Saiful Arif Abdullah

Planetary Stewardship in an Urbanizing World: Beyond City Limits

Cities are rapidly increasing in importance as a major factor shaping the Earth system, and therefore, must take corresponding responsibility. With currently over half the world’s population, cities are supported by resources originating from primarily rural regions often located around the world far distant from the urban loci of use. The sustainability of a city can no longer be considered in isolation from the sustainability of human and natural resources it uses from proximal or distant regions, or the combined resource use and impacts of cities globally. The world’s multiple and complex environmental and social challenges require interconnected solutions and coordinated governance approaches to planetary stewardship. We suggest that a key component of planetary stewardship is a global system of cities that develop sustainable processes and policies in concert with its non-urban areas. The potential for cities to cooperate as a system and with rural connectivity could increase their capacity to effect change and foster stewardship at the planetary scale and also increase their resource security.

From forest landscape to agricultural landscape in the developing tropical country of Malaysia: pattern, process, and their significance on policy.

Agricultural expansion and deforestation are spatial processes of land transformation that impact on landscape pattern. In peninsular Malaysia, the conversion of forested areas into two major cash crops—rubber and oil palm plantations—has been identified as driving significant environmental change. To date, there has been insufficient literature studying the link between changes in landscape patterns and land-related development policies. Therefore, this paper examines: (i) the links between development policies and changes in land use/land cover and landscape pattern and (ii) the significance and implications of these links for future development policies. The objective is to generate insights on the changing process of land use/land cover and landscape pattern as a functional response to development policies and their consequences for environmental conditions. Over the last century, the development of cash crops has changed the country from one dominated by natural landscapes to one dominated by agricultural landscapes. But the last decade of the century saw urbanization beginning to impact significantly. This process aligned with the establishment of various development policies, from land development for agriculture between the mid 1950s and the 1970s to an emphasis on manufacturing from the 1980s onward. Based on a case study in Selangor, peninsular Malaysia, a model of landscape pattern change is presented. It contains three stages according to the relative importance of rubber (first stage: 1900–1950s), oil palm (second stage: 1960s–1970s), and urban (third stage: 1980s–1990s) development that influenced landscape fragmentation and heterogeneity. The environmental consequences of this change have been depicted through loss of biodiversity, geohazard incidences, and the spread of vector-borne diseases. The spatial ecological information can be useful to development policy formulation, allowing diagnosis of the country’s “health” and sustainability. The final section outlines the usefulness of landscape analysis in the policy-making process to prevent further fragmentation of the landscape and forest loss in Malaysia in the face of rapid economic development.

The changing landscape of mangroves in Bangladesh compared to four other countries in tropical regions

Loss of mangroves and consequent habitat fragmentation is a major concern throughout the world’s tropical countries. Conversion of mangrove habitat due to aquaculture, agriculture, urbanization and industrialization, ecotourism, overlapping bureaucracy and conflicting policies is occurring at a striking rate. This paper reviews the trends of mangrove area changes in Bangladesh and compares them with four other countries in tropical regions that have significant mangrove areas. The rate of mangrove loss from the 1980 to 2005 was calculated using the compound interest rate formula for its explicit biological implication. In Bangladesh, the area of mangroves was found to have increased due to its higher accretion rate. In India the rate of mangrove loss had fallen. The rate of mangrove loss in Malaysia in the 1990s (−0.008 ha·a−1) was higher than the 1980s (−0.004 ha·a−1). In Indonesia, the rate decreased, from the 1980s (−0.018 ha·a−1) to the 1990s (−0.010 ha·a−1). Finally in Myanmar the rate of mangrove loss gradually accelerated. Aquaculture was found to be the common cause of mangrove conversion in the regions. Loss of mangroves is now a prominent global issue, associated with the loss of biodiversity, deterioration of habitat integrity, climatic changes, the amount of carbon sequestration, and resulting sea-level rise. Therefore, a systematic evaluation of these environmental impacts is prerequisite to realize sustainable mangrove management.

Landscape Ecological Approach In Oil Palm Land Use Planning And Management For Forest Conservation In Malaysia

Oil palm industry is one of the major revenue for economic development in Malaysia. Oil palm was introduced to Malaysia in 1911 and the first commercial planting began in 1917. Since then and combined with increasing demand of its product both at the local and international market, areas planted with oil palm has been expanded throughout the nation. In 2004, oil palm plantation covered approximately 9.9% of the total Malaysian land area. However, its expansion has been recognised intrude into forested areas. This situation has been debated as one of the major international issues that cause forest degradation and loss of biodiversity. To balance between economic importance and conservation of forested areas a practical approach in planning and managing oil palm land use is necessary. Landscape ecological approach is an emerging pathway to achieve the goal and increasingly recognised as tool in various aspects of planning and managing land use. In this chapter, the land use changes of this premier man-influenced area in Malaysia will be analysed. How landscape ecology concepts can be integratedinto planning and managing oil palm land use for forest conservation in Malaysia will be discussed.

Land Use Trends Analysis Using SPOT 5 Images and Its Effect on the Landscape of Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

A large part of the mountain steep land in Peninsular Malaysia is covered by forests. Cameron Highland is a mountainous region with a climate favourable to the cultivation of tea, sub-tropical vegetable and flowers. However rapid economic growth and land use practices has altered the environment landscape of the area. This study was carried out to examine the rate of loss and pattern of fragmentation of the tropical mountain forests in Cameron Highlands. Temporal remotely sensed data (SPOT-5 images) from 2000, 2005 and 2010 were used in a GIS to calculate landscape indices. Results showed increases in the class area (15,384 ha to 15,691 ha), number of patches (499 to 545) and patch density (1.8 to 2.0 patches/100 ha). The largest patch index increase (34% to 40%) was associated with the decrease in the area of mean patch (30 ha to 28 ha). The observed landscape trends indicate slight increase of forest loss and fragmentation, particularly during the years 2005-2010 periods. Approximately 2 % of the forest cover in Cameron Highland had been lost in 10 years, and a proportion of the remaining forests had been degraded as a result of agricultural practices. Combining landscape ecology and remote sensing has the potential to provide a significant way in assessing the dynamic of highland landscapes. It is suggested that conservation efforts should be focused on the management of the natural system and the management of the external influences particularly restoration and sustainable forest exploitation in the highland.

The Characteristics of the Cultural Landscape in Malaysia: Concept and Perspective

Long-term human–nature interaction in rural areas creates special features with unique spatial ecological functions. These areas are called cultural landscapes, or are occasionally known as rural landscapes. Around the world, cultural landscapes have long been impacted by socio-economic development. The effects include loss of biodiversity, changes in the ecosystem and ecological processes, a pattern of resource use by local people, and an aesthetic value. In countries in the European and North American continents, as well as the Far East of Asian regions, and particularly Japan and Korea, the characteristics of cultural landscapes and their response to socio-economic development have been identified and assessed. However, this process has received less attention in countries of the Southeast Asian region, for example, Malaysia. Therefore, the objective of this chapter is to develop the concept and perspective of a cultural landscape in Malaysia, and to define it in the context of the country. A case study – the Merbok estuary – is presented as an example to describe the characteristics of cultural landscapes in Malaysia.

Using Vegetation Greenness as a Criterion in Multi-criteria Analysis of Recreational Land Suitability in Protected Area: A Case Study of Krau Wildlife Reserve, Peninsular Malaysia

Vegetation greenness usually used to interpret condition of ecological processes which are vital for sustaining biodiversity and integrity of natural ecosystems. Hence, vegetation greenness seems feasible as a criterion in multi-criteria analysis of recreational land suitability for sustainable land use planning in protected area. But, how feasible it is? Based on land suitability, analyzed using a multi-criteria analysis, two scenarios of recreational land suitability were developed using Krau Wildlife Reserve in Peninsular Malaysia as a case study. Scenario 1, does not use vegetation greenness as one of the criteria, and Scenario 2, uses vegetation greenness as one of the criteria. In this study, the proportion of recreational land suitability classes, “less suitable,” “moderate suitable,” and “most suitable,” was measured under both scenarios. Then, the feasibility of vegetation greenness was evaluated by comparing the proportion of each suitability class in Scenario 2 with Scenario 1. Results revealed that in Scenario 1, the proportion of “most suitable” was the highest. In Scenario 2, the proportion of “most suitable” reduced but “moderate suitable” increased when compared with Scenario 1. This shows that vegetation greenness can limit the proportion of land used for recreation. Thus, vegetation greenness is feasible to be considered as a criterion for identifying recreational land suitability for sustainable land use planning in protected area.

Understanding Development Trends and Landscape Changes of Protected Areas in Peninsular Malaysia: A Much Needed Component of Sustainable Conservation Planning

The establishment of protected areas in peninsular Malaysia was initiated during the British colonial period. The combination of political scenario and socioeconomic development has influenced the planning and management of protected areas in peninsular Malaysia. As a result, some of them did not receive much attention and have been exposed to various human land use activities such as agriculture, urbanization, and building highways, a concern particularly since the rapid land development for agriculture in the 1950s and the 1960s. However, from the 1980s to recent years, urbanization and other similar types of development are emerging to affect the sustainability of protected areas. Assessing landscape element change or simply landscape change of protected areas and their link to its development trends is an urgent need to identify the main priorities for protection and conservation. Therefore, this chapter presents the development trends of protected areas, followed by some analysis on landscape changes both inside and outside of protected areas in three temporal years: 1988, 1996, and 2005. The degree of their impact on ecosystem of the protected areas is also presented. The objective is to provide understanding of the linkages between the development trends and landscape changes and their impact on the ecosystems of the protected areas.

Quantifying forest fragmentation spatial process in the developing State of Selangor, peninsular Malaysia

Forest fragmentation has several phases; thus, the ecological significance of each phase during a particular period of time must be interpreted. To interpret, this study quantifies the magnitude of forest loss and the changes in the temporal pattern of fragmentation in the State of Selangor, peninsular Malaysia. Using the decision tree model of land transformation, five phases of forest fragmentation were identified: perforation, dissection, dissipation, shrinkage and attrition. This analysis showed that the magnitude of forest loss was the highest during the dissipation phase. The patchiness analysis showed that dissipation contributes to the highest environmental uncertainty found for the forest patches. This study can be considered a first step in the exploration of the properties and the behavioural pattern shown by the spatial process of forest fragmentation.