Article: Preserving habitat of waterbirds

Friday July 17, 2009

By TAN KARR WEI

RESIDENTS of Tropicana Indah in Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya, are working with the developers of the Cova project to conserve the habitat of migratory birds at a lake located in the PJU 5 area.

According to Tropicana Indah Residents Association deputy chairman Michael Foong, there are flocks of migratory birds like egrets and herons at the lake that they call Lake Cova.

New use: The concrete structure at the edge of the lake was supposed to be used for boating facilities but residents would rather use it as a viewing platform as boating activities would drive the birds away

The Cova project consisted of a six-storey commercial square, a condominium block and an apartment block.

The lake is a retention pond and now has two small islands within the lake which provide shallow waters for the birds.

Malaysian Nature Society waterbirds group member John Howes, who visited the site recently, said urban wetland habitats in Malaysia were scarce and they did not attract as many varieties and numbers of waterbirds that Lake Cova did.

"Lake Cova provides a unique, urban setting for large numbers of resident, breeding waterbird species and those that migrate to Malaysia during their non-breeding period," said Howes.

He said the lake provided a safe habitat and had ample food supply for the birds.

"The islands and surrounding tall trees and bushes provide a safe resting area for many waterbird species. The lake has an abundance of fish, with many shoals of small fish fry. It also has aquatic insects such as dragonflies that provide food for waterbirds," he said.

Foong said in a 2005 plan presented by the developer, the islands were supposed to remain while the landscaping was to be improved.

Toxic: Residents are also worried that the effluent from the nearby Indah Water sewage treatment facility would contaminate the lake.

"However, we saw the final plan approved by MBPJ (Petaling Jaya City Council) where the lake would be deepened and the islands were missing from the plans," said Foong.

This led to several meetings with the developer and the MBPJ where residents voiced their concerns.

A spokesman for the developer said the pond had to be deepened in accordance with requirements set by the Drainage and Irrigation Department (JPS).

"We are landscaping the area around the lake and there will even be a jogging track around it," he said.

However, after listening to the input by residents and Howes, they put on hold the lake deepening work and their engineers will work out a way to maintain the islands for the sake of the birds.

"Residents initially wanted boating facilities on the lake and we built the platform for that purpose. Now that they are saying that boating activities would threaten the birds, they can use the structure as a viewing platform," he said.

Because the lake would eventually be handed back to the council, all parties involved have agreed to change the name of the lake to the Kota Damansara Urban Wetland.

Foong said they would continue to meet the developers to work out other issues like the lack of parking facilities for visitors to the lake.

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Metro: Central 17 July 2009