathways that connect isolated green spaces within the Klang Valley for both the community and wildlife in the next three years.
The project, called Rantaian Urban Green Spaces or RUGS, is aimed at:
- Establishing an unbroken physical footpath for the public to appreciate green spaces in the Klang Valley.
- Creating an ecological pathway for wildlife movement.
- Improving biodiversity value in the Klang Valley.
The initiative will encourage wildlife movement between green spaces, while local communities will be able to utilise the pathways for recreational and educational purposes, including learning and better appreciating Malaysia’s natural heritage.
RUGS project manager Donovan Louis, said the three-year effort, made possible through a grant from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is also focused on creating a contiguous forest cover landscape and restoring degraded landscapes along the pathways through tree-planting initiatives.
MNS, he said, is working together with various stakeholders, including civil society organisations, local communities, government entities (city councils and forestry departments), research and academic institutions, and the public sector, to establish a sustainable green environment to improve community livelihood in the Klang Valley.
Green spaces in the project refer to areas of land that is underdeveloped and covered with greenery, including community forests, urban forests and wetlands, urban parks, riparian areas, gardens, playgrounds, and vacant lots.
“It may sound ambitious but the idea is not new. It was planned some 30 years ago by a group of conservationists,” said Louis, who added that the UNDP grant was only just obtained in April this year.
“We are using existing community parks and forest covers in Kuala Lumpur, going up to the Main Range, which is Gombak and Bukit Dinding, and it will follow through all the forest covers, going down to greater Kuala Lumpur, to communities like Bukit Kiara, Setia Alam, and the coastal side in Klang and Pulau Ketam.”
Apart from recreational, Louis said RUGS is designed for animals in these areas as they need a route for a home range.
It will also demonstrate the variety of Malaysian forest landscapes and the diversity of wildlife in the Klang Valley.
To the uninitiated, RUGS will serve as an urban escape. The concept is similar to Singapore’s Park Connector Network.
MNS proposes to steward the establishment of RUGS in the centre of the Klang Valley, with the initial focus (first phase) on connecting the green spaces of Damansara Arc to Federal Hill, and extending it to Ampang Jaya. Those involved in the project are currently engaged in ground-truthing work.
“We have been going around and have identified 13 clusters of forests within the Damansara Arc, and are working towards establishing the biodiversity in the area,” said Louis, adding that the group is also looking at the linkage, on how to connect one area to a neighbouring area.
“The linkage we are referring to here, is the possible physical pathway, where we assume animals will cross. Our viewpoint are from birds – how they perch from one spot to another, or by looking at mammals like squirrels, that use a canopy of trees to lean from one place to another. We will later move to the terrestrial aspects (reptiles and amphibians).”
Louis however, said the group needs to be careful with the information that is released to the public, especially concerning wildlife.
“While we want people to know that it is possible to jog from Ampang to Petaling Jaya without interference thanks to viaducts, we do not want to alert potential wildlife traffickers to areas teeming with wildlife, such as pangolins, for example,’ he said.
“As such, we are working with the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, to ensure that sensitive information will remain classified.”
Louis said green landscapes that have been identified, will not just be well-defined to the public, but will also be restored and rehabilitated through tree-planting initiatives.
The end goal after three years, according to Louis, is to ensure there is green space “ownership”.
“We want to empower people to take collective action in advocating for the protection and rehabilitation of green spaces through participatory landscape planning, and also empower local communities to take ownership of the landscape.”
“We also hope that the data gathered for the project will help policymakers make informed decisions on conservation management in areas that require additional protection or management.”
He said RUGS is focusing on green spaces in the Klang Valley first to enable people to “see” the bigger picture, i.e. the plight facing the national landscape.
“We have to do it in the city first, so that people will understand why such an effort must also be carried out for our Main Range (Titiwangsa range) – the ‘backbone’ of Peninsular Malaysia – and why it should not be disturbed.”
