CINTAI MANTANANI

Our “Homestays Improvement Program” that we began in Mantanani has been progressing rather well. After several training sessions with the local homestay owners, they were equipped with better skills to run their business. The two-year project called “Establishing Community-Based Eco-Tourism in Mantanani”, funded by GEF SGP UNDP Malaysia, ended in 2022. Since then, the businesses have been running and generating quite good income for the local owners. The total income in 2023 alone was close to RM60,000, which is almost three times more than the income in 2021! The total number of tourists who used the homestays also increased from 124 people in 2021, to 425 people in 2022, to 665 in 2023!

In mid-November, 60 bundles of compressed plastic (22,039 bottles) weighing 407 kg and metal cans weighing 110 kg, were sent to the mainland and collected by recycling company (GNC). The company paid RM 177.10 for these recyclables and this money was used to cover the cost of truck transportation from Kota Kinabalu, which was RM150. This did not include the cost of RM1,000 to rent a boat to transport these items to the mainland.

As for the waste management programme, more than 1,800 kg of trash collected in the last three months of 2023 was transported out of the island to the Kayu Madang landfill area. We’re still facing the problem of costs with regards to our effort in transporting recyclables and other waste. If you have any suggestion on how we could manage it in a more cost-efficient manner, do get in touch with us!

Trash being sent out of the island to Kayu Madang landfill

KOTA KINABALU

In October, the Sabah Conference on Community-Based Marine Resource Management, was held in Sandakan. It was co-hosted by the Sabah Forestry Department in collaboration with WWF-Malaysia, Forever Sabah, PACOS Trust and RCM. There was a good turnout at this conference, including representatives from Sabah Parks, Department of Fisheries Malaysia, Sabah Biodiversity Centre and other relevant government agencies, as well as representatives from local coastal and island communities, besides our RCM colleagues. The purpose of the event was to streamline efforts in expanding the protection of Sabah’s marine environment. A mapping exercise during the conference also revealed that there are 17 coastal community groups in Sabah that are protecting more than 12K hectares of marine and coastal areas. Fauzi represented RCM to deliver a presentation on “Building Resilience through Empowering Local Community”.

In November, RCM and WWF-Malaysia conducted the annual Reef Check surveys, in 18 sites around Tun Mustapha Park. Besides our RCM colleagues, we had EcoDivers from the local community groups, Banggi Corals Conservation Society and Kudat Turtle Conservation Society. While conducting the survey, the team also removed two ghost nets from two different sites.

In December, our colleague Calvin represented RCM at the Darvel Bay Zoning Plan Workshop organised by Sabah Parks, where RCM contributes our annual survey data.

SEMPORNA

In October, a 10-day physical training on MARS Assisted Reef Restoration System (MARRS) was conducted in Selakan Island. This was a continuation to the online series of training on MARRS methods, delivered by MARS trainers from Indonesia. 7 participants successfully completed the training, and will undergo a final competency evaluation before being certified as a MARS trained personnel. Certified MARS trainers will be able to conduct coral restoration projects using the MARRS method in the future.

At the end the training, 290 MARS Reef Stars with 4,350 coral fragments were successfully deployed at the damaged reef of Selakan Island. We also witnessed the participation of the Selakan community from different backgrounds and ages, especially during the preparation which involved sand coating the Reef Star, tying the coral fragments and deploying the Reef Star to the selected sites. Additionally, the training also included coral awareness talk and social survey training to obtain the perception of the local community on coral restoration efforts in Selakan.

Our colleagues have also been organising training courses for several stakeholders. An advanced open water (AOW) course and rescue diver course was conducted for 8 youths from Mabul, Larapan and Kulapuan Islands. The training was held as part of the IKI coral restoration programmes on these three islands, to provide deeper knowledge and skills necessary to help prevent diving accidents, recognize life threatening diving situations, perform or supervise in-water rescues, manage rescue operations and provide post-rescue aid.

In December, trainers from RCM, Reef Guardian and Kudat conducted an EcoDiver training course for 8 Selakan Youth and 2 Sabah Parks staff. The 3-day training consists of theoretical and practical sessions, as well as written assessments.

Our RCM colleagues, in collaboration with Sabah Parks, organised a 3-day Sabah Reef Resilience Workshop in Semporna, which was attended by 22 participants from different agencies and organisations. During the workshop which was conducted by Alvin, an experienced trainer from RCM, we focused on the importance of reef resilience, survey specifications and methodologies based on refined indicators adopted from NOAA. Participants also had the opportunity to visit Selakan Island, to learn and familiarise themselves with the methods and underwater indicators, supervised by a trainer. To end the workshop, participants conducted reef resilience assessments at two sites within Tun Sakaran Marine Parks as part of the survey training.

Following the Reef Resilience Workshop and EcoDiver Training, the divers from the Selakan Marine Conservation Group, along with RCM’s team from Tioman and Kota Kinabalu, and several divers from local island conservation group conducted reef resilience surveys in Tun Sakaran Marine Park. A total of 15 reef sites with two depths were assessed within the park, using methods and underwater indicators learnt during the workshop.

Our colleagues have also been conducting several Coral Restoration Training sessions, which have been a pivotal part of Reef Check Malaysia's community empowerment project. This was made possible through the generous support of our primary funders, the IKI Small Grant Programmes, and the collaborative efforts of community-based organizations in Semporna. One of our final sessions of this community-based coral restoration project was with the youth from Kulapuan, Larapan, and Mabul.

Our primary objective was to introduce at least four coral restoration methods on their respective islands, guiding the youths as they learn about coral nurseries and concrete blocks (bottle reef/rebar) methods. The youth successfully completed all training sessions, affixing 621 "coral cookies" on the Coral Culture Table, and tying 30 additional fragments to the concrete block (bottle reef/rebar). Looking ahead to the next year, each team is poised to expand their coral restoration efforts on their respective islands, applying the knowledge gained from this year's training session.

In our recent discussions, we delved into the long-term vision for community organization and explored sustainable financing mechanisms, particularly through the innovative Semporna Coral Adoption Programme. This forward-thinking approach aims to ensure the continued success of coral rehabilitation efforts, fostering a self-sustaining model that empowers local communities.