Urban Forestry and Arboriculture in Malaysia

This book represents the latest research on urban forestry in a Malaysian context. It demonstrates that urban forestry is concerned not only with environmental enhancement, but also other aspects, such as recreation, health and well-being, and government policies. This edited collection provides a comprehensive overview of urban forestry studies from various researchers in Malaysia, and includes rich historical perspectives of urban forestry in the country. It also tackles related issues in policy. The greening of urban Malaysia in the 1970s focused primarily on beautification and was primarily the province of horticulturists, landscapers, nursery workers, town planners, and architects, with negligible inputs from foresters, particularly urban foresters. Perhaps for that reason, the term "landscaping" has been used more widely than "urban forestry" by government and private institutions, politicians, stakeholders, academicians, and the public. Nevertheless, the authors show that the concept of urban forestry is not new for developing countries such as Malaysia, where urbanization is increasing at a rapid rate. The book unpacks this demographic shift from a predominantly rural to a principally urban society. As the only unified body of work on urban forestry and arboricultural studies in Malaysia, this volume presents an important interdisciplinary reference for students, researchers, and scholars in physical geography, forestry and urban forestry, arboriculture and landscape architecture, both in Malaysia, and in other developing urbanizing countries, particularly in Southeast Asia. It is also an important resource for those working in environmental policy and practice, excavating the vital connection between the environment and well-being.

Sreetheran Maruthaveeran is an Associate Professor at the Department of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Design and Architecture, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). He also has served as a senior researcher at the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) since 2003 before joining the academic line in 2016. His main research interest lies in the social aspect of urban forestry, arboriculture, recreation and leisure sciences. Currently, he serves as the Editorial Board Member for Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism and also the Editor-in-Chief for ALAM CIPTA International Journal of Sustainable Tropical Design Research. He is the Coordinator for the Urban Forestry Unit, 6.07.00 of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO). He is also a Professional Technologist (Ts) registered under the Malaysian Board of Technologists (MBOT) and a Certified Arborist (MY0300A) under the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), USA since 2007.

Wendy Y. Chen is a Professor at the Department of Geography, serving as the director of the International Centre for China Development Studies, The University of Hong Kong. She serves as the Editor-in-Chief for Urban Forestry and Urban Greening since January 2019, a top international journal in the field of urban forestry. Her research interests include urban forestry, natural resource evaluation and management, urban nature and urban ecology, ecosystem services and ecosystem service economics, environmental management, and sustainable development. She is currently the Deputy Coordinator for the Urban Forestry Unit, 6.07.00 of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO).