Open AccessURBAN LAND USE CHANGE AND THE LANGAT BASIN ECOSYSTEM HEALTH
Author(s) -
Shaharudin Idrus,
Abdul Hadi Samad
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
planning malaysia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.232
H-Index - 7
eISSN - 1675-6215
pISSN - 0128-0945
DOI - 10.21837/pm.v2i1.42
Subject(s) - structural basin , land use , flood myth , ecosystem health , geography , ecosystem services , sustainability , ecosystem , land use, land use change and forestry , water resource management , drainage basin , environmental protection , agriculture , environmental planning , environmental science , ecology , geology , paleontology , cartography , archaeology , biology
The paper discusses over four decades of urban land use changes in the Langat River Basin in response to rapid development impulses that flowed from the more developed Klang Valley where Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital city is situated. It proceeds to look into the impact of those changes on the ecosystem health of the basin. Federal development policies, strategies, programs and activities have transformed the basin from an industrial agricultural basin into an urbanized area. Being contiguous to the Klang Valley, the basin rose over the decades to be a choice location for not only foreign direct investment to produce manufactured products for export but also services and educational. The paper also discusses the status of the Langat Basin ecosystem health. The change to the land use has indeed impacted on the basin ecosystem health. Using GIS, land use changes in the basin over the decades were analysed to reveal the persistent direction of change. It is clear that the trend of land use change in the Langat Basin is the conversion from one type of land use to developing urbanised and full urban areas. What is implied by the changes are indicators that can be derived to show the sustainability of the ecosystem in the Langat Basin such as river flood, mud flood, land slide, etc.