The Perceptions of Local Communities toward Penang National Park

• Published in: IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
• Main Author: Hashim Z.; Abdullah S.A.; Nor S.M.
• Format: Conference paper
• Language: English
• Published: Institute of Physics Publishing 2019
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85062549286&doi=10.1088%2f1755-1315%2f239%2f1%2f012036&partnerID=40&md5=c11a4f67aaa4a4366b87613b32056b17

The national park is considered as one of the protected areas (PA) created to conserve and protect biodiversity for the benefit of living being and humankind. Penang National Park (PNP) was gazetted in 2003 under the National Parks Act 1980 with a total coverage area of 2,563 hectares. It is in the North-Western part of Penang Island. Referring to its size PNP is among the smallest national parks in the world. The main purpose of (PNP) establishment is to preserve and enhance natural scenery, wildlife and cultural heritage. Being one of the protected areas located in the fast-growing state, PNP faces threats such as development pressures, encroachment and illegal development surrounding the park. This issue threatens its function to conserve biodiversity and raises conflict between the community and the management of this area. To maintain its sustainability the protected area should be able to adapt to changes in social and ecological aspects in support of the conservation agenda. Thus, an investigation has been carried out to understand the views of the local communities towards PNP. Data were collected from local communities living near PNP through questionnaire survey involving 282 respondents from two main areas nearby the national park i.e Teluk Bahang and Kampung Pantai Acheh. The understanding on determinants of local community attitudes towards PA might provide guidance in the design, management and assessment of this strategic form of biodiversity conservation. The outcomes were to establish the local community perceptions on the impact of protected area and analyses the association on the economic, social and environmental impact that support the long-term persistence of conservation concern. © 2019 Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.