Interactive Map Brings Insight into Malaysia’s Coral Reef Health
KUALA LUMPUR, 20 APRIL 2023 – Earth Day is celebrated every year on 22 April. It is a day to raise awareness of the need to protect Earth’s natural resources for future generations. One of these natural resources is our coral reefs.
Coral reefs provide habitat for a huge variety of marine life and support the effective flow of the marine food chain. However, there are still a lot of misconceptions about coral reefs, such as it is a rock, when coral reef is an animal. Without coral reefs, many marine species would not survive as coral reefs act as their nursery, home in adulthood, and food source. For humans, a lot of jobs will be lost without coral reefs, particularly in coastal fisheries and tourism. Not only that, we will also lose protection against coastal erosion and a huge portion of our food source.
“Reefs provide not only food, but also important jobs for many coastal communities in Malaysia, and they are an important tourism product. Simple actions on a local level can significantly contribute to improving the health and resilience of our reefs.” shared Julian Hyde, Reef Check Malaysia’s General Manager.
Reef Check Malaysia (RCM) coordinates the annual Reef Check survey programme, working with partners Department of Fisheries, island communities and trained volunteers. In 2022 the programme covered more than 300 coral reef sites around Malaysia, and provides a “health check” on coral reefs. Recently, RCM released its 2022 Annual Reef Check survey report.
Reef Check Malaysia conducts annual Reef Check survey
The report shows that on average, the coral reefs surveyed in 2022 have a “fair” level of live coral cover, at 47.83%. This is a slight increase from 2021(44.26%) and continues an upward trend noted since last year’s surveys, reversing a decline that started in 2015.
RCM is of the opinion that the improving trend is due to the huge reduction in tourist numbers to coral reefs during the Covid-19 pandemic. In one of its recommendations, RCM suggests that temporary site closures should be considered as a management measure for the conservation of marine ecosystems. Furthermore, it is suggested that the government should consider introducing a more sustainable tourism model, which is in line with tourists’ increasing demands for more authentic experiences and which will also reduce the pressure on the environment.
Map showing the reef health composition of each survey location in Peninsular Malaysia based on Live Coral Cover.Map showing the reef health composition of each survey location in Sabah based on Live Coral Cover.Map showing the reef health composition of each survey location in Sarawak based on Live Coral Cover.
While we welcome the improvement in the percentage of Live Coral Cover, which is a key coral reef health indicator, RCM urges the government to intensify efforts to protect our reefs.”, Julian added.
It is hoped that more proactive actions are taken to conserve and protect our coral reefs. The protection of coral reefs will benefit not only the marine ecosystem but also livelihoods and food security.
KUALA LUMPUR, 18 OCTOBER 2024 – 8,569 volunteers from all around Malaysia collected 41,015kg of trash during the annual International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) event in September 2024.
Among 388,730 items collected, the most common item found was plastic bottles at 50,785 bottles. The second and third most common items were cigarette butts at 39,584 pieces and plastic/foam pieces at 38,801 pieces.
Reef Check Malaysia (RCM) coordinates the nationwide ICC in Malaysia every year since 2018. Organizations, groups and individuals collect data during the cleanup and key in data into the Clean Swell app to contribute to the global database of cleanups by Ocean Conservancy.
Tengku Zatashah, Princess Beach Cleanup in action
Y.A.M Tengku Zatashah binti Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, the princess of Selangor, who is also fondly known as ‘Princess Beach Cleanup’, also participated in this year’s ICC. “The International Coastal Cleanup is an event I look forward to every year since 2017. Participating in beach cleanups allows us to see the problem firsthand and take action to address it. I encourage everyone to do their part in keeping our oceans clean.” commented Tengku Zatashah who joined the ICC at Pantai Morib Baharu in Selangor this year.
Proud volunteers of Hapag-Lloyd Business Services Malaysia that cleaned up Pantai Batu 23
This year’s ICC was supported by Hapag-Llyod Business Services Malaysia and KPMG Malaysia. Hapag-Llyod Business Services Malaysia’s volunteers cleaned Pantai Batu 23 for ICC and collected 54.75 kg of trash. KPMG Malaysia chose to clean Pantai Remis, Kuala Selangor and collected 126.61kg of trash.
Coastal Cleanup is an event I look forward to every year since 2017. Participating in beach cleanups allows us to see the problem firsthand and take action to address it. I encourage everyone to do their part in keeping our oceans clean.” commented Tengku Zatashah who joined the ICC at Pantai Morib Baharu in Selangor this year.
KPMG volunteers cleared 126.61kg of trash from Pantai Remis
Reef Check Malaysia also held their Kod Blue: Laut Needs You event as part of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC). Volunteers for Kod Blue 2024 which happened on 7 September at Kampung Air Batang, Tioman Island, collected 757.7kg of trash from the beach cleanup and 50.8kg of trash from the underwater cleanup. The underwater cleanup team also removed 62 coral predators, the Crown-of-Thorns starfish (COT).
All Kod Blue 2024 volunteers before the cleanups
“The objective of the event is to spread awareness about the issue of marine debris while bringing together the general public and the local community of Tioman Island,” said Theresa Ng, Chief Operating Officer of Reef Check Malaysia. “Kod Blue is an homage to the term used to mean ’emergency’ in the medical field, and ‘blue’ is also a nod to the ocean.”
The second event in the series featured a conservation talk by Reef Check Malaysia’s Chief Programmes Officer, Alvin Chelliah, a special ‘Action Camera Underwater Videography’ workshop by Reef Check Malaysia’s ambassador, Baki Zainal, a beach and underwater cleanup, a ‘Pasar Malam Mesra Alam’ offering local delicacies from the Tioman Island community, a glass crusher and coral block workshop, and a movie night.
Volunteers segregated trash according to types
The event was supported by sponsors including Migalabs, Diamond & Platinum, REEF, Bose, Sol Sauce Sunscreen, Akkord Scents, Nautika Scuba Centre, B&J Diving Centre, Small Towns Malaysia, Ryan’s Special Needs Care Centre, Garmin Malaysia, Cowa, MobyTek, and Nazri’s Place.
“We are grateful for our sponsors for their generous sponsorship and support for Kod Blue 2024.” commented Theresa.
“We also would like to thank our ambassadors, Sharifah Sofia and Baki Zainal, all of our volunteers including representatives from Tioman Development Authority, Department of Fisheries (DOF), Alam Flora, SWCORP ROMPIN, PERHILITAN Department, Tioman Police, SMK Tekek (Nature Lovers Club), and Malaysia Civil Defence Force for participating in our cleanup effort.” added Theresa.
A TMCG member who supported our cleanup weighed all trash collected
Every year, millions of tons of trash—including an estimated 11 million metric tons of plastic waste—flows into the ocean, impacting more than 800 marine species and even entering the food chain.
“When I first heard about Kod Blue 2024, I was excited, and I think it is a good chance to be part of conservation work with experts in the field. It was not easy to make time for this event, but I am very happy I did. I get to meet like-minded people, and I enjoy every second of the activities. I have a lot of takeaways from this event” commented Yvonne Jong, one of the underwater participants of Kod Blue 2024.
