The awareness of local communities on coastal management in Kuala Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract

Nowadays, there are many concerns about the environmental protection of coastal areas throughout the developed and developing countries. Malaysia is considered one of the countries, which has the administration of coastal zone management by the Federal Government, and it is also strong in surveillance and enforcement but lacks community-based management. Public participation and local-level involvement are recognized as important components of coastal management. This study will be expected to expose and evaluate the current awareness of local community on coastal management based on both; the provision of coastal management programs and the local community knowledge on coastal environmental issues. Moreover, this study also identified the challenges or constraints impeding effective awareness community practicing coastal management Kuala Selangor are selected to be the study area for this research. Additionally, the study outlined the issues of awareness of local community in coastal management and provided recommendations based on a survey conducted in the study area as well. These recommendations will provide the government agencies, private firms and its associations, with suggestions to improve local community awareness on coastal management, which are vital for the planning of coastal areas and implementing environmentally sound management programs that are involving local communities for effective coastal management.