Three students from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) participated in a Sustainable Urban and Rural Development Workshop at Tongji University, Shanghai from the 3rd till the 11th of August 2016. The students were Tan Pei Yee (1SBEP), Nur Nadzirah Binti Roswandi (2SBEP) and Mohd Aizuddeen Bin Mohammad Meseztor (3SBEP) and accompanied by Dr. Gobi Krishna A/L Sinniah from the department. A total of 35 students with diverse academic background from Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Korea and Malaysia participated in the workshop.
The objective of the workshop was to expose participants to issues of cultural heritage, conservation, aging, environment, urban transportation planning, disaster prevention in urban and rural areas. The workshop also aims to inculcate and inspire the younger generation on the importance and need for sustainable development. The nine days workshop consisted of lectures on history of rural and urban planning development in East Asia, the smart technology in architecture engineering in response to earthquakes, environmental and energy conservation in building construction, traditional gardens, the influence and impact of Taoist culture in modern society, the Eurasia culture and its effects on modern urban planning.
Participants were also on site visits to commercial and residential areas, the Shikumen building in old Shanghai, the Nanjiang Road commercial pedestrian street, The Bund, a waterfront promenade and boardwalk along the Huangpu River that showcase “the museum of buildings on one side and the more modern skyscrapers on the other, the historical and cultural districts, namely, Xin Tian Di, Zhu Jia Jiao, Hang Zhou, Xixi National Wetland Park and Xi Tang.
Participants were also divided into groups and are required to do a group project with “Sustainability” being the theme for all the projects. The climax to the nine day workshop was a presentation of the group projects followed by a closing ceremony.
Towards contributing to the national target of achieving a 45% reduction in carbon emissions intensity of GDP by 2030 based on the 2005 level, Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) commissions Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s UTM-Low Carbon Asia Research Centre (UTM-LCAR), which is parked under the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Built Environment, to prepare the Kuala Lumpur Low Carbon Society Blueprint 2030 (KL LCSBP 2030).
The RM 2 million project, which is based on the ‘science to action’ (S2A, science-to-policymaking-to-action/implementation) approach, commenced in May 2016, with the final draft KL LCSBP 2030 scheduled to be delivered by November 2017. The KL LCSBP 2030 aims to help KL reduce its carbon emissions intensity of GDP by 50% by 2030, using the 2010 baseline.
To ensure a society-centric and people-friendly KL LCSBP 2030 is prepared, three focus group discussion (FGD) sessions have been planned at various stages of the project. The first FGD kicked off on 22-23 August 2016 at the Institut Latihan Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (IDB), drawing a total 195 participants from various government agencies; the private sector; non-governmental organisations (NGOs); residents’ associations (RAs); and various technical departments within DBKL.
The FGD was officiated by Y.Bhg. Datuk Seri Hj. Mhd. Amin Nordin Bin Abd Aziz, KL Mayor and graced by Profesor Dr. Durrishah Bte Idrus, UTMKL Campus Director. Professor Dr. Ho Chin Siong, Director of UTM-LCAR gave an introduction of the project to the participants, who were subsequently divided into six groups to focus on deliberating strategic sectors that are vital to reducing carbon emissions in KL.
Findings from the FGD session are expected to provide a concrete and clear policy framework for guiding the formulation of LCS policies and determination of implementation programs to be included in the draft KL LCSBP 2030.
Congratulations to Professor Amran Hamzah whose service as a member of the Global Steering Committee of the IUCN Commissioner on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP) from 2012-2016 has been recognised in an award ceremony at the IUCN World Conservation Congress, currently being held in Honolulu, Hawaii from 1-10 September 2016. Professor Amran has also held the post of Co-Chair for Theme on Indigenous Peoples, Local Communities, Equity and Protected Areas (TILCEPA) whose scope of works includes advising IUCN on matters concerning agreements and global policies on biodiversity conservation, climate change, protected area management, etc. The presence of Professor Amran at the IUCN’s World Conservation Congress is at the invitation of the world body due to his candidacy for the post of IUCN Regional Councillor 2016-2020, a prestigious post accorded to a person for his or her contribution towards biodiversity conservation at the international level. The election result for the Regional Councillor post will be known Sept 10th and let’s all hope, for FAB and UTM, Professor Amran would be elected.
Heartiest Congratulations to Ms Nadzirah Hosen who is currently attending the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Honolulu, Hawaii from 1-10 September 2016. Nadzirah is a first-year PhD student at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning whose supervisor is Professor Amran Hamzah. Nadzirah’s attendance at the congress is being funded by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature)’s WCPA (The World Commission on Protected Areas) Young Professionals Fund which grants her USD2,400 (~RM10,000) for the purpose. Over at the congress Nadzirah has a rare opportunity to mingle and share knowledge and ideas with the current and future champions of world conservation. All the best to Nadzirah and we are confident that she is representing us well at the congress.
