KUALA LUMPUR, (DPA) - Bordered by an overhead railway on one side and busy roads on three other corners, Malaysia’s Bukit Nanas forest reserve is perhaps the only virgin forest in the world that sits in the centre of a city. The 9.4-hectare jungle is just about 400 metres away from the Kuala Lumpur Commercial Centre (KLCC), the main business and shopping hub in the Malaysian capital.
Bukit Nanas, which was first known as the Weld Hill Forest Reserve, was gazetted as a permanent reserved forest in 1906 by the British colonial government in the peninsula to keep some land free of the unbridled development of the city at that time.
Its original land area was 11 hectares, but in 1996 the government built the Menara KL observation tower at its highest peak. The 421-metre tower has since become a major tourist attraction with a revolving restaurant and a view deck overlooking the capital.
The reserve, which used to be home to the now nearly extinct Malaysian tiger species, hosts centuries-old towering trees and exotic flora and fauna.
Within the reserve, the deafening sound of roaring cars and other rushing vehicles sounds far away, muted by the rustling of the leaves and the incessant whistling of the crickets and cacophony of birds chirping.
A flock of birds may suddenly burst out of the trees, jolted by the screams of monkeys as they chase each other through the trees.
The reserve consists of a hillock with intermediate peaks varying between 58 metres and 94 metres above sea level, with slopes between 40 degrees and 55 degrees.
The forest department said Bukit Nanas has more than 200 dipterocarp and non-dipterocarp tree species, more than 30 fern species, 100 medicinal plant species and 6 bamboo species.
Bukit Nanas is temporarily closed to the public until September this year while the government carries out a 1-million-dollar programme to rehabilitate and improve the amenities in the jungle.
Visitors in the know who plan to drop in to Kuala Lumpur late in 2013 already have the re-opening in their diaries.
“If you want to go trekking in the jungle but you are short on budget or you do not have the time travelling outside Kuala Lumpur, then Bukit Nanas is the place for you,” forest officer Norwati Sidek told dpa.
Even before the makeover, the mid-city strip of green was popular with tourists able to pretend they could not hear the buzz of traffic noise, she said.
“There were some foreigners who could hike for hours in the forest, just enjoying nature,” she added. There was a designated camping site for those who wanted to stay overnight in the forest and an area for bird-watching.
“Malaysia’s land surface was once almost entirely covered with forest,” the World Wildlife Fund Malaysia (WWF-Malaysia) says. Today, forests still cover 60 per cent of the country’s total land area.
“However, deforestation is a major concern as the country is still rapidly developing. In the 20 years from 1983 to 2003, there was a reduction of about 4.9 million hectare of forest cover in Malaysia. This is about 4 times the size of Singapore.
“An average of 250,000 hectares of forest is being lost annually,” WWF-Malaysia said. “Apart from deforestation, the remaining forests face threats from unsustainable logging, illegal removal of forest products and encroachment.”
Fateh Naseha Hussain, a Malaysian university student and environment advocate, expressed hope the integrity of Bukit Nanas would be maintained during the upgrading and that there would be no more large-scale construction within the reserve.
“I hope the building of Menara KL will be the last encroachment on Bukit Nanas,” the 22-year-old student said. “Malaysia should be proud to keep a small virgin forest right smack in the middle of the city.”
Fateh, who did a survey of visitors and their impressions of Bukit Nanas as part of her academic requirements, lamented that eight out of 10 visitors to the reserve before the closure had been foreigners.
“During the three months I did my research, I only met a few Malaysians down the trail,” she said. “Maybe the Malaysians are taking for granted the uniqueness of Bukit Nanas. I hope more of my countrymen will take time to enjoy the forest.”
Mitsuo Noguchi, 40, a Japanese IT consultant who regularly jogged for almost an hour along the forest’s trail after work late in the afternoon, said he found the exercise rejuvenating and sorely misses it.
“I live in a condominium two streets away,” he said. “Bukit Nanas is a refuge to me. If I get bored staying in the house or if I want some time to be alone, I usually hit the trail. Every time I hike, there’s always something new to see.”
Noguchi, who has been staying in Kuala Lumpur for the past six years, said he never heard of any accident that occurred in the reserve.
“It’s very safe. But during rainy season the trail becomes slippery so one must be careful when hiking,” he said.
Noguchi said he was looking forward to the re-opening of the forest to the public so he can resume his regular adventure to the real urban jungle at the heart of Kuala Lumpur.
“Right now, I content myself jogging around the sprawling park in KLCC and its manicured gardens,” he said. “It lacks the character of Bukit Nanas.”
