Download November 2005 Issue - Malaysian Institute of Planners

14BALANCING ECOLOGY & DEVELOPMENTenvironmental devastation, the public are now taken totask for failing to understand and separate the two issues!The issue highlighted by the media was on ecologicalencroachment to the park. This was supported by visualsand personal visits to the site. Here, ecologicalencroachment doesn’t equate physical encroachment.There may not be any squatters setting up homes in thepark, however, the ecological encroachment brought on bythe massive land clearance activities adjacent to the parkis testimonial evidence of the ecological destruction takingplace. Although the park and the adjacent 1,200 ha pieceof land are different titles and therefore, belong to differentland owners, however, the basic premise of ecology stillstand and they are all in one system and cannot beconsidered as separate entities.It has been established that the delicate balance betweenecology and development had been tilted. However, Itmust be acknowledged that there is genuine concern forenvironmental protection and conservation of naturalresources by the Federal government. Malaysia, to itscredit, can boast of its development legislation and policieswhich are highly sensitive to environmental issues.There was a wave of environmental legislation and policiesfor environmental protection and conservation of naturalresources, even before independence. Land useplanning,, in Peninsular Malaysia is undertaken whollywithin the provision of Town and Country Planning Act(1976), Act 172 and it’s amendments in 1995. Thelegislation provides for a comprehensive framework for theintegrated approach to planning for the use, developmentand conservation of land and related resources.The Act was further amended in 1995 to take into accountmatters such as the preservation of natural topography,preservation of trees, the creation of open space andprovision for EIA as a tool for development control. Thegovernment has also drawn up guidelines for DevelopmentProposal Report, Tree Preservation Order, Protection ofNatural Topography and Conservation of Historical Areas.Malaysia’s land policies are environmentally sensitive butimplementation needs to be tightened. Clearly there is adisparity between good intention of the Federal andState governments and bad practice by the variousgovernment agencies and the people with authority.The question to be asked is how to incorporate theecological framework into the big sphere of politics ofdevelopment? To be able to incorporate ecologicalframework into the existing sphere, we first need tocomprehend the complexities of local politics, the degreeof societal consensus about planning issues, the capacityand commitment of the staff and leadership of localcouncils and other authorities, the interaction andenforcement style between developers and planningagencies and least not, the genuine commitment by thepolicy makers to place ecological considerations as aprime determinant in the development process.The ecological framework calls for an integration betweenthe built environment disciplines with the natural sciencedisciplines. The built environment professionals such asarchitects, urban planners, landscape architects, landsurveyors and civil engineers; and other alliedprofessionals and the natural scientists like ecologists,botanists, zoologist and geologists should have thecommon intention and share the responsibility to heal theailing environment. They can then merge their intellectualand professional know how into a more holistic approachto development.The natural science disciplines are especially valuablebecause it explains the carrying and loading capacity orthe limit of each land resources and it provides the builtenvironment professionals with the understanding of thelimit of the land for the proposed uses. They can aid in ourunderstanding of environmental stresses from global tolocal levels and in the selection of land uses mostcompatible with the environment.The expertise of the natural scientists should be tapped atthe early preliminary stage namely, the technical planningstage of development. This involves environmentalinventories and analysis of the soil types, plantassociations, microclimates, floodplains, land uses, waterfeatures, slopes as well as wetlands, valued habitats, andrare and endangered species. It also includesassessments of impacts that proposed land uses mayhave on the environment by use of quantitative andscientific methods which are more objective and notintuition-based. The ecological sensitivity of land must bemade the prime determinants in evaluating the suitability ofproposed development during decision-making process.Presently, we do have Environmental Impact Assessmentreport that is used as a planning tool for the authorities toevaluate proposed developments. However there aremany loopholes in the assessment itself whereby detailedand comprehensive ecosystem assessment where thebiotic components including plants, animals andmicroorganisms are lacking. Again the question ofexpertise, resources and commitment has affected theagency’s capacity to implement the policy.Last but not least, quality of life is maintained andsustained when man can live in perfect harmony with theMother Nature, when he is willing and able to take care ofthe environment, which will in turn take care of him. Seenfrom this perspective, have we maintained our quality oflife and have we taken care of our environment or have webecome Mother Nature’s worst enemy?Nik Hanita bte Nik MohamadA regular subscriber to New Straits Times and ecologistwho lectures in the Department of Landscape Architecture,Universiti Teknologi MARA. The writer can be contacted atnhanita@salam.uitm.edu.myBERITA PERANCANG