PLANNING MALAYSIA: Journal of the Malaysian Institute of Planners VOLUME 15 ISSUE 4 (2017), Page 105 – 114 A REVIEW ON THE NEEDS TO IMPROVE MALAYSIAN TREE PRESERVATION ORDER (TPO) (ACT 172) Nik Adlin Nik Mohamed Sukri1, Noriah Othman2, & Wan Tarmeze Wan Ariffin3 1,2 Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA 3Development Projects Team FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE MALAYSIA Abstract Trees are important to human and the environment, and should always be protected to continuously benefit us. The Malaysian government, recognising that the rapid development of the country has put trees at risks of being damaged and killed, thus introduced Tree Preservation Order (Act 172) in 1996. However, recently, there have been cases whereby trees that were meant to be preserved were felled down without consent of the local authorities. This situation has raised questions on the effectiveness of the tree protection legislation. This paper gives information on the progress of the TPO (Act 172) gathered through literature review and proposes improvements of the legislation. Keyword: Tree Preservation Order (TPO), Town and Country Planning Act 1976, Act 172 Date Received: 2nd August 2017 Date of Acceptance: 6th November 2017 1 MSc Candidate at Universiti Teknologi MARA. Email:
[email protected] 115 Nik Adlin Nik Mohamed Sukri, Noriah Othman, & Wan Tarmeze Wan Ariffin A Review On the Needs to Improve Malaysian Tree Preservation Order (TPO) (Act 172) INTRODUCTION Trees give the environment and human endless benefits. They provide oxygen, improve air quality, conserve water, preserve soil and support wildlife. Because trees are important part of every community, especially in the urban area, it is critical that trees in urban settings such as at parks, road sides and buildings are preserved (retained) and sustainably managed.