INFORMATION ABOUT TAMAN BOTANI NEGARA SHAH ALAM (TBNSA), SHAH ALAM, SELANGOR

1. BACKGROUND

     1.1    TPM which was formerly known as the Bukit Cerakah Agricultural Park was first developed on 24 April 1986 on a one thousand two hundred and fifty eight (1,258) hectare of Selangor State Forest Reserve land. The initial TPM area development works were carried out through gotong-royong involving three hundred (300) Ministry of Agriculture staff and thirteen (13) staff from the Departments/Agencies under it. The name Bukit Cerakah Agricultural Park was then proclaimed Bukit Cahaya Seri Alam Malaysian Agricultural Park by the late Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Al-Haj ibni Hisamuddin Alam Shah Al-Haj in 1991.

     1.2    The development of TPM is aimed at exhibiting Malaysian agricultural technology to the public and serve as an open university for the public to recognise and learn the various components in the sector apart from acting as a Malaysian local agro-tourism and agro-forestry attraction centre.

     1.3    TPM is located in the centre of the fast developing Klang Valley and is accessible via four (4) main highway links - NKVE, KESAS, Federal and GUTHRIE. TPM is renowned among Malaysians and is among the destinations visited by people from inside and outside of the country including the Sultans of the states in Malaysia, Heads of Governments, Japanese Emperor Akihito, members of the Malaysian Cabinet, Prime Ministers /Ministers /ambassadors from ASEAN countries, Taiwan, Pakistan, Fiji, Canada, Peru, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Japan, Spain, Senegal, China, United Kingdom, Poland, Sudan and United Arab Emirates. The total number of TPM visitors in the 90s even reached up to five hundred thousand (500,000) people. However, competition from other recreational centres, shopping centres and theme parks led to a decline of visitors in the late 90s and the early twenty first (21) century.

     1.4    Gradually, the size of TPM was reduced due to the developments in the peripheral areas. To date, TPM encompasses an area of eight hundred and seventeen (817) hectares. With this size, TPM is still the world’s biggest agro-tourism and agro-forestry centre. With a diversity of various floral species comprising a total of four hundred and twenty two (422) plants and trees, TPM serves as the green lung of Klang Valley. The tree species include shorea, chengal, velvet tamarind, kempas, rengas, resak and many others. From four hundred and twenty two (422) species of these trees, only thirty one (31) species which are available or endemic in Peninsula Malaysia can be found in TPM while twenty (20) other tree species are listed as endangered species in the list of 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

     1.5    The studies conducted to date on the amphibian and reptilian species collection on the other hand have only found twenty two (22) species and only five (5) mammal species managed to be recorded. There are many other amphibian, reptilian and mammal species in the TPM forest such as tapir, common porcupine and others which are excluded from the list of species found during the study. In addition, there are twenty five (25) fish species in the river and dam at TPM. There is also a potential for a study on the bird species in TPM whereby three (3) hornbill species are often seen here.