NST Leader: KL moves to protect green spaces amid development pressure

IN absorbing developmental pressure for more office, commercial and housing projects to meet surging demand, Kuala Lumpur is determined to prevent remaining land holdings from being transformed into a dreaded concrete jungle.

Somewhere in the capital's long-term planning lies a utopian mission to conserve remaining green lungs and create new recreational spaces.

As it stands, Kuala Lumpur has 470ha of officially gazetted open and green spaces across 552 protected lots, safeguarded for public use. Equivalent to 655 football fields, the green coverage, including reserved forests, parks and urban landscape trees, accounts for 45 per cent of the city's total urban space.

Also recently added to the land collective are nine additional open spaces covering 5.15ha gazetted last month, following the gazetting of 45 sites in April.

From these lots, City Hall has announced 49ha will be reserved for new recreational spaces and public parks. It will expand the city's network of green areas and recreational facilities, a strategic initiative that includes pre-development works and utilisation of Department of Irrigation and Drainage reserves along Sungai Bunus and Kolam Ayer Panas.

The new green spots cover the pond next to Jalan Tasik Permaisuri 3 and a phased project at the Kampung Bohol Retention Pond. According to Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh, the ultimate aim is to gazette and protect every valuable open and green space.

Gazettement would make it nearly impossible to arbitrarily convert them into commercial or residential developments. At the same time, residents can help monitor protected green lots via the MyHijau portal. Nevertheless, urban advocates vow to remain vigilant.

Despite the gazettement, policies and the demand for commercial supporting facilities can still impose pressure to release the land.

This is the conundrum: can these green areas be protected from progress that has eaten up the capital's open spaces? While reclaiming public green space has now been made more difficult, expensive and politically contentious, what happens after gazettement? Protecting these spaces means more than just a legal designation on a map.

City Hall needs effective monitoring and enforcement against encroachment, illegal structures, unauthorised commercial activities and erosion of intended use of spaces.

Greater transparency, while ideal, is a big challenge. If residents' vigilance is needed to safeguard green spaces, they should be instructed to identify protected areas, their boundaries and designated uses.

That's where the MyHijau portal is useful but public awareness and accessible reporting mechanisms are equally vital. Publishing regular updates on the status of protected open spaces, including applications to change their status or permitted use, would provide confidence that gazettement is not simply a piece of paper or a temporary safeguard.