**2. Protected areas**

by the United Nations General Assembly in 2011–2020 will continue to pursue the overall aim of reducing biodiversity loss, in conjunction with the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity. This commitment has been taken on by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) which call for a fresh forward-looking approach on the international biodiversity agenda with the formation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 [1]. This 10-year framework for action by all countries and stakeholders will be geared towards preserving the present and future biodiversity thereby bringing benefits for all society and economy. The consequences of this initiative have seen the development of biodiversity targets where '[…] by 2020, at the latest, biodiversity values have been integrated into national and local development […] and

Malaysia ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1994. As a signatory to the Convention on Biodiversity, Malaysia is obligated to safeguard the biodiversity through the protection and management of many protected areas (PAs). Following that, the first National Policy on Biological Diversity was formulated in 1998. This Policy addresses the impending challenges and concerted efforts that are needed to further develop and validate through new broad-based strategies that will enable the nation to protect its biodiversity in the coming years. Consequently, the National Policy on Biological Diversity 2016–2025 consolidates and ensures the continuity of efforts to conserve biodiversity and use it sustainably in the specific context of areas that are undergoing rapid socio-economic and environmental challenges. It also symbolises Malaysia's strategic response to the Convention on Biological Diversity's

However, the effective management of these PAs remained a debatable issue. Regarding the issue of policy and management, there is arguably lack of strong national leadership on sustainable development which restricts the effective implementation of consistent policies and necessary propagation of biodiversity issues. The existing policy framework for conservation and management of PAs as well as indigenous communities is sound but is not effectively implemented or monitored. Furthermore, there are inconsistent and conflicting policies between the Federal and state authorities and a lack of effective interagency coordination, including Federal-state coordination mechanisms to manage PAs. Furthermore, there is no national framework/system to standardise PA management practices. Given the fact that protected area tourism is lucrative and has become pervasive in society, intense and rapid developments have been undertaken for providing better and exclusive nature experiences. But frequently in the case of PAs, inexorable threats to the environment are unavoidable, where specifically, the development and benefits of the economic benefits (i.e. tourism industry) are enjoyed at the expense of nature and other social impacts. Therefore, there is an urgent need to conduct a systematic inquiry on the policy and governance of PAs that reiterates the impor-

This Chapter pursues several lines of enquiry. Considering some of the issues in the management of PAs, the aim of this Chapter therefore is to examine the issue pertaining to the community participation in the PA with particular reference to Taman Negara Pahang. The paper is structured as follows: after this introduction, the second section briefly reviews the concepts of PA. Following this, the third section looks at the Malaysia's PAs and some of the legislations that govern them. In the fourth section, some considerations are given to the research method of the study. The fifth section discussed specifically the case of Pahang

reporting systems' [1].

176 National Parks - Management and Conservation

Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 [2].

tance of the local communities' participation.

Generally, PAs are framed with a growing need to make the environment and its diversity more sustainable, and to preserve its pristine free from human occupation or at least the exploitation of its resources is contained. More universally adopted definition across literatures has been offered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in its categorisation guidelines for PAs as follows:

'A clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values' [3].

In retrospective, even though PAs were generally acknowledged on a national scale, a precise conceptualization and definition remained elusive until 1933, when finally an international consensus on the standards and terminology of PAs was finalised at the International Conference for the Protection of Fauna and Flora in London [4]. The effect the Industrial Revolution had had on the world's natural environment was recognised, and the need to sustain it for future generations was accorded at the 1962 First World Conference on National Parks in Seattle [5].

Since then, it has been a global commitment for the benefit of all citizens, the environment and the society, through regular revisions for the succinct categorisations to regulate and record PAs. The protection of representative examples of all major ecosystem types was endorsed by the Stockholm Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in 1972. This depicts the importance of jointly addressing global challenges among signatories to national conservation programmes. In effect, this also has formed part of the initiatives on conservation biology where this is of mutual benefit for all participating countries in subsequent resolutions – as stipulated by the World Charter for Nature in 1982, the Rio Declaration at the Earth Summit in 1992, and the Johannesburg Declaration 2002.

The world is on track to meet a 2020 target on the expansion of PAs, but more work is needed to ensure areas of importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services are prioritised for protection under equitably managed conditions. Issued by UNEP's World Conversation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) in partnership with IUCN, and funded by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), Protected Planet is keen to promote increasing cooperation on PA strategic priorities, while providing assistance to governments for accelerating progress with recommendations for action [6]. The report finds that 15.4% of terrestrial and inland water areas and 3.4% of the global ocean are now protected—highlighting growing global awareness of the need to safeguard the natural resources. Consequently, this specifies the priority areas for mutual beneficial cooperation, which will be reflected in the upcoming Sustainable Development Goals. Noting the fact that policy impacts of PAs are different individually and in combination, the conservation of species, ecosystems and the livelihoods should also respond and adapt to as well as mitigating the impacts of climate change —for example, by reducing risks from natural hazards and providing a carbon sink through forests, 7.8 million km2 of which are in PAs. The report facilitates how the work will support effectively PAs policy implementation in the countries' efforts in meeting Target 11 of the Convention on Biological Diversity's Aichi Biodiversity Targets. Since 2012, a total area of new PAs totalling of 1.6 million km2 have been designated. Target 11 calls for effectively and equitably managed conservation areas covering at least 17% of the world's terrestrial areas and 10% of marine areas—the areas aimed at creating new opportunities for biodiversity and ecosystem services—by 2020 [6].

The National Forestry Act (1984) has earmarked permanent reserved forest located in various parts of the country. In 1992, the National Forestry Policy was revised to take into account the sustainable use of genetic resources, the importance of biological diversity conservation and as well as the role of local communities in forest development. For now, Malaysia has about 14.4 million ha of permanent reserved forests. Taman Negara Pahang or Pahang National Park is an ASEAN Heritage Park [8]. This, in part, explains the reason behind Government's commitment on protection of biodiversity with particular attention to vulnerable to exclusion community. Consequently, Malaysia is currently a party to several multilateral environmental agreements such as Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention), and Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

Policy and Related Issues Pertaining Community Participation in the Management of Protected…

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.73048

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Malaysia Taman Negara (Kelantan) Enactment 1938

(The State Parks from the above three Enactments constitute Taman Negara)

Taman Negara (Pahang) Enactment 1939 Taman Negara (Terengganu) Enactment 1939

Aboriginal Peoples Act 1954 Land Conservation Act 1960 National Land Code 1965 Protection of Wildlife Act 1972 National Parks Act 1980 National Forestry Act 1984

Forest Enactment 1968

Forest Ordinance 1954

Water Ordinance 1994

**Table 1.** Partial list of legislation relevant to biological diversity [9].

Fauna Conservation Ordinance 1963

Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1958

Natural Resources Ordinance 1949 Public Parks and Greens Ordinance 1993

(**Table 1**).

**Level Laws**

Federal Federal Environmental Quality Act 1974 Fisheries Act 1985 Pesticide Act 1974

Peninsular Waters Enactment 1920

Sabah Parks Enactment 1984

Sarawak National Parks Ordinance 1956

Over the years, the importance of PAs has been at the centre of global concern against the threat of human factors which should be incorporated within environment risk management and the understanding of the necessity to the broader international sustainability and climate change agenda in a sustainable manner. PAs impacts are inherently and increasingly acknowledged not only ecologically, but culturally; taking into account the spectrum of Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs). International programmes for the protection of representative ecosystems remain relatively progressive (allowing specific environmental challenges of globalisation with respect to terrestrial environments to be addressed), with less advances in marine and freshwater biomes [6]. Using the August 2014 version of the World Database on Protected Areas, the protected area coverage was calculated. In 2014, the database underwent a major update, based on the overwhelmingly positive response to a CBD request for parties to the convention. The UNEP-WCMC took step to compile the UN List of Protected Areas and found that until August 2014, 124 countries had submitted new data while 15 were in the process of submitting [6].
