Campus Sustainability - one of UMP’s Agendas for Excellence

Among the priorities that Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) has always placed upon was the campus greening agenda, a programme which has its place in the planning of the university’s annual budget. 

The university’s main campus that is located in Kuala Pahang is developed on swampland that has been strengthened and reinforced with sand and this has been the main challenge to ensure that trees planted on the land survived.

The soil structure does not hold moisture and water and this is among the challenges that UMP has to face especially during the monsoon season.

However, it is not a reason for UMP to set aside its focus to create a green and sustainable campus for its community. Nowadays, there are many studies that showed organic fertilisers, derived from animal matter or plant matter can help enrich soil and the physical aspect of the soil.

This is the approach that UMP has been using to enrich the nutrients in the sand soil at its Pekan campus.
Sand soil must be fertilised more often as compared to soil from a different structure because nutrients cannot be held together at the surface and the root area of a tree for a long time. By adding the organic material, it will enhance the structure’s capacity to hold together water and nutrients.

Sand soil also has poor physical support for a tree to grow well especially a wood tree. As such, trees planted require good, strong support for the first few seasons of growing to prevent from falling due to strong wind.

This clear-cut measure and direction under the leadership of UMP Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dato’ Sri Daing Nasir Ibrahim has successfully transform the barren campus into a green setting. As a technical university, UMP cannot afford not to do anything about the soil structure and as such, a comprehensive effort has been mobilised, one that is personally supervised by the Vice-Chancellor himself.

The result can be seen today when UMP is listed at the 97th position in the world and the sixth in Malaysia by the UI Green Metrics World University Ranking 2018 that was announced on December 19, 2017 at Balai Sidang, Universitas Indonesia in Indonesia.

The achievement registered in the UI Green Metrics World University Ranking 2018 resulted in UMP jumping up 10 spots from the 107th standing registered in 2017 assessment.

The assessment was made based on six main criteria - Setting and Infrastructure, Energy and Climate Change, Waste, Water, Transportation and Education which helped improve the university’s overall score.

Congratulations to everyone in UMP.

By: HAZLINA FAIZAL, CORPORATE & QUALITY AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT (JHKK)