V. CASE STUDY: MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION OF FRESHWATER RESOURCES IN KUALA LUMPUR
[ V-A | V-B | V-C | V-D ]
C. Protection of water quality and habitats
[ C | C-1 | C-2 | C-3| C-4| C-5| C-6| C-7| C-8 ]
2. Catchment protection
Without catchment protection, the Klang River and its tributaries will remain heavily silted, no matter what other steps are taken in Kuala Lumpur. It is therefore important to Kuala Lumpur that the remains of forest reserves in Selangor to the north and east of the Federal Territory be maintained as natural forest cover. There should be no logging in the forest reserves upstream of Kuala Lumpur without a thorough EIA study. That approach will ensure that the rivers do not suffer and that mitigating measures are sufficient. For the same reasons, there should not be any piecemeal logging of forest reserves upstream of Kuala Lumpur.
The ecosystems of rivers throughout the city would be further improved if fringing vegetation were to be protected wherever possible in riparian reserves. The protection zone should be strictly enforced and within that zone, damage to river banks and vegetation should be strictly prevented, and construction of buildings prohibited. Currently, river reserves are gazetted and efforts should be channelled into rehabilitating the rivers and landscaping the reserves so that they can serve a recreational function and even as a wildlife habitat.
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