IPOH – The Local Government Development Ministry has given campsite operators a period of at least two years to comply with the Campsite Planning Guidelines issued today.
Its minister Nga Kor Ming said the guidelines, which come into effect this month, are intended to be a guide to the management and operation of campsites for the authorities, entrepreneurs and campsite operators as well as the public.
“We made these guidelines not to punish anyone, but to help existing and new campsite operators as we encountered feedback from those who do not know how to comply with the guidelines.
“The preparation of this guidelines is due to the landslide tragedy at a campsite in Batang Kali, Selangor, on December 16 last year which claimed 31 lives,” he said at a press conference after launching at Taman D.R. Seenivasagam here today.
Commenting further, Nga said the six guiding principles of campsite planning cover safety, comfort, sustainability, social continuity, economic prosperity and legal compliance.
Nga said all six principles must be followed so that visitors to the licensed site will feel assuredly safe, such as the requirement to be at least 10m away from waterfall areas.
He said the Town and Country Planning Department took four months to complete the guidelines through a series of engagements and expert input sharing sessions with agencies including the Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Ministry, the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry, the Works Ministry, local authorities, and 150 campsite operators from all over the country.
According to him, there are a number of things about the Campsite Planning Guidelines that the ministry needs to streamline, among them the need for assessment before a campsite is set up for operation, as well as an environmental impact assessment.
“There must also be strict regulation and management of campsites, with a scope of inspection and maintenance and grading requirements for tourist accommodation which includes glamping sites,” he said.
On December 16 last year, the landslide that occurred at about 2.30am at the Father’s Organic Farm campsite in Batang Kali involved 92 campers, with 61 survivors and 31 were killed after the landslide buried the campsite.
Security personnel spent nine days in a search-and-rescue operation at the scene to find victims buried in the landslide.
The tragedy was the second deadliest incident after the collapse of the Highland Towers Condominium in 1992 which claimed 48 lives. – December 2, 2023