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IV. ASSESSING INTEGRATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL MEASURES INTO DEVELOPMENT PLANNING
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D. Major environmental issues in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur
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Kuala Lumpur comprises 10 per cent of the Klang valley region. Housing nearly two million people, it is the most densely populated and developed region of the country. In the nineteenth century, Kuala Lumpur came into existence as a mining town. The remaining 2.8 per cent of mine land constitutes what is left of the early activities of Kuala Lumpur. Much of the former mining land has been converted for housing. As a highly developed region, with over 30 per cent of the total national employment force, much of the manufacturing, commerce, transport and communications activities are located in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. Accordingly, a high proportion of the land will continue to be used for urban purposes. Urban areas are expanding in all directions and several agricultural areas have been converted for planned housing development. With the development of the Multimedia Super Corridor, Kuala Lumpur is expected to sustain its high growth, which is bound to impact on the environment. This section identifies the major environmental issues and the effectiveness of City Hall planning and management mechanisms in solving those issues.
Environmental problems encountered by City Hall of Kuala Lumpur are similar to those encountered in most rapidly growing urban areas of the region. The Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, as the largest economically advanced region in the country, has the highest concentration of transport vehicles, industries, population and development activities. In addition, it is faced with a continuing rise in population. Thus the following environmental problems have arisen: (a) air pollution; (b) noise pollution; (c) water pollution; (d) safe disposal of solid waste disposal; (e) safe disposal of toxic and hazardous waste; (f) flooding and siltation; (g) inadequate green belt and recreational areas (Selva, 1993).
A brief outline is given below of the environmental conditions of the environment in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, particularly with regard to air and water quality, solid-waste disposal and squatter-related environmental problems.
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