Over 200 heritage trees in JB

Woody work: MBJB contractors cutting up an old tree with a chainsaw in Johor Baru.

JOHOR BARU: There are more than 200 trees that are more than 40 years old that can be considered as heritage trees in the city, says the Johor Baru City Council (MBJB).

Mayor Datuk Mohd Noorazam Osman said the number was based on the council’s data back in 2021, adding that MBJB is planning to hire consulting arborists to help identify and record old trees in and around Johor Baru.

“We have yet to come out with the full statistics.

An arborist employed by the council conducting an inspection on a tree.

“At the moment we only have two certified arborists in MBJB which is why we need to hire more to help us identify and record old trees.

“From there, we can decide what to do with them; if the trees are sick, we might have to cut them down or just trim what is necessary,” he said when met after chairing the MBJB full council meeting at Menara MBJB yesterday.

Mohd Noorazam said that the appointed arborists would be divided into 24 zones under the MBJB to cover a 373 sq km council area.

Asked whether cutting old trees will have an impact on their carbon credit initiatives, Mohd Noorazam said that the council has already made calculated documentation on some of the initiatives.

“For example, we have introduced more bicycle lanes to reduce carbon emissions in the hope that we can translate this into credits.

“Documenting these trees will also help our future inventories on how many credits we can generate; this is also in line with our plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 56% in 2050.

Asked whether the council has data on fallen tree cases, Mohd Noorazam said that based on the 15 cleanup contractor reports, the council received an average of one case every week.

“So far, we are lucky because these cases usually occur on the road that has fewer road users; as of this year, we only received one case of a tree falling on a car.

“Those who want to report falling trees or old trees are urged to call the MBJB Arboriculture Department at 07-2282636 or lodge their report through the Public Complaints Management System (Sispaa).

“They can also send a report via WhatsApp to ‘Aduan MBJB’ at 019-7788212,” he said.

Earlier, Bernama reported Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming as saying that local authorities are encouraged to employ arborists to improve landscape management in each municipal area.

Separately in Klang, a fallen tree damaged two vehicles yesterday.

Selangor Fire and Rescue Department assistant director (operations) Ahmad Mukhlis Mokhtar said the incident occurred along Jalan Kapar.

“Two cars were hit by the falling tree, one with a married couple, in their 30s to 40s, with two children, while the other car was driven by a woman in her 40s.

“All victims, including the two children, a boy and girl, were unharmed and had gotten out of their cars before the firemen arrived,” he said, adding that six firemen from North Klang fire station were deployed to the scene after they received a distress call at 3.10pm.