PUTRAJAYA: The concept of 'tree removal' and the establishment of a green area trust fund to encourage public-private partnerships are among the matters discussed in the first meeting of the urban tree management task force in Kuala Lumpur held on Wednesday (June 26).

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa (pic) said the "whole-of-nation" approach was able to increase the competence of the green landscape while maintaining the percentage of green areas in Kuala Lumpur as targeted by the Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2040.

"The sharing of knowledge and information is expected to produce more comprehensive guidelines as well as take best practices from other countries in the maintenance and management of shade trees in Kuala Lumpur.

"It can also help in data sharing to improve the existing e-tree mapping system at DBKL in recording tree inventory data, old tree registers, new tree planting and tree maintenance work and has now recorded a total of 236,551 trees planted all over Kuala Lumpur," she said in a statement on Wednesday.

Besides Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) as the leader, the meeting also involved academicians from Universiti Putra Malaysia, the Institute of Landscape Architects Malaysia (ILAM), the Forestry Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM), the Malaysian Arborist Association and several government agencies including the Federal Territories Department, National Landscape Department, Royal Malaysian Police, Fire and Rescue Department and Kuala Lumpur Civil Defence Department.

According to Dr Zaliha, the task force also needs to examine the tree replacement plan by focusing on the 1 Million Tree Planting Programme in Kuala Lumpur and paying attention to factors including tree species, tree planting space and root depth.

The establishment of the task force follows several incidents of trees falling due to heavy rain and strong winds including on May 7 in which an uprooted tree claimed the life of a man and crashed into 17 vehicles and the Monorail track on Jalan Sultan Ismail.- Bernama

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/06/26/tree-removal-green-area-trust-fund-among-issues-discussed-during-first-meeting-of-urban-tree-management-task-force