Urban park and educational benefits of ecosyste\m: case study of Taman Perbandaran Pulau Pinang
The potential of urban parks in providing education on ecosystem is important as a mean to increase socio-ecological well-being. Sustainable development requires the quality and sustenance of the socio-ecological system which pose a need for knowledge on how ecosystems fulfil social needs. This d...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Conference or Workshop Item |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2015
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://eprints.usm.my/35142/1/PPIK33.pdf http://eprints.usm.my/35142/ |
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| Institution: | Universiti Sains Malaysia |
| Language: | English |
| Summary: | The potential of urban parks in providing education on ecosystem is important as a
mean to increase socio-ecological well-being. Sustainable development requires the quality and
sustenance of the socio-ecological system which pose a need for knowledge on how ecosystems fulfil
social needs. This dependence can be described in the operational definition of ecosystem in
providing services, benefits or products to meet human needs, directly or indirectly, which occurred
along natural processes and ecosystem structure known as ecosystem services. Hence, the importance
of education on ecosystem services to ensure socio-ecological well-being. The article intends to
identify ecosystem services that can be found in the urban park and identify potential educational
activities to be established in the urban park. Firstly, observations were used to map and identify
ecosystem services of the park. Secondly, purposive sampling with two sets of semi-structured
interview with 100 urban park visitors and five representatives from five focus groups. The results
show that the ecosystem in Taman Perbandaran Pulau Pinang is able to provide benefits to humans in
terms of supporting services, regulating services, provisioning of services and cultural services to the
users. These services can be used in educational activities to improve knowledge on the importance of
ecosystem for social well-being. At present, only labels indicating plants’ name are available at the
park. Therefore, other forms of ecosystem educational activities could be established in cooperation
with various stakeholders and the park management to further enhance the functions of the urban park
ecosystem landscape. In summary, urban parks provide educational benefits to urban communities
through reinforcing knowledge of ecosystem services that are important for social well-being. |
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