Forest in the city
City dwellers who are nature lovers should check out KL’s latest nature trail, writes Zalina Mohd Som
THERE’S a new nature trail in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. Called Taman Tugu, it opened to the public in September last year. Currently there are 4km of forest trails, all well-marked with check points for self-guided walks. When completed, Taman Tugu will have 7km of forest trails.
Nature aside, the park comes with a very interesting story. Here are eight interesting facts about Taman Tugu.
It was originally meant to be converted into a for-profit tourist attraction theme-park. Thanks to feedback from communities and organisations, it was converted into a public park whereby the secondary forest within it are protected.
With the help of Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM), up to 1,000 trees have been identified and tagged for preservation. These include indigenous species like jelutong, tembusu, pulai and gaharu, some potentially over 100 years old.
More than 4,000 trees averaging 8-10 years old, consisting of 230 indigenous Malaysian rainforest species, are being planted within the site. Sourced from nurseries, they include 1,000 trees which are categorised as “Endangered” or “Critically Endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature like the keruing, meranti and mersawa species.
One of the criteria in selecting the trees is the type of fauna they attract. An increase in fauna will enhance the biodiversity of the site and promote the ecosystem including natural pollination. If this happens well, the site will eventually have more than 200 trees per 0.4ha — similar to a rainforest.
The site was an illegal dumping ground.
The numbers of palm oil trees found in the park was believed to have been brought in by the British prior to independence when it was home to British residences. After Merdeka, it became home to Malaysia government officials including the country’s first Lord President, Malaysia’s first Director of Agriculture and even Finance Minister Tun Tan Siew Sin. It then became home to government quarters, proof of which are the concrete slabs found along the trails.
The Taman Tugu site is also home to a madrasah — Madrasah Bustanul Ulum — and four Hindu shrines which is part of the forest park. In addition to these places of worship, the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia and the Administrative and Diplomatic Service Association are also retained at their current locations.
The 26.7ha Taman Tugu site is now managed and protected as a public green space by Amanah Warisan Negara.