Penang is situated in Southeast Asia which is projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to be one of the three regions in the world to be hit the hardest by climate change. Penang is mostly susceptible to increasing temperatures and frequent extreme weather events such as heavy rain and flooding.

The PNBCAP programme takes on a comprehensive and collaborative approach, in which a diversified set of components addressing both the environmental and social dimensions of climate change in Penang’s urban fabric will be implemented.

Programme Objective

The Adaptation Fund was established under the Kyoto Protocol of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC).

The programme seeks to deliver strategic actions for adaptation through funding from the Adaptation Fund. At present, the concept note of the programme has been endorsed by the Adaptation Fund, which was established to help vulnerable communities in developing countries adapt to climate change.

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are viewed as a critical approach to combating climate change and are recommended by many international organisations including the United Nations. They are cost-effective and can mitigate climate change impacts by sequestering carbon. Adaptive NBS are instrumental in a cities transition to becoming more liveable, enjoyable and sustainable.

 Strategically placed green spaces have been proven to be the most effective strategy to control rising temperatures. Parameters such as solar orientation, air circulation, plant species, space typology and other actions should be taken into account in the NBS implementation. The impact of street trees is particularly relevant in the urban context, as they require limited ground-level area and can provide comprehensive protection from solar radiation and heat exposure for people, animals, structures and their materials, thereby mitigating Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects. Local communities were a critical part of the decision-making strategies, as it is important to capitalise on their deep connection to local environments.

Recommended strategies to address flooding include increasing green spaces for stormwater retention and creating a linear park with retention areas along the Penang River. These efforts must also address challenges associated with changing rainfall patterns by implementing seasonal stormwater retention mechanisms in upstream areas, as well as swales and infiltration wells downstream, while continuously monitoring their impact on flood mitigation.

The programme’s components are as follows:

Component 1: Adaptation to UHI effects through urban greening

1.1: Introducing new tree-lined streets in George Town and Bayan Lepas

1.2: Vacant spaces constructed into pocket parks, with microclimate-oriented design

1.3: Introducing trees in car parks, for shading and UHI reduction

1.4: Grants programme for built structures façade greening

1.5: Grants programme for built structures rooftop gardens

1.6: Grants programme for urban agricultural efforts

Component 2: Improved stormwater and flood management

2.1: Expansion of blue-green corridors for stormwater management and heat regulation

2.2: Constructing new upstream retention ponds to avoid downstream runoff

2.3: Restoring or constructing swales and infiltration wells for stormwater retention

Component 3: Comprehensive vulnerability assessment and action plans

3.1: Capacity development support for vulnerability evaluation and planning related to climate change

Component 4: Strengthening social resilience

4.1: Implementing school-level awareness programme focused on educating the youth

4.2: Implementing women and girls programme focused on building a social support network for women and girls

Component 5: Building institutional capacity and knowledge transfer platform

5.1: Developing communications and knowledge online platform as a repository to codified methodologies for stakeholders and acting bodies

5.2: Creation of Penang Climate Board – a dedicated unit to centralise all climate-change issues

5.3: Initiating climate-related public health programmes

The total cost of the programme is USD 10 million.

 The budget allocation was structured across the following components:

Component 1: Adaptation to UHI effects through urban greening (USD 3,175,000)

Component 2: Improved stormwater and flood management (USD 2,725,000)

Component 3: Comprehensive vulnerability assessment and action plans (USD 160,000)

Component 4: Strengthening social resilience (USD 975,000)

Component 5: Building institutional capacity and knowledge transfer platform (USD 1,306,014)

Strategic Partners:

UN Habitat

Jabatan Pengairan Dan Saliran Malaysia

Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia

Penang Green Council

Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang

Nahrim

Universiti Sains Malaysia

The programme aims for transformative change that will benefit Penang’s public health, infrastructure resilience, ecosystems and biodiversity. The central focus is on sustainability; the proposed NBS can achieve both financial and environmental sustainability, as they are far more cost-effective than conventional alternatives in mitigating climate change through their active carbon sequestering mechanism.

Institutional - Building the institutional capacity of other municipalities in Malaysia via the knowledge transfer platform and replication of climate adaptation strategies.

 Social - Communities will gain greater awareness of climate change impacts adaptation needs,  developing skills in urban agriculture and building and maintaining green infrastructure. Through engagement with vulnerable communities (low-income, elderly, women and girls, and youth), the programme will reduce inequities in social dynamics related to climate impact vulnerability.

 Economic - Adaptive measures will reduce economic losses and damages from flooding hazards.

 Environmental - It is of utmost importance that no programme components (particularly built elements) have negative impacts on ecosystems. This is ensured by collaborations with botanical experts and dialogue with the National Institute of Wildlife and Forestry.

Malaysia’s average annual precipitation for the past decade is 2,434 mm, representing an unusual increase of 29.6% from the previous decade. These erratic patterns are already causing significant damage in Penang where flooding has become a major issue. In 2016, 47 flood cases were reported in the most urbanized areas, proving that the capacity of drainage infrastructure in urban areas cannot cope with increasing rain intensity, putting human lives, properties and the economy at risk.

Temperature increase has been substantial: the island’s climate station revealed a significant increasing trend during the 1951-2018 period, found in both the annual and monthly mean temperatures at a 95% confidence level. With magnitudes ranging from 0.18 to 0.27°C per decade, the mean temperature increased by an alarming 1.5c  from 1951 to 2018.

Vulnerable communities in Penang include those living in flood-prone areas that coincidently have the highest concentration of elderly and low income groups (B40) with no access to air conditioning to cope with UHI effects, and women and girls with low labour-force participation rate (59%).

The programme is a pilot initiative that will serve as a municipal framework for climate adaptation with the potential for it to be scaled and adapted in other cities in Malaysia and elsewhere in the region. References and codified methodology will be shared and communicated via a knowledge transfer platform, where coordination between different stakeholders from different local authorities can be strengthened in a holistic, integrated way.