Botanic garden profile: Rimba Ilmu (the ‘Forest of Knowledge’) at 50

Abstract

Established in 1974 within the Universiti Malaya campus, the Rimba Ilmu Botanic Garden is Malaysia’s first university botanic garden. Occupying nearly 60 ha in the Klang Valley, Malaysia’s most populated metropolis, Rimba Ilmu has evolved from an abandoned rubber plantation into a garden of 1,300 planted species, with many more spontaneously established. Unusually for a botanic garden, it eschews a formal flower garden aesthetic in favour of a tropical forest one: natural processes shape the Garden and its inhabitants alongside human-directed curation. As one of the last large green lungs in the Klang Valley, Rimba Ilmu provides essential ecosystem services to the city. The site houses the oldest and largest university herbarium in Malaysia, Universiti Malaya Herbarium (KLU), where 81,000 specimens are stored. Since the late 1990s, Rimba Ilmu has played a role in public environmental education, supported by facilities such as its Rare Plants & Orchid Conservatory and Rain Forests & Our Environment permanent exhibition. Rimba Ilmu has a community-oriented ethos. It has long supported the participation and development of volunteers, and continues to welcome collaborations with diverse partners. Holding on to a mission of research, conservation and education, Rimba Ilmu is part of the United Nations University’s Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development Central Semenanjung. In 2024, Rimba Ilmu celebrated its 50th anniversary with a series of public events and a specially commissioned exhibition, Belukar dah jadi Rimba