Formerly known as the Sanitary Board, this body serviced the Pekan Kuah area. After World War II and during the British Occupation in 1945, this body was replaced by the Town Board Management. This was subsequently succeeded by the Langkawi Municipal Council (Majlis Perbandaran Langkawi Bandaraya Pelancongan) on April 29th, 1987.
The inception of the Langkawi Municipal Council empowered the agency to become the local authority and was responsible for matters pertaining to the planning, licensing, cleanliness, buildings, and landscape of Langkawi, in-line with the acts, statutes, and Council by-laws.
LCC 2030 Challenge – 2020 Assessment[1]
Zone | Baseline | Audit | Reduction | Reduction |
Bandar Kuah | 60,951.09 | 59,985.38 | 965.72 | 1.58 |
Initiatives in the municipality were focused on water and waste management. For LCC 2030 Challenge assessment period of 2020, the policies introduced by MPLBP was able to achieve carbon emissions savings of 965.72 tonnes of CO2.
Pillars in Building a Sustainable Green Island[2]
Urban Environment
In MPLBP’s concerted efforts in building a sustainable green island, a new roadmap was introduced to consider existing infrastructure and incorporate on-going developments in the area with special considerations made for environmental factors.
Among the key environmental considerations for MPLBP are:
- Development Within Defined Urban Footprint
- Infill Development Brownfield & Greyfield Redevelopment
- Mixed-use Development
- Compact Development
- Road & Parking arrangements
- Comprehensive Pedestrian Network
- Green Open Space
- Number of Trees
Urban Infrastructure
To ensure that residents of their municipality have access to better amenities in the future, city planning has allocated land take for infrastructure and utility services to be developed. MPLBP has earmarked the following infrastructure developments as integral to their aspirations:
- Earthworks Management
- Construction & Industrial Waste Management
- Household Solid Waste Management
- Energy Optimisation
- Renewable Energy
- Efficient Water Management
Urban Buildings
On the buildings front, MPLBP has put forth new standards for their building code, to include the following:
- Operational Energy Emissions
- Operational Water Emissions
- Emissions Abatement Through Retrofitting
- Shared Facilities & Utilities Within Buildings
Community Programmes[3]
To kickstart their efforts in shifting to a low carbon city, MPLBP has successfully launched several pilot community programmes to build awareness and advocate for greater understanding of reducing our carbon footprint at the grassroots level:
- Ecofree Market Langkawi
Started in 2019, this initiative was created as a platform for the community to gather and market their used items or wares that are still in good condition. Rather than disposing of these items in landfills, there might be opportunities for these items to be reused or repurposed by others. The Ecofree Market also gathers items from donations to be distributed to the less fortunate.
- Urban Community Cleaning Programme
Since 2019, to reduce the number of pollutants in the municipality’s waterways and air supply, the local authority has actively worked with community leaders to clean up their streams, rivers and beaches.
- Community Garden
The MPLBP has also been working with community leaders in different districts since 2018 to construct community gardens. These gardens not only increase the number of trees in the townships, but are also working examples of incorporating water and energy efficient measures in the community.
- Electric Vehicles (EVs)
The enforcement vehicle fleet of MPLBP will upgrade to an EV fleet, phasing out the older fleet in favour of the more energy efficient EVs, with the first changes slated to begin in 2025.
References
[1] LCC2030C Audit Report
[2] Dokumen Pelan Tindakan Perlaksanaan Bandar Rendah Karbon – Majlis Perbandaran Langkawi Bandaraya Perlancongan for Low Carbon Cities 2030 Challenge (2019) [pg 8]
[3] Dokumen Pelan Tindakan Perlaksanaan Bandar Rendah Karbon – Majlis Perbandaran Langkawi Bandaraya Perlancongan for Low Carbon Cities 2030 Challenge (2019) [pg 49-57]