Integrating Environmental Considerations into the Economic Decision-Making Process
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Volume 2East and Southeast AsiaMalaysia Index
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III. EXISTING INSTITUTIONS AND MEASURES FOR INTEGRATING ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS INTO DEVELOPMENT PLANNING AND DECISION-MAKING

[ III-A | III-B | III-C | III-D ]

C. Legislative requirements

[ C | C-1 | C-2 | C-3 ]

2.Protected areas

Among the various regulations that can be used to protect certain parcels of land from development, such as national parks, nature reservations, forests and historic sites, are:

  • Land use, which comes under the National Land Code (Act 56), 1965, which also covers rocks, minerals, forest areas and land reservation and classification, air space above land and underground land areas;
  • National parks, which come under the National Parks (Amendments) Act of 1983;
  • Nature reserves. So far, no law or ordinance has been introduced to cover nature reserves. However, wildlife is protected under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972;
  • Forestry Act. Forest areas in Malaysia, including Kuala Lumpur, are protected by, and under the jurisdiction of, the National Forestry Act (313), 1984:
  • Wetland National Policy. A national policy on wetlands is being formulated following the ratification of the Ramsar Convention (Convention on Wetlands of International Importance) in 1994. The National Steering Committee on the Ramsar Convention, which was formally established in August 1995, has designated a National Technical Committee to carry out the task of formulating the policy under the chairmanship of the Dean of the Institute of Advanced Studies, University of Malaya;
  • Historic site preservation. Conservation initiatives have been taken by public or private agencies for preserving many notable buildings in Kuala Lumpur. However, many other buildings and areas in the city are threatened by destruction through neglect or demolition as a result of redevelopment; it is to those buildings that City Hall has now turned its attention. Conservation is currently the concern of three agencies: the Tourist Development Corporation, City Hall of Kuala Lumpur and the National Trust of Malaysia. The three agencies operate through the Antiquities Act, 1976, which automatically protects all buildings which are over 100 years old. But there are many other buildings and shophouse areas which are of great architectural or historical interest, but which are not covered by the Act. There is provision under the Act to extend the listing of buildings that are not automatically protected on the basis of their age; indeed, whole areas as well as individual buildings can be covered under KLSP.
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