IN April 2021, then Federal Territories minister Annuar Musa said the ministry’s target was to plant 1 million trees in the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan as contribution towards the overall objective set by the Energy & Natural Resources Ministry to plant 100 million trees in nationwide by 2025.

The minister also said he had reminded DBKL to inform its contractors to be more mindful and not simply cut down trees because it takes more than 20 years for new trees to achieve a similar effect.

Notable trees on private land are legally protected, as are all trees in conservation areas. In contrast, trees on public land have no protection.

In December 2021, the Deputy Federal Territories Minister Jalaluddin Alias, in a reply in Parliament, said DBKL cut down 8,712 trees around the capital in 2021.

The trees felled were old was the single most used reason, and they threatened the safety of pedestrians and traffic due to their uncontrolled growth.

Public responses to death or severe injury from falling branches often include demands to remove all trees that cannot be guaranteed as safe, despite this guarantee being impossible.

If the safety of road users is of paramount importance, DBKL should place higher emphasis on potholes.

Motorcyclists killed after hitting potholes have been increasing. A paper published in 2017 revealed that from 2000 to 2011, a total of 840 people died in road accidents resulting from potholes, with the number of deaths climbing to almost 100 alone in 2011.

The total represented 11.2% of the 7,486 traffic deaths attributed to road defects during the period, and placed potholes as the third major cause of fatalities within the category.

Jalaluddin also said in Parliament that, even though DBKL had planted 146,582 trees of various categories and species since October 2021, green areas had reduced by 236ha, which is equivalent to 10.9% of public and private open space in three years.

It seems that we are witnessing a dramatic loss of urban trees on public land, and street trees in particular.

It is interesting to note than in a news report dated June 22, 2019, the then mayor claimed that DBKL had, since 2010, planted 600,000 trees in the city.

In an earlier report in 2014, DBKL was quoted to have reported that there were 400,000 trees in the city but only 150,000 in its care as the others were in forests.

Of this 150,000 trees, DBKL apparently only has data on 6,000 trees, saying it does not have the manpower to keep track of so many.

Since then, there has been no updated report. Based on this, it is presumed that in this five-year period, DBKL appears to have planted another 200,000 trees.

This is not just a problem with DBKL but also other municipalities like Kajang Municipal Council, Selayang Municipal Council and Subang Jaya Municipal Council, which also cited the same problems for their inability track trees.

Proper care of trees does not seem to be a big priority in DBKL and in any of the other municipality’s strategic plans.

Compare this to Singapore, which has 400 certified arborists listed on the Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology website.

We only have around 75 certified arborists nationwide. Putrajaya Corporation has nine and DBKL has only four certified arborists, despite the mayor saying in June 2016 that DBKL had appointed 16 arborists, who will be assigned to each of the 16 teams of contractors in charge of tree maintenance along city roads.

Citing the news report in 2014, DBKL claimed that 60 officers and 15 contractors in its Landscape and Recreational Department oversee the pruning, cutting and removal of trees, which are supposedly undertaken every six months.

Each prune costs RM100 to RM1,000 per tree and these are figures quoted in 2014. So for 2019, DBKL would have spent an average of RM1 million to RM10 million just to cut the 8,712 trees in the city.

Even though the given number of trees felled in 2021 was 8,712 trees, the true number could likely to be far higher as DBKL has only inventoried approximately 6,000 trees – assuming this figure quoted in a 2014 news report remains stagnant – out of the 350,000 trees it is supposedly overseeing in the city.

Tree felling in certain parts of the city can go largely unnoticed, happening by stealth. When it was all over, the rakyat were left to not only grieve the loss of a beloved tree but were outraged at the debris and extensive damage left behind, broken railings and shattered pavements, all of which would not be repaired.

Admittedly, the high number of trees felled appears to indicate that trees in urban settings are too expensive to maintain and thus it is more economical to chop them down.

As trees are registered as costs in DBKL’s books, budgets need to be allocated for maintenance, insurance claims and felling.

It is public knowledge that austerity measures have dominated economics for the past 10 years with DBKL facing growing budget cuts thus forcing it to opt for cost reductions.

The Kuala Lumpur Climate Action Plan 2050 (KLCAP2050) appears to confirm the budget constraints where – while DBKL states that it strives to achieve 30% green cover in the city – in its Five Priority Climate Strategies and Actions for Kuala Lumpur up to 2030 Prioritised Action #B3 Protect Parks & Increase Biodiverse Areas, it did not state specifically a detail action plan on how it plans to achieve this.

The absence of details in the Kuala Lumpur Landscape Masterplan (LMP) on the protection of reserved forests and park and the expansion of such areas further reinforced this fact.

As replanting with saplings cannot offset nor match the benefits of mature trees felled – it takes up a minimum of 50 years for many broad-leaved trees to reach their full potential and the next 50 years to repay those benefits to its environment – any benefits from expansion of green areas would not be felt for a few decades yet.

Again, in a report on Kuala Lumpur by Unescap, it states green cover already accounts for 30% of total land area and has several protected nature reserves including the KL Forest Eco Park, Bukit Sungai Besi Reserve and Bukit Sungai Putih Reserve, while commenting at the same time that between 2001 and 2019 Malaysia had one of the world’s highest rates of forest loss for its size, losing 28% of national tree cover.

Even without the commitment expressed by the Federal Territories Minister in April 2021 on his Ministry’s plan to plant 1 million trees, planting more trees in our city is a no-brainer.

The pertinent question the public is asking: how definite is DBKL that they will be able to achieve this tree-planting target?

A lot of countries in the western hemisphere are falling short – dramatically – of targets set by their governments.

The UK is 70% from its stated target. It is unlikely Malaysia and DBKL will be an exception.

Tall trees with luxuriant canopies provide a wide range of benefits to sweltering urbanites. They reduce the urban island heat effect, take up carbon dioxide from the air, reduce wind, muffle traffic noise, help to retain rainwater, improve human health, help in stormwater retention as the roots also absorb rainwater and help control floods, offering natural flood mitigation, reduce the severity of air pollution as it releases oxygen and breathes in carbon dioxide.

Without trees, we would have to pay more for stormwater retention systems, deal with higher medical bills and spend more on energy which leads to higher carbon emissions.

Our climate is changing, generally becoming harsher for trees that are already in the relatively inhospitable environment in Kuala Lumpur featuring a lot of sealed surfaces.

Added to which, changes in the infrastructure around the city make the land on which the trees grow becomes more valuable, it is the fervent hope of the residents that DBKL would choose those species that will thrive in the expected conditions of 2050 and beyond in its pursuit to plant that 1 million trees.

As highlighted by the Malaysia Arborist Association (PArM), the biggest setback in our country in finding solutions to address the conflict between development and trees is lack of knowledge in urban forestry and arboriculture, and lack of competent tree management and maintenance.

DBKL and the majority of the municipalities in Malaysia removed or severely pruned the crown of trees in their care, a practice known as “topping”, but one which causes significant damage to trees and, ultimately, exacerbates problems with the tree’s growth even though there are many alternatives to topping.

This further illustrates the lack of suitable expertise within all if not most of these municipalities.

Based on a study conducted independently, it appears that in terms of the hazard status of the street trees, more than 95.5% were moderately hazardous.

They posed no significant danger to passers-by and buildings as the majority of the defects were dead twigs or small branches.

For a start, maybe DBKL should engage with the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), which with Putrajaya Corporation developed a tree inventory and management system known as Sistem Inventori Pengurusan Pokok (SIPP).

SIPP won a gold medal at the FRIM Innovation Award 2013 and was also recognised at the Malaysia Landscape Architecture Award (MLAA) 2014, so that the 350,000 trees in DBKL’s care can be inventoried as soon as possible.

With a tree inventory, DBKL will have information of the potential tree hazards and with proper management, implement measures to reduce risk and enhance public safety concurrently.

The arborist will also learn a great deal about the defects in trees that have symptoms and signs of potential trouble and even the degree of risk, so can plan inspection and maintenance work.

Furthermore, the inventory records showing how and when trees were inspected and what actions were taken can assist DBKL in any complaints or litigation from the public.

Last, but not least, householders, residents or offices should be given more say in whether the trees on their streets can be cut down. When problem trees are identified, there should be consultation about the options, with all the facts disclosed.

Unless something changes fast, we will continue to lose our urban canopy at just the time that we need it most. Now that is a real risk. – February 9, 2022.

* FLK reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.