More alternative livelihoods for the communities in Sabah

On our latest collaboration with Seadling, we have been invited to organize a capacity building programme for the local communities in Kg. Baru-baru, Tuaran to teach them about the marine ecosystems which includes marine resources that can be found in their area, its importance and the threats its facing and how we can conserve it.

We hope to engage with them in future workshops to continue equipping them with knowledge and understanding towards our marine ecosystems and current environmental issues.

Seadling is developing an alternative livelihood programme for the local fishermen to transition from offshore fishing to sustainable seaweed farming.

Mersing Heart of the Ocean : October-December 2021

Our Mersing islands initiative is supported by MISC Group through its Heart of the Ocean marine biodiversity conservation programme, which aims to improve ocean health by supporting coral reef conservation, increase reef resilience, and reduce plastic litter in our ocean.

THE CURRENT SITUATION

MERSING ISLANDS' CORAL REEFS in ‘fair’ condition

Last year, we expanded the Reef Check surveys around the Mersing islands to 29 sites, including two new sites off Pulau Lima.

Our team, in collaboration with the Department of Fisheries Johor, has surveyed sites at Pulau Sibu, Pulau Tinggi, Pulau Besar, Pulau Pemanggil, Pulau Aur and Pulau Lima in August and September 2021.

Thanks to Tengah Island Conservation, a non-profit marine conservation organisation located on Pulau Tengah, the surveys were done successfully together with volunteers from the Mersing islands.

The 2021 Reef Check surveys revealed that Mersing’s average coral cover remained in a 'fair' condition at approximately 43%, although slightly decreased from 45% in 2020.

Coral Cover Category:

Over the years, coral cover around the Mersing islands has been gradually declining. Conversely, disturbance and pollution indicators have been on the rise.

Although not conclusive, the gradual decline in the average coral cover is likely due to natural and human impacts such as rough weather condition, high sedimentation, coral predators, destructive fishing practices and tourism activities.

This year, we plan to increase our survey sites to 32, better representing Mersing’s coral reef health condition.

So, how do our yearly Reef Check survey findings BUILD AWARENESS towards coral reef conservation in the Mersing Islands?

In December last year, we shared our 2021 Reef Check survey findings in a workshop with Mersing islands' local tourism players, including island representatives and operators of chalets, boats and island hopping activities.

Reef Check Malaysia co-organised the workshop with Tourism Johor and Mersing Tourism Association, focusing on introducing various natural tourism products in Mersing and highlighting the responsibilities of tourism operators to protect the environment, especially the coral reef ecosystem.

The workshop has generated greater interest among the participants towards playing a more active role in protecting and conserving the Mersing islands’ coral reef ecosystem as well as reducing human impacts from tourism-related activities.

We will continue sharing our survey findings with other local stakeholders in the coming months to build awareness on the current health of Mersing islands' coral reef ecosystem and encourage greater participation among the local communities to proactively protect and conserve them.

OUT & about

MONTHLY BEACH CLEAN-UP ROLLS OUT

We have started a new monthly beach clean-up programme, kicking it off at Pantai Bandar Mersing with 568 kg of marine debris collected between January to March .

Marine debris is one of the main environmental threats to Mersing's coastal environment, particularly to the beaches.

The monthly beach clean-up programme aims to build the local communities’ awareness and participation to help address the marine debris issue in Mersing.

A total of 29 participants including local youths and staff of Hotel Seri Malaysia Mersing has joined our clean-up session. Most of the debris collected were plastic-based materials such as bags, bottles, wrappings and styrofoam.

Reefs and Tourism: How do we “build back better” with tourism in mind?

This is the second of two articles looking at the impacts of tourism on coral reefs and how the tourism market that is emerging post-Covid could be a boon for both reefs and the local communities that rely on them.

Over the last few decades, tourism has become an intrinsic and important part of many economies; this cannot be denied. This is particularly true in South East Asia, where islands that have become popular tourism destinations are suffering economically due to the collapse of tourism that followed the pandemic.

Or are they suffering?

I am certainly not going to deny that some communities are facing severe hardship as tourists stay away. But…as I mentioned in the previous article, a recent trip to Tioman island (one of those popular destinations) revealed that actually, the local residents are quite relaxed about things – they seem quite happy that they have “got their home back”.  

Malaysia, among other countries in the region, has seen massive growth in tourism. You only have to visit islands like Mantanani, which saw the number of day trippers grow from 50 per day to as many as 3,000 per day over a 10-year period. Clearly there are going to be impacts.

So how do we balance the impacts that tourism has – on ecosystems and communities – against the economic benefits? Do the benefits accrue to the host communities…or do they benefit a small number of corporations? Is unfettered tourism growth really the way forward, or are there different paths?

Let’s add tourism trends into the mix. Numerous industry studies all point to the same thing: tourism is going sustainable. What will the future tourism market look like? And are we adjusting to that new market?

According to the OECD report “Tourism Trends and Policies 2020”, top policy priorities seek to maximise the economic, environmental and social benefits that tourism can bring, while reducing the pressures that arise when this growth is unplanned and unmanaged. For example, efforts have been made to deal effectively with overcrowding at popular destinations, spread the economic and other benefits to areas that attract fewer visitors, develop new products to expand the season, and encourage increased productivity, better resource use, and more stable employment.

To ensure these policies are actually having the desired impact, countries are:

• strengthening co-ordination and implementation mechanisms

• reforming destination management practices

• modernising regulations

• adopting digital solutions

• strengthening dialogue with civil society

• engaging the private sector in policy making

Governments are actively fostering tourism development that brings clear economic benefits, while also providing a wider set of advantages for places, local communities, businesses, employees, and visitors. Tourism success can no longer simply be measured in terms of arrivals, jobs and income. Ensuring that local communities can more equally benefit from tourism is a prevailing policy trend and progress has been made.

A review of the tourism industry by specialist on-line tour company Regiondo identified active ecotourism, transformative travel, experience tourism and wellness travel as among 12 trends that are expected to shape the travel industry beyond 2022.

Active Ecotourism has emerged in response to calls for more sustainable and thoughtful tourism. It encourages combining the passion for travel with direct involvement in conservation and supporting the local environment.

According to a recent Amadeus survey on rebuilding travel, people consider cost-effective sustainable travel a priority. 37% of travellers surveyed think opportunities for travellers to be involved in the preservation of tourist destinations will help the industry to become more sustainable in the long term.

According to Evolve’s 2022 travel forecasts, 58% of people will be more interested in exploring the outdoors and practicing relevant activities including hiking, biking, and kayaking. Mountain/rural escapes and waterfront getaways are expected to be popular vacation experiences in the future.

These views are echoed in other industry commentaries, such as Revfine, which says that today’s tourists don’t want to be insulated from the places they visit inside a cultural bubble. They want to engage with and participate in the local culture. From enjoying local cuisine to celebrating regional festivals and holidays, local experiences are set to become some of the top tourist trends to watch. One example of a popular local experience might be a long stay with a host family in the destination country as a means to learn more about the local culture.

Finally, Booking.com’s annual Sustainable Travel Report 2021 indicates a continuing trend for more sustainable travel:

•  83% of global travellers think sustainable travel is vital, with 61% saying the pandemic has made them want to travel more sustainably in the future

• Almost half (49%) still believe that in 2021, there aren’t enough sustainable travel options available, with 53% admitting they get annoyed if somewhere they are staying stops them from being sustainable, for example by not providing recycling facilities

• Respect for the local community is also high on the list as almost three quarters (73%) want to have authentic experiences that are representative of the local culture when they travel

• 84% believe increasing cultural understanding and preservation of cultural heritage is crucial and 76% want to ensure the economic impact of the industry is spread equally in all levels of society.

• Furthermore, 69% will go as far as avoiding popular destinations and attractions to ensure they aren’t contributing to overcrowding challenges and helping do their part to disperse the positive benefits of travel to less frequently visited destinations and communities.

Our surveys of coral reefs around Malaysia in 2021 have revealed some interesting trends. Some of the data indicate that the health of coral reefs (as measured by hard coral cover) has increased in some areas. Could this be a recovery enabled by less tourists diving and snorkelling on the reefs? That could point to a very important conservation strategy – and equally to a more sustainable approach to tourism.

How does all this relate to Malaysia?

There are calls that echo the “build back better” concept that is widely heard today. But how do we “build back better” with tourism in mind?

It seems that our local competitors (Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia) are all actively looking at more sustainable tourism. The Bangkok Tribune reported in November 2021 that the pandemic has:

“created an opportunity for the country to review and recalibrate its environmentally harmful (tourism) model, and turn the focus to biodiversity-based tourism to make it far more sustainable”.

Gone are the days of hordes of beach tourists; a new, more sustainable future is in store for tourism in Thailand. Similar moves are under way in the Philippines and Indonesia.

Perhaps it is time for Malaysia, too, to consider its tourism strategy. Islands such as Tioman remain largely un-developed – though development pressures are increasing, with calls from some quarters for a new airport and additional resorts – to increase the number of visitors four-fold. As pointed out in previous articles, the island’s infrastructure can barely cope during the busy tourism season at current visitor numbers. How will it manage with such an increase?

Perhaps it is time to listen to the market: start to draw up plans for smaller numbers of tourists, but go up the value chain and provide higher-value products that will cater to the emerging market for authentic, local experiences in pristine environments and with close cultural ties. That wouldn’t only meet the needs of tourists…it might just meet the needs of local communities and ecosystems, too.

That’s how to “build back better”.

Reef Check Malaysia - New Logo

Reef Check Malaysia's logo has undergone a transformation and we are proud to present to you our new logo!

Following a re-branding exercise by Reef Check Foundation in the USA, and under the terms of the country agreement we signed with them, we are following their lead and introducing a new look here in Malaysia.

The new branding focuses a little more on the citizen scientist aspect of Reef Check, showing a diver conducting a reef survey. Fonts and colours have also been updated to be more contemporary.

Together with Reef Check Foundation and all the Reef Check chapters around the world, we continue to dedicate our hard work in conserving and improving the health of coral reefs.

Cintai Mantanani: October-December 2021 News

Cintai Mantanani is a long-term effort by Reef Check Malaysia which strives to ensure the economic well-being of the community while protecting our marine environment. Currently, we have a team of three based on Mantanani Island running the projects on the ground relating to waste management, plastic recycling, alternative livehoods, and, community-based tourism.

COMMUNITY-BASED ECOTOURISM

Hospitality Training by Encik Ben Uzair

Reef conservation training with the Mantanani youths

CBET Workshop by Sabah Tourism Board, FeRTAS & MoTAC

upskilling with the community

A total of ten training have been delivered under the Community Based Ecotourism (CBET) Module which is supported by the GEF Small Grants Programme.

74 islanders participated in this series of training which involved experts and experienced trainers on different training topics such as Mandarin, English, turtle and coral reefs conservation, hospitality, digital marketing, basic computer skills and many more.

In 20 November, another CBET workshop was conducted for 50 islanders with the help of Sabah Tourism Board, FeRTAS, and MoTAC. The workshop provided an introduction and understanding on the CBET concept and some of the leading examples in Sabah.

The Homestays Mantanani operators were also able to participate in a hospitality and marketing training conducted by Sabah Tourism Board, MoTAC, and BEFF Suara, which provided the operators with skills and tactics to improve their homestays.

economic recovery programme

NEVER STOP LEARNING - KEBUN KOMUNITI

As part of Yayasan Hasanah’s Economic Recovery Programme to provide alternative livelihoods to the local community, we continue to provide mentoring and training sessions to the Kebun Komuniti members.

In October 2021, we invited Partners of Community Organizations in Sabah (PACOS) to hold an agricultural training session for the Kebun Komuniti team.

Through this training, the members learned about different ways to compost, plant, and create their own organic fertilisers!

Handmade soap with love and care by the VCO team

Training in progress with SOP.CO

transformation in the VIRGIN COCONUT OIL production team

With the virgin coconut oil production going strong and the help of SŌP.CO in guiding the VCO team, now the team has learned how to diversify their VCO products into making soaps, lip balm, and coconut biscuits.

These are all products of the island, made with love and care by a group of local Mantanani islanders.

In December, the VCO team launched the new products on Mantanani Local Products FB Page. Do check out their products!

Cintai Tioman : October-December 2021 News

Cintai Tioman is a 10-year old programme designed to enhance the resilience of coral reefs and social resilience of the community on Pulau Tioman. Reef Check Malaysia, with the help of Yayasan Sime Darby as sponsor, aims to meet several objectives through the programme, including:

• Reducing local impacts to the reefs

• Building capacity of local community and empowering them to take greater roles in coral reef conservation and management

• IUCN Green List Accreditation for Tioman Island Marine Park

Ghost Net Removal

Ghost nets are fishing nets that are abandoned, lost, or dumped at sea. These ghost nets are often caught on coral reefs or continue to drift in the ocean, entangling and killing marine life.

From January to December 2021, a total of 37 nets weighing 4650kg was successfully removed from the reefs around Tioman Island. This effort was made possible by TMCG members and dive centres in Tioman, with funding from the Department of Fisheries Malaysia, Ministry of Finance, Tenaka, Little Sarong and Yayasan SIME Darby.

BASIC trekking GUIDE COURSE

A total of 20 islanders from 7 villages in Pulau Tioman participated in a Basic Trekking Guide Course from 27-29 October 2021 at Kampung Mukut. Conducted by the Malaysia Nature Guide Association (MANAGA) and funded by MOF, this course aimed to train and provide new exposure to participants in skills related to guiding tourists and conducting jungle activities safely.

crown-of-thorns injection

The Crown of Thrones (COT) has long, venomous thorns and they eat corals. Some of the reasons for the increase  of COTs are overfishing, increased nutrients in the water and climate change.

From October to December 2021, TMCG members and dive centres killed 406 Cots. Thank you to everyone involved in the effort.

reef rehabilitation

Through out the year TMCG members have been working on our coral nurseries, conducting maintenance and monitoring to ensure that the rehabilitated corals are growing healthily.

Now that we have newly certified TMCG members in the other villages, we plan to extended the reef rehabilitation efforts to other villages next year.

Green Hotel Assessment

Another achievement for 2021 was the successful evaluation of 44 resorts and hotels on Tioman Island under the ASEAN Green Hotel Standard assessment programme.

Each accommodation is rated based on 10 criteria that aims to encourage environmentally friendly business operations that consciously take steps to preserve and conserve the environment.

Eco Diver Course Training

In early October, Reef Check Malaysia organized an EcoDiver course with the Department of Fisheries.

27 participants from that Department and the Association of Administrative and Diplomatic Services were successfully trained as Ecodivers.

As EcoDivers now, they will be able to volunteer in conducting Reef Check surveys and collecting data to assess the health of our reefs.

Reefs and Tourism: Balancing economic benefits against community & ecosystem impacts

This is the first of a two-part piece on the impacts of tourism on coral reefs and how the tourism market that is emerging post-Covid could be a boon for both reefs and the local communities that rely on them.

Previously we have looked at how a number of inter-linked themes have an impact on management of coral reefs: resilience, livelihoods and co-management. But one thing we haven’t considered in any detail is tourism and its impacts on coral reefs. This is particularly appropriate now, given the impact of the pandemic on tourism.

So: reefs and tourism - what’s the issue?

Let’s start off by recognising the importance of tourism to most national economies. According to data from the Ministry of Tourism, pre-Covid, Malaysia was receiving around 25-26 million tourists per year; tourism accounted for nearly 10% of GDP and as many as one in four or five jobs, depending on how you measure it. So, big. Important.

And this is especially true of Malaysia’s islands, a magnet for tourists from all over the world – whether hard core divers or people who just want a day on the beach.

Pick an island. Tioman island off the East coast of Peninsular Malaysia is close to my heart. With a population of around 3,700 in seven villages, it receives approximately 250,000 visitors per year. Mantanani island – off the West coast of Sabah in Borneo – has a population of just under 1,000. Tourists? Pre-Covid as many as 3,000 per day. Yeah. We’ll come back to that shortly.

Just as an example of the value of tourism, we have previously estimated that marine-related tourism to the three East coast islands of Tioman, Redang and Perhentian is worth around RM 500 million per year – on accommodation, food, activities; and that doesn’t include related expenditure such as stays in KL, other travel, etc. Islands such as Tioman rely almost 100% on tourism for their economy; on most of the islands there is 100% employment during the season.

So that’s the good news. But there is a down-side to tourism, too, and that is the impact that those hordes of visitors have on the places that they visit.

There is a considerable body of research that describes how large numbers of tourists can harm both ecosystems (physical breakage by divers and snorkelers, pollution from inadequate sewage treatment infrastructure, trash, etc.), and the communities that live on the islands, who, quite often, didn’t really ask for all those tourists in the first place.

Let’s look at that last statement a bit more carefully.

Yes, we have acknowledged the economic benefit of tourism; and yes, most of these communities do welcome tourism, for the jobs it provides. But…do they really welcome mass tourism on the scale they are experiencing? Were they ever consulted on what type of tourism they would support? Did anyone really think about the trajectory of tourist numbers? Who is responsible for regulating tourism, numbers of tourists, operators, etc.? Or do we not care – relying on the mantra “tourism is good for the economy”?

Take Mantanani island as a case study. 10 years ago the island was home to a couple of small backpacker resorts and a voluntourism operator. That was about all there was for accommodation. There were maybe 50 day-trippers who visited the island for a few hours and then returned to the mainland. Just a few people stayed overnight.

Fast forward a few years. Numbers started to grow as the destination became better known. By the end of 2019, just pre-Covid, the island was receiving up to 3,000 visitors per day, brought in by 27 tour operators based in the State capital, Kota Kinabalu. Pick up from your hotel at 7.30; reach the coast by 9.30 and the island by 10.30 or 11…and then depart at about 2.30…having squeezed in a couple of snorkelling trips and a BBQ lunch. A few dozen people now stay overnight in one of several resorts.

While this might be “good business” for the tour operators, and it might be “good for the economy” because of the large volume, we need to take a step back and look at this in more detail, through a different lens – not from the perspective of the tourism industry, but from a local perspective. Several themes emerge:

• Clearly there is damage to ecosystems with large numbers of tourists. Our annual survey data point to a slow, but steady decline in reef health in Malaysia; ok, not all of it is caused by tourists; but the indicators are there that at least some of the damage is.

• During the busy season on many islands, carrying capacity is reached – in the sense that water supplies run out; there are no spare rooms; electricity black-outs can occur. How is this infrastructure going to cope with ever-increasing numbers?

• And let’s not forget the people who actually live there, the local communities. Mantanani island is a remote, conservative community; they don’t necessarily appreciate scantily-clad tourists wondering through their village…but being polite people they don’t say anything; did the powers-that-be understand this would happen when they were planning for ever-increasing tourist numbers?

A recent survey of islanders on Tioman demonstrates quite clearly that local communities support tourism, they want tourism…but they don’t want any more of it.

Suggestions (by outsiders, of course) of doubling or tripling the number of visitors to the island seem not to be aligned with what the locals want. Again the questions: are we thinking about the trajectory of tourism? Is the assumption that we should just keep bringing more tourists a valid one? Should we be asking local communities for their views?

My personal conclusion: managed tourism good; unregulated, uncontrolled tourism bad. Might seem obvious…but we seem to be following the latter model, not the former.

I was on Tioman island recently. I was expecting to find despondency and despair among the community and tourism operators who have basically had no economy for the last 2 years. Instead I found smiling faces and happy people. I asked a friend who runs a resort how has it been – you’d expect her to be desperate, right?  She said: “very nice; very quiet and peaceful, no tourists around”.

The villagers have got their island back – apparently families have been taking day trips, island hopping in the way that tourists do! And they are clearly resilient – they have survived on very little for 2 years…and yet no-one seems to be in a rush to get back to the “good old times” of mass tourism. I think maybe we need to take a long hard look at that.

Part 2 in a couple of weeks on tourism trends and how this should affect our thinking on tourism.

Show up for our ocean this #GivingTuesday

2021 is drawing to a close and where did the year go?

Time seems to fly by as we are slowly recovering from the effects of Covid-19 pandemic. Our team at Reef Check Malaysia have been working really hard to complete our planned conservation and community work before the monsoon season hits at the end of the year.

We have spent years building resilience of coral reefs around the islands we work on (Tioman Island, Mantanani Island and the Mersing Islands), improving social and economic resilience of the islanders by reducing their income dependence on marine-related activities, AND we will continue to do so! However, in 2022, we are looking to shift some of our focus to advocacy work.

As the hype from COP 26 in Glasgow is simmering down, we must not lose sight that more work needs to be done to ensure the pledges made by nations and private entities are translated into clear actionable plans to address climate change. Based on the progress (or lack of) from the other climate conferences – Kyoto Accords (1997) and Paris Climate Agreement (2016), we will need to push for quicker and more committed solutions from all parties.

For this year-end giving, we are hoping to raise funds for our advocacy work to mitigate effects of climate change and other anthropogenic pressures on the marine environment. We know better policies in managing fisheries, tourism, and pollution that is science-backed will lead to long-term and sustainable improvements for coral reefs and the associated ecosystems.

On Giving Tuesday (30 November 2021), Global Giving has a pool of USD 1 million matching funds for any amount raised on that day. If you’re able to, please make a donation to support our work. Our target is USD 5,000 and if 200 people donate just USD 25 to our cause, we will be able to spend time on public advocacy and awareness on effects of climate change on coral reefs.

If you wish to contribute to our cause, you can donate to us at the link below:

If you’re unable to donate at this time, there are other ways you can support us! You can advocate for our work by sharing our project with family members, colleagues, or friends. Even a quick mention on your social media would mean the world to us. We have prepared a digital toolkit just for you:

Thank you for being a part of our community and contributing to the ocean health. Happy holidays and here’s to a healthier 2022!

Mersing Heart of the Ocean : July-September 2021 News

Our Mersing Islands initiative is supported by MISC Group through its Heart of the Ocean marine biodiversity conservation programme, which aims to improve ocean health by supporting coral reef conservation, increase reef resilience, and reduce plastic litter in our ocean.

Getting to know the coral reefs

Since 2007, Reef Check Malaysia has been conducting coral reef surveys in Johor around the Mersing Islands.

Through continuous partnership with the Department of Fisheries and supported by Majlis Daerah Mersing, our survey every year aims to answer these questions:

• What is the current condition & health of the reefs?

• What are the impacts these reefs are facing?

Our survey findings also provide crucial information to local agencies and marine park managers to make informed decisions that would help improve the Mersing Islands marine park's condition.

Sharing our survey findings with the island communities also helps to increase their awareness and understanding about the current condition of the reefs surrounding their island.

What do we look for during a reef survey?

Other than coral cover and indicator species survey, the impact survey is also conducted to identify and record incidents due to the impact of human activities on corals such as ghost nets, anchor damage and pollution.

The photos on the right are some examples of damages observed during our recent reef survey.

What do our results say about the mersing islands’ coral reefs?

The Mersing Islands are home to many beautiful and unique reefs. We have surveyed up to 27 reef sites in the area last year, covering islands such as:

• Pulau Sibu

• Pulau Tinggi

• Pulau Besar

• Pulau Pemanggil

• Pulau Aur

• Pulau Dayang

In 2020, we learned that the average coral cover was around 45%, which means that the reefs are considered to be in "fair" condition. With our current conservation efforts, we hope to improve the condition of the reefs in the Mersing Islands over time.

Many of you may be wondering, with less activities in the waters in the past 2 years, is the health of our coral reefs improving?

We are curious about this too! Just recently, we have completed our reef surveys with two additional reef sites for 2021 and currently in the process of analysing the data. We hope you will look forward to the survey findings which we will share in our next newsletter.

In the coming months, our team in the Mersing Islands will be reaching out to various stakeholders to communicate our survey findings, in hopes to increase public participation and support towards marine conservation efforts.

beach cleanup

International Coastal Cleanup Day was celebrated in the month of September as part of a global initiative to raise awareness about ocean pollution, educate the public on the importance of keeping our waters clean and safe for marine life, and inspire the community to volunteer and be part of the action.

In an effort to keep the beaches and the ocean free of trash, we spent some of our time on land to clean up the beach after one of our reef surveys at Pulau Tinggi.

In a small team of 3, we collected up to 13 kg of trash in just half an hour. A simple activity like this can help protect our reefs in a small but meaningful way.

water quality survey

In addition to the coral reef surveys, we have also conducted water quality surveys with the Department of Fisheries to determine the nutrient levels of the waters in Pulau Sibu, Tinggi, Besar, Pemanggil, and Aur.

At each site, we collected water samples and physical parameter data which will then be transported to the laboratory for further analysis and processing.

We hope that the results of the water quality survey would enable us to better understand the condition of the waters on and surrounding the islands and how it is affecting the health of the surrounding ecosystems, including the coral reefs.

Climate change is real and it’s happening – right outside our front door

In recent articles, we have talked about the importance of three inter-locking themes in marine conservation:

• Resilience: building the natural capacity of coral reefs to resist or recover from external disturbances, specifically climate change

• Livelihoods: sustainable, equitable livelihoods for local communities in coral reef areas, ensuring they benefit from these natural assets

• Co-management: giving local communities a meaningful voice in marine management, including those decisions that affect their lives

This article focuses in a little more on threats to coral reefs and other marine ecosystems, and what we can do to eliminate or mitigate the impact of these threats.

We divide threats to coral reefs into two broad categories:

local in scale and global in scale.

Local threats arise largely as a result of human activities and land use changes along coastlines adjacent to coral reefs. Local threats to coral reefs are many, and the impacts on coral reefs are reasonably well understood. They include:

• Over-fishing, which can result in detrimental changes to reef ecology

• Destructive fishing (such as dynamite and cyanide fishing), which destroys the reef structure and hinders recovery

• Coastal development, releasing silt and sediment that can smother reefs and alter hydrological flows

• Pollution, from industrial and agricultural activities as well as sewage pollution

• Physical impacts from tourism, including divers, snorkelers and boats

In Malaysia, the Marine Parks section of the Department of Fisheries (DoF), Sabah Parks and Sarawak Forestry Corporation are tasked with managing these local threats to their protected reef areas.

These local threats can be managed or mitigated in a variety of ways, including:

• Awareness campaigns for local stakeholders and tourists, to encourage more “reef-friendly” behaviour

• More effective patrolling and enforcement activities to reduce encroachment in protected areas

• Improved planning to ensure that coastal development in coral reef areas is implemented in such a way as to minimise damage to coral reefs, including site selection, site management and remediation measures

• Pollution control measures both upstream (e.g. reduction in fertiliser loads from plantations through rigorous implementation of riparian zone regulations) and locally (e.g. annual septic maintenance programmes; grease traps).

These responses all have two things in common:

• They can be implemented effectively and efficiently at a very local level. In Tioman island, for example, as the Department of Fisheries (DoF)’s Reef Care partner for the island, we are helping the community in one village to reduce poaching of giant clams from the reef immediately adjacent to the village. On a wider basis, we are ensuring that all dive and snorkelling sites have well maintained mooring buoys to eliminate anchor damage. Biologically, we are controlling the number of Crown of Thorns starfish (a coral predator) on the reefs. Finally, we have managed a programme of septic tank improvements, reducing the flow of sewage pollution onto local reefs

• Threat reduction and mitigation is much more effective if local communities are involved in management, because their participation leads to greater ownership of reef health issues, and improved compliance with regulations.

Against these local threats, a number of global threats have emerged over recent years, mainly resulting from the changing climate caused by global warming.  Among these are mass coral bleaching and the impact of more frequent and stronger storms.

The first significant mass coral reef bleaching event reported in Malaysia was in 1998, as a result of which an estimated 40% of corals in reef areas around Peninsular Malaysia died. Reefs had barely recovered before the 2010 mass coral reef bleaching event occurred, which fortunately saw lower coral death rates.

Scientists agree that mass coral reef bleaching is likely to occur with increasing frequency in the coming decades, and there is an urgent need to put in place plans to:

• Respond effectively to mass coral reef bleaching events with management interventions to protect reefs during bleaching events

• Build the “survivability”, or resilience of coral reefs to better withstand future bleaching events

Even more recently, climate change has resulted in stronger storms, which, combined with wind-driven waves and sea-level rise, can have devastating effects. In early 2019, tropical storm Pabuk hit the Terengganu coastline causing significant damage to shallow coral reefs.

In September 2021, a storm in Mantanani island caused damage – in some cases severe – to 11 houses, as wind-driven waves caused beach erosion; others in the village were damaged by strong winds. For coastal communities such as these, climate change isn’t some existential future threat – it’s happening here, right now. And the time to take action is right now.

There is not much that local managers can do about the global threats. But what we can do – and should be doing, as a matter of great urgency, is address the local threats, because they are local and straightforward to fix. No new technologies are required, no great expenditure. Education and awareness programmes will fix a lot of the problems; sensible planning will resolve others; and small investments in infrastructure such as sewage treatment will take care of the rest.

Putting a value on ecosystems such as coral reefs is difficult because they have such a wide variety of different values – from the value of a snorkelling tour for an individual up to the value of coastal protection for an entire island or community. But as they start to repair their homes and jetties, the people of Mantanani can put a value on coral reefs: RM 60,000. That’s the bill for the repairs they are going to have to make. Until the next storm…

Cintai Mantanani : July-September 2021 News

Cintai Mantanani is a long-term effort by Reef Check Malaysia which strives to ensure the economic well-being of the community while protecting our marine environment. Currently, we have a team of three based on Mantanani Island running the projects on the ground relating to waste management, plastic recycling, alternative livehoods, and, community-based tourism.

ECONOMIC RECOVERY PROGRAMME

The Mantanani Economic Recovery Programme is an initiative by Yayasan Hasanah Foundation aimed to support the livelihoods of the local community in Mantanani through creating employment opportunities in various economic activities, such as the Kebun Komuniti and the virgin coconout oil production.

kebun komuniti

Tending to a community garden is no easy job yet the Kebun Komuniti team is doing an incredible job in managing it! They visit the garden every day to water the crops and keep the garden clean.

Despite the setbacks with some of their crops being eaten by animals or stolen, and the slight disruption due to a few Covid-19 cases identified on the island, the members have harvested bags and bags full of fruits and vegetables in the last 3 months. Most of the harvest were sold to the local community members while some were kept for the members own use.

virgin coconut oil production

The virgin coconut oil production members successfully made 3 gallons worth of VCO back in July! Later in September, 15 more bottles of VCO were shipped off to be sold at a local shop on mainland.

Since the start of the programme, the team has generated a total of RM3,201 in sales. While they are only producing the VCOs by request now, the members still look forward to serving their customers and growing their sales.

Waste Management & Plastic Recycling Programme

Since November 2018, our team has worked closely with the community of Mantanani Island to design and demonstrate a waste management system that aims to prevent marine pollution, and ultimately improve the resilience of the island. This programme is made possible with the support of the Coca Cola Foundation and KOSÉ this quarter.

waste management

As there were a few Covid-19 cases identified on the island in late August, we had to halt the daily waste collection operation as our waste management team goes house to house daily to collect household waste and it can put them in high risk. Once the situation on the island was deemed safer, our operation went back on track.

From July to September this year, a total of 16,699.52 kg of trash were collected with from the participating households.

plastic recycling

With the population of roughly around 1,000, we do not have the resources or even the volume to set up a recycling facility here, so sending the recyclables off to mainland, Kota Belud, is the only feasible solution so far.

A total of 22,762 plastic bottles (collected from the month of May to August) were shipped off to the recycling centre on mainland.

As of now, the team has already collected a total of 5,958 of plastic bottles in the September alone.

Cintai Tioman : July-September 2021 News

Cintai Tioman is a 10-year old programme designed to enhance the resilience of coral reefs and social resilience of the community on Pulau Tioman. Reef Check Malaysia, with the help of Yayasan Sime Darby as sponsor, aims to meet several objectives through the programme, including:

• Reducing local impacts to the reefs

• Building capacity of local community and empowering them to take greater roles in coral reef conservation and management

• IUCN Green List Accreditation for Tioman Island Marine Park

Promoting Land-based Activities on Tioman Island

In an effort to reduce pressure on Tioman’s reefs, we are working together with the Tioman community members in boosting existing land-based activities. Seven jungle trekking tracks, one from each village, were upgraded. Some of the works undertaken were removing fallen trees, clearing the path, replacing old ropes with new one, building steps using natural resources where necessary and establishing new look-out point where suitable.

The levels of difficulty, time to complete, unique floras and faunas usually encountered along the path and attractions such as waterfall land look-out points were recorded.

Our next step will be working on marketing strategies. We hope that these often forgotten and unpopular attractions will gain traction and as a result diversify income and reduce dependence on coral reefs.

NEW MEMBERS RECRUITED FOR TMCG!

Tioman Marine Conservation Group (TMCG) is a group consists of Tioman locals and was set up in 2015 to enable locals participation in managing and conserving Tioman marine resources.

A total of 35 new members have joined this group recently from each village and were given a diving course. Welcome and congratulations to all new members! TMCG is sponsored by the Ministry of Finance.

Ghost Nets Removal

A total of 560 kg ghost nets were removed from 8 different sites, on land and in sea.

Munjur Beach Clean-up

A total of 135kg rubbish including 1140 plastic bottles were collected.

Removing and reducing marine debris from our ocean is a long and arduous battle. Thank you to everyone who took part in our cleanup activities over the past few months!

tioman Food Aid

Department of Fisheries Malaysia, MAFI, MSDA and Reef Check Malaysia distributed food aid to Tioman residents who are affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

A total 300 boxes containing food were given to dive centres, fishermen and tourism operators to reduce their burdens.

Study on Importance of Conserving Tioman Biodiversity, Ecosystem and Fisheries

A study was conducted by Department of Fisheries Malaysia together with Reef Check Malaysia on perception of Tioman communities regarding importance of conserving Tioman Marine Park biodiversity and ecosystem, especially on coral reefs and fisheries.

Reef Rehabilitation Programme

Reef rehabilitation programmes were carried out at various places around Tioman since 2011. The aim of this programme is to rehabilitate degraded patches of reefs. Some of the works involve building new coral nursery (to attach broken but still living corals) and monthly monitoring and maintenance.

From July until September, 4 new coral nurseries were added and monitoring and maintenance works were carried out as usual.

Green Hotel Assessment

The Green Hotel Programme aims to encourage resort and chalet operators to conduct their business in environmentally-friendly manners and take steps to protect and conserve natural resources and the environments. This quarter, a total of 10 resorts were assessed based on the ASEAN Green Standard.

Environmentally-friendly operations ensure the natural environment that attracts tourists remain sustainable, thereby ensuring a sustainable tourism industry as well.

Protected Area Governance: Moving Malaysia Forward

In previous articles, we have looked at three inter-linked themes affecting management of marine resources:

• Resilience

• Livelihoods

• Co-management

The article on co-management highlighted governance as an emerging theme of importance, and that is the subject of this piece.

The IUCN approach

The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) manual on Governance of Protected Areas describes governance in the following way:

“Wherever decisions are being made and power and authority are exercised, some form of “governance” is in place.”

This puts understanding governance at the heart of effective conservation.

The power and the capacity to take decisions have a major influence on the achievement of protected area objectives, the sharing of responsibilities, rights, costs and benefits, and the generation and maintenance of support – be it financial, political, or from the communities in and around the protected areas in question.

The IUCN and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) recognise four types of governance:

Governance of Malaysia’s Marine Parks is firmly seated under governance type A, with governance overseen by the Marine Parks section of the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture.

How does governance measure up against relevant benchmarks?

What is good governance and where is Malaysia?

Achieving good governance is critical to the success of all four main governance types. Good governance is a measure of how far certain principles and values are adhered to.

The quality of governance of a protected area can be evaluated against a number of broad principles of good governance that have been developed by a variety of people, nations and UN agencies. The simpler and more compact formulation of such principles, referred to as “IUCN principles of good governance for protected areas” includes:

• Legitimacy and voice

• Direction

• Performance

• Accountability

• Fairness and rights

A fair assessment of how Malaysia is doing against each of the principles needs to be conducted, perhaps through a multi-stakeholder workshop with relevant government agencies and other key stakeholders. However, a quick review serves to indicate that there is room for improvement.

Why do we need to do this?

As noted in the IUCN’s Governance of Protected Area manual, there are numerous benefits to be gained from improving governance.

For governmental actors, the benefits of opening up to more diverse governance types and enhancing governance quality can include:

1. Meeting targets for greater protection coverage of areas important for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.

2. Greater ability to build networks of protected areas leading to protection of larger landscapes/ seascapes.

3. More effective conservation.

4. Greater savings and/or generation of resources.

5. Expanding capacity for meeting a variety of commitments under international law.

6. More resilient systems.

7. More people actively involved in conservation.

8. Contributions to social harmony and peace and the recognition of rights.

For non-governmental actors, the reasons for becoming involved in the governance of protected areas possibly vary even more widely than for governmental actors, including:

1. Securing livelihoods via local strategies for natural resource management.

2. Obtaining recognition and support for their own conservation achievements.

3. Clarifying roles and managing conflicts

4. Seeking better respect for local rights, values and identity.

In general, a key motivation of many actors to engage with protected area governance is to improve governance quality - i.e., achieve more equity, legitimacy and accountability in the decision-making processes that affect natural resources, livelihoods and society in general.

In the next piece we will look at how policy intersects with governance and management, and what policy changes might help to strengthen both in Malaysia.

Co-management: A game changer in marine resource management in Malaysia?

In two recent articles, I have discussed Reef Check Malaysia’s marine resource conservation programmes with local communities in three locations around Malaysia. I have covered the importance of resilience in long term reef conservation, and the role that strengthening local stakeholders’ livelihoods plays. In this article, I share some thoughts on how we link all this together with approaches to managing protected areas that ensure the best possible conservation outcomes that benefit everyone.

When we talk about co-management, we are really talking about the range of management options, from 100% run by government through to 100% run by local stakeholders, as shown in the diagram below. 

Malaysia’s approach to managing its Marine Parks is anchored to the left, sometimes described as a “top-down” approach, which means that all decisions on management, regulations, etc., are taken by the relevant government management agency – in this case the Marine Parks section of the Department of Fisheries. There is little opportunity for stakeholders – particularly those living on the marine park islands – to have any say in these decisions, and this can create disagreement, tension and even conflict between management agency and “the managed”.

What is Co-management?

Co-management, also known as participatory management or locally-based management, provides a middle ground between a top-down and community-based (or “bottom-up”) management approach. The concept of co-management developed as a result of the failure of the top-down approach due to:

• the difficulty of enforcing restrictions imposed by management agencies

• lack of compliance from local stakeholders.

There are numerous reasons why there is a need to shift to a participatory approach:

1. Trend towards empowering communities and civil society – enshrined in the Malaysian National Policy on Biological Diversity and the Sustainable Development Goals.

2. Increasing conflicts among stakeholders are not being managed.

3. Unmanaged resource exploitation.

4. Increasing degradation of coastal and marine habitats by marine and land-based pollution.

5. Local attitude of “not my problem” and “it is government’s responsibility” creates a negative, non-caring attitude among local stakeholders.

6. Low income and job security of some stakeholders.

7. Lack of interaction between management agency and local stakeholders.

8. Weak linkage between healthy ecosystem and visitors and businesses.

9. Marine park territorial dispute causes lack of interest in managing resources.

10. Lack of legitimacy, pride and transparency in management and decision-making.

11. State government’s increasing interest in taking over the responsibility to manage their own resources.

Co-management involves conscious and official sharing of responsibility and formal vesting of authority to local stakeholders for the management of resources.

Stakeholders are people and/or groups whose interests, resources, power or authority are likely to substantially impact, or be impacted by, management or lack of management. In other words, anyone that has interest in a certain marine resource, regardless of their location, can be considered a stakeholder. Therefore, co-management can be defined as

“A partnership arrangement in which the community of local resource users, government, other stakeholders and external agents share the responsibility and authority for decision making over the management of natural resources.”

Co-management is common in natural resource governance, especially in Southeast Asia and Pacific islands regions. Local communities and relevant government authorities work on a partnership basis. The main goals are to:

1. conserve biodiversity and natural resources

2. ensure community’s socioeconomic needs are not side-lined.

This approach has generated success for conservation strategies in marine protected areas because:

• more participation in decision making raises the knowledge base among stakeholders.

• it allows better representation of the stakeholders’ interests.

• it provides for involvement of NGOs/civil society, who can help local communities understand their rights and their role in management.

When all stakeholders have a long-term commitment to and involvement in conservation management, there will be more support for the purpose and more compliance with regulations. Success requires that they should be involved actively, and also have reasonably equal voices in the management body. There also has to be balance between ecological values and socio-economic values when protecting an area. Early involvement from stakeholders in planning and management of marine protected areas has been shown to significantly reduce the likelihood of creating ‘paper parks’ or ineffective management.

In Tioman, a participatory approach to management is emerging, under the Department of Fisheries “Reef Care” programme. Launched nearly two years ago, Reef Care vests some responsibility for marine resource management to the local community, in this case in Tekek and Air Batang villages. Together with another community initiative we have established, the Tioman Marine Conservation Group (TMCG), local villagers are able to participate in conservation programmes and have an impact on the way a small area is managed. For some, it is even proving an additional source of income – especially important given the impact of the Covid pandemic on tourism on the island.

The system isn’t perfect by a long way – there is no funding for programmes, and villagers have limited scope for changing regulations. But it’s a step in the right direction and we are hopeful that DoF will extend it.

But there is another piece of the puzzle that is emerging as important, and which we have to consider: governance. The IUCN manual on Governance of Protected Areas describes governance in the following way:

“Wherever decisions are being made and power and authority are exercised, some form of “governance” is in place.”

This puts understanding governance at the heart of effective conservation. The power and the capacity to take decisions have a major influence on the achievement of protected area objectives, the sharing of responsibilities, rights, costs and benefits, and the generation and maintenance of support – be it financial, political, or from the communities in and around the protected areas in question.

I shall be covering governance in a future piece.

Linking resilience, livelihoods and reef management

Reef Check Malaysia is currently operating long-term marine resource conservation programmes in three locations: Tioman island, Mantanani island and the Johor islands. We also have on-going programmes – such as our annual coral reef monitoring survey programme – that take us to other islands in both Peninsular and East Malaysia. As we work increasingly closely with local stakeholders (islanders, tourism operators, etc.) and develop a deeper understanding of some of the challenges facing communities and managers alike, several inter-linked themes are starting to emerge that need more attention:

• Resilience

• Livelihoods

• Co-management.

In previous comments, I suggested that one approach to conserving reefs is to support resilience. What I didn’t address was the impact of doing that on communities and livelihoods.

Resilience broadly describes the capacity of an ecosystem to recover from degradation, thus maintaining ecosystem services. Supporting resilience contributes to long term conservation of reefs. But how do we support resilience? One way is to reduce our impacts on nature, to achieve several goals:

• Prevent physical damage caused by marine tourism

• Reduce sewage pollution from resorts and other sources

• Manage fishing activity to protect key species

• Control release of siltation from construction sites.

These are just a few examples. But one common denominator in all of them is: how does this affect the livelihoods of communities associated with reefs?

Coastal communities earn their living from the sea. They are either fishermen or they work in the tourism industry – both of which rely on healthy ecosystems. But maintaining healthy ecosystems by implementing projects to achieve the above goals can have negative consequences for jobs:

• Controlling marine tourism might lead to a reduction in numbers of tourists, which reduces jobs in guiding.

• Insisting on strict adherence to sewage regulations might reduce investment in resorts, which might mean less job opportunities for coastal communities.

• Restricting fishing to certain areas can increase costs to fishermen who have to travel further – or even lead to job losses due to loss of fishing grounds.

• Improving the management of construction sites in coastal areas could lead to reduced investment in resorts, again meaning less jobs for communities.

On the other hand… there could just as easily be positive outcomes for jobs – healthier ecosystems means a better tourism product; beaches and seas clean of sewage pollution makes for a popular tourism destination; and managing fishing can eventually lead to recovery of fishing stocks. 

So long term reef conservation means much more than just managing biological factors.

If we want healthy oceans, we also have to look after the interests of the local communities that depend on the ocean. It is essential to manage the related economic factors – jobs and food security – if we want the support of the communities that will be affected by the proposed conservation measures. Because if they don’t – then those measures are more likely to fail.

Think, for example, of the resources needed to effectively patrol an island with a coastline of 169km – and a marine protected area stretching 2 nautical miles from the coast. If the island community supports the marine protected area, then they will comply with the fishing restrictions, reducing the patrolling and enforcement needs. But if they don’t support the protected area – perhaps because they were not consulted when it was imposed, then compliance with regulations will be low and the need for patrolling and enforcement increase dramatically.

Another area in which we often see conflict is tourism. Tourism can bring economic benefits; but at the same time, growing visitor numbers can put stress on both local communities and ecosystems. If the benefits of the tourism are not shared with the local communities affected – as is often the case – then why should local communities comply with regulations that focus on growing tourism? On the other hand, if we ensure that local communities do benefit from tourism – specifically by actively involving them in community-based tourism initiatives – then once again, compliance with regulations increases and the costs of management go down.

At Reef Check Malaysia, we've been working closely with communities on several islands, and we've seen first-hand how communities rely on the ocean for their livelihoods. Over-reliance on fishing – or tourism – can eventually have negative consequences for livelihoods. We are working with communities to diversify livelihoods, with skills training and investments in community-based tourism.

Empowering local communities is important. There is no simple fix or methodology to improving management of marine resources. We are just part of the puzzle, and at the end of the day a whole raft of stakeholders – government agencies, communities, tourism operators, etc. – should be part of the conversation. We will continue to raise awareness on how important it is that local communities are involved in management, to ensure their voices are heard, and their interests protected.

Cintai Mantanani: April-June 2021 News

Cintai Mantanani is a long-term effort by Reef Check Malaysia which strives to ensure the economic well-being of the community while protecting our marine environment. Currently, we have a team of three based on Mantanani Island running the projects on the ground relating to waste management, plastic recycling, alternative livehoods, and, community-based tourism.

Daily waste & plastic bottle collection by our Daily Waste Management team

Waste Management

As of June 2021, a total of 174 households with a population of 905 were involved in our daily waste collection in both villages - Kampung Siring Bukit and Kampung Padang. From 1st April to 15th June 2021, a total of 15,972.2 kg of solid waste managed to be collected from both villages. There are still around less than 30 households that is not involved in the daily waste collections due to reasons such as the household owners are living on mainland or at the resort where they work or also due to personal reasons.

Virgin Coconut Oil

The virgin coconut oil (VCO) project supported by Yayasan Hasanah for the Economic Recovery Program of the community has now generated around RM1,900 worth of sales since they have started. The sales will be divided equally among those who have been involved and the production and packaging costs such as the glass bottles, gloves, and petrol.

Currently, our two virgin coconut oil machines have been sent for repair as it has not been functioning. However, that does not stop the VCO team from going on. They are now using the traditional method to retrieve the oil instead.

VCO team preparing the coconuts during the production

Kangkung planted

Watermelons to harvest

Kebun Komuniti

The kebun komuniti team has successfully planted 13 types of fruits and vegetables in their new garden area. In the past 3 months, they were able to harvest watermelons, kangkung and corns. Recently, a well was dug up in the garden area so that the process of transporting water is made convenient. Previously, they had to transport water from a nearby resort in order to water the plants. With their recent planting of corns, they are hoping to sell the next harvest to the local community in order to continue supporting their livelihoods.

Abalone Mariculture

The abalone mariculture project has generated RM350 from the sales of 70 abalones. However, the team has been faced with several challenges in the past few months with their nets being torn apart due to floating logs or strong wind and waves. Sadly, due to those events, they lost 222 abalones and had 1 broken cage. In the meantime, they are working to repair these damages.

Abalone Mariculture team counting the number of abalones

Cintai Tioman : April - June 2021 News

Cintai Tioman is a 10-year old programme designed to enhance the resilience of coral reefs and social resilience of the community on Pulau Tioman. Reef Check Malaysia, with the help of Yayasan Sime Darby as sponsor, aims to meet several objectives through the programme, including:

• Reducing local impacts to the reefs

• Building capacity of local community and empowering them to take greater roles in coral reef conservation and management

• IUCN Green List Accreditation for Tioman Island Marine Park

 Coral Reef Surveys

Tioman coral reef surveys for 2021 were carried out in April. The success of these surveys were due to the collaboration from different stakeholders — EcoDivers from Dept. of Fisheries Pahang, Tioman Marine Conservation Group, Tioman Dive Association and Reef Check Malaysia. The methodology used was Reef Check. Tioman has 18 permanent survey sites that have been monitored yearly. Data collection is crucial for assessing reef health, identifying threats faced by reefs and finding solutions. Annual survey reports for Tioman can be downloaded at www.reefcheck.org.my/annual-reports. 

 Rumah Hijau Kampung Paya

The newest recycling collection centre that has been recently set up on Tioman Island is Rumah Hijau Kampung Paya. Now each village on Tioman Island has its own recycling collection centre. A huge thank you to Hussain for your willingness to manage Rumah Hijau Kampung Paya. We would also like to thank everyone who helped to build the recycling collection centre. Now, the residents at Paya can send their recyclables such as plastic bottles, glass bottles, cans and electrical appliances to Rumah Hijau Kampung Paya. The building of this Rumah Hijau was sponsored by Ocean Conservancy.

 Mooring Buoy and Mooring Line Installation

 In April, Reef Check Malaysia together with Department of Fisheries Pahang, Tioman Marine Conservation Group and Tioman Dive Association installed a total of 14 mooring buoys and mooring lines at Batu Malang, Fan Canyon, Sepoi, Labas, Chebeh, Teluk Kador, Teluk Dalam, Soyak and Tomok.

 Water Refill Station

In an effort to reduce the use of single-use plastic bottles, a total of 15 water refill stations were set up around Tioman Island. In each village, there are 2 to 3 new water refill stations. These water filters were sponsored by Just a Place.

 Ghost Nets Removal

 A total of 700kg ghost nets were removed from Chebeh, Teluk Kador, Batu Nipah, Soyak, Air Batang, Marine Park Centre Jetty, Renggis, Munjur, Tekek, Genting, Nipah and Tedau. The success of these efforts was due to collaboration from Reef Check Malaysia, Department of Fisheries Pahang, Tioman Marine Conservation Group, Freedive Tioman, B&J Dive Centre and Sorte Met Stella Scuba. Ghost nets stuck on reefs can damage corals and trap marine life such as sharks, turtles and fishes which very often cause death or injuries to these marine life.

Mersing Heart of the Ocean: April-June 2021 News

Our Mersing Islands programme is supported by MISC Berhad through its Heart of the Ocean marine biodiversity conservation programme, which aims to improve ocean health by supporting coral reef conservation, increasing reef resilience and reducing plastic litter in our ocean. 

The unprecedented global pandemic has certainly affected the operating circumstances of every organisation be it small or large.  We have not had the opportunity to conduct our community and stakeholder consultations with the communities of Sibu, Tinggi, Pemanggil, Besar and Aur since the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO). This being said, most of our field work and scheduled consultation activities are currently restricted.

To ensure that we carry on with our commitment, we’ve decided to carry out these consultation sessions via phone conversations with the resort operators on the island, as well as the villagers. These ongoing consultations are done to provide the island communities with a platform to communicate and express their concerns or expectation regarding their island’s marine park and resources management. It is interesting to know that majority of the stakeholders consulted agreed and would like to play a role in their island marine park and resource management.

In the following weeks, our team will continue the consultation session to understand other issues expressed by the communities so that we can identify the best way forward.

Our colleague taking down notes during a phone consultation session

As part of our advocacy efforts to raise the public’s awareness on the importance of coral reefs and the valuable role that they play in sustaining the marine ecosystem, we’ve recently began a monthly education series called #KnowingYourReefs or #KenaliTerumbuAnda. From March to December this year, the series will explore topics such as coral reef habitats, threats to coral reefs as well as coral reef conservation in the form of e-posters that are published on both our Facebook and Instagram social media accounts. These e-posters, containing simple information that helps people understand this amazing ecosystem, are available in English and Bahasa Malaysia.  Based on an analysis on the postings that were uploaded from March to May, we received positive engagements on both social media channels. With this, we hope the momentum continues to build in the months to come as we continue to educate and increase the public’s awareness and appreciation.

Posters from our #KnowingYourReefs

#KenaliTerumbuAnda educational series

Pasukan Pendidik Ekologi dan Alam Sekitar (PEDAS) is a Communication, Education and Public Awareness (CEPA) collaboration programme by Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah Mersing, Majlis Daerah Mersing, Cawangan Taman Laut & Pengurusan Sumber Mersing (Jabatan Perikanan), Reef Check Malaysia, Tengah Island Conservation, Trash Hero Mersing and MareCet. Our team has been regularly conducting PEDAS educational programmes for primary and secondary school students through interactive presentations and games. However, due to COVID-19, we’ve now turned to virtual presentation via Google Meet to carry out these activities, which aims to engage with these students to raise awareness on the marine environment and the issues it faces.

Part of the virtual session with the students

Recently, we carried out a virtual educational programme to share about “Coral Reefs” to three local schools in Mersing: SK LKTP Nitar 2, SMK Seri Mersing and SMK FELDA Tenggaroh A. This educational programme was aimed at creating awareness which will in turn ignite passion amongst the younger generation to have deeper care for the marine ecosystems. The students enjoyed the virtual presentation sessions and even made a request for us to share more videos of our field work for the next PEDAS programmes with them.

How do we "do"​ conservation and support resilience for our marine ecosystems?

Reef Check Malaysia is currently operating long-term marine resource conservation programmes in three locations: Tioman Island, Mantanani Island and the Johor Islands. We also have on-going programmes – such as our annual coral reef monitoring survey programme – that take us to other islands in both Peninsular and East Malaysia. As we work increasingly closely with local stakeholders (islanders, tourism operators, etc.), we are developing a deeper understanding of some of the challenges facing communities and managers alike. Several inter-linked themes are starting to emerge that need more attention:

• Resilience

• Livelihoods

• Co-management

This article discusses the first of these – resilience; I will talk about the other two topics – and how they integrate and impact our own strategy – in later articles.

Everyone is talking about conservation, protecting the environment, ecosystems, sustainability…lots of words, lots of jargon…but what does it all mean to you, to coastal communities, to divers – to people?

More importantly – and assuming these things are important – how can we engage with these various stakeholders to get their input into achieving agreed, necessary conservation goals? How can we ensure that everyone benefits equally?

Let me start by defining the conservation argument. One definition of an ecosystem is “a community of living organisms in conjunction with the non-living components of their environment, interacting as a system”. Ecosystems provide a number of what are called “ecosystem services” to society – things that we need (such as food and oxygen), without which we could not survive. So we need “to conserve” these ecosystems in order to continue to receive those services/benefits. Simple.

However, this brings me back to an old argument: I would contend that you can’t actually “do” conservation; conservation is something that happens when certain activities are undertaken to reduce damaging impacts to ecosystems, thereby ensuring they remain in the same condition over medium to long timeframes.

So what is it we can actually “do” to support reefs and achieve those conservation goals?

Ecosystems such as coral reefs have a natural property called resilience. In the context of coral reefs, resilience has been defined as “the capacity of a reef to resist or recover from degradation and maintain provision of ecosystem goods and services”.

But coral reefs are losing their resilience because of pressure from human activities (such as tourism and fishing) combined with increasing climate impacts (such as ocean warming that leads to bleaching). Resilience is a characteristic that can be both readily assessed and actively supported. Many scientists believe that supporting resilience needs to be a management priority and that local actions can influence the future resilience of reefs.

Essentially, we are looking for ways to reduce negative impacts to ecosystems – coral reefs, seagrass, etc. It’s not rocket science: imagine you are on holiday on a small island; think about what you might do during the day…and then think about what impacts on coral reefs those activities might cause - even unintentionally. Snorkeling trip? Stand on coral, anchor damage, feeding fish…; lunch in a restaurant? Trash, grease from kitchens, grey water…; beach-side chalet? Sewage pollution, trash, beach erosion…

In essence, pretty much everything we do can have an impact on ecosystems.

So how do we “do” conservation? How do we support resilience?

By taking action to reduce our impacts:

• Training for snorkeling guides so that they know not to use anchors, they dissuade you from feeding bread to fish, they teach you to snorkel correctly and not to stand on corals. Programmes such as Green Fins can help to achieve this.

• Programmes for resorts to help them to identify changes that can reduce their impacts – better sewage treatment systems, eco-friendly cleaning products, reducing energy and water consumption. The ASEAN Green Hotels standards can be used for this.

• Managing fishing activity through engagement, consultation and awareness – backed-up with patrols and enforcement, to ensure populations of reef fish are protected.

• Controlling development so that physical damage to reefs is avoided and release of siltation and other pollutants is managed.

• Awareness programmes for tourists – to help them understand how they can contribute to reducing the impacts of their visit.

Management must be based on resilience principles, and management plans need to incorporate activities to reduce impacts so that we can build the resilience of reefs over the long term. One of the great things about resilience is that it is very democratic – everyone has a role to play. Resort operators, tour guides, local islanders – even tourists; so it’s not just left up to government to do everything.

So now we know what we have to do: support resilience. Are we doing it? Data from our annual coral reef survey suggests the answer is “some of it…in some places”.

Which raises the question: Who is responsible? Government? Management agencies? Tour operators? Local communities? Just what is it "they" should be doing and how can we ensure that local communities are not left out?

I will discuss these questions in the next articles.

Political will in short supply

Collective and responsible management of ocean ecosystems and resources must be the new normal or risk failing our next generation.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator Dr. Kathryn Sullivana

This colour image of the Earth was obtained by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft on Dec. 11, 1990 when the spacecraft was about 1.5 million miles from the Earth. Credit: NASA

As we celebrated Earth Day amid the Covid-19 pandemic, one wonders, why are we still having difficulties putting an end to the same problems that go back at least three generations?

Persistent water, land, and air pollution, the blatant destruction of countless species and their habitats, unsustainable resource extraction – all have been scientifically proven to cause environmental disasters due to climate change; widen the poverty and social equity gap; intensify health-related crises; and impede economic growth. Sadly, this is what we have inherited and continue, unapologetically.

International reaction

Learning from painful mistakes, in 1972 the international community established the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to provide leadership, deliver science and develop solutions on a wide range of environmental issues. Now it is the leading global environmental authority, setting the global environmental agenda and playing a role as an authoritative advocate for the global environment.

UNEP hosts many multilateral environmental agreements and research bodies in areas such as climate change, disasters and conflicts, ecosystem management, environmental governance, chemicals and waste, and resource efficiency. Some of them include the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Vienna Convention for the Protection of Ozone Layer and the Montreal Protocol, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

As one of the 36 consortium members of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG), UNEP contributes to global, regional, and country-level efforts in overseeing operations of all UNSDG entities to meet the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Reef Check Malaysia (RCM) feels that now is the right time to participate in conversations and actions beyond its core conservation area, which is marine protected areas (MPAs). This is simply because MPAs are impacted by problems and challenges outside their boundary.

Over the last three months, Reef Check Malaysia has published several articles on issues, initiatives and recommendations ranging from efforts by:

• international communities stepping up commitments to ocean protection - through the protection of at least 30% of Earth as protected areas

• our current state of fisheries in light of the increasing rate of consumption

• justification for moving towards a co-management approach in managing marine protected areas

• why we require a concerted effort in managing oceans responsibly through an adaptive National Ocean Policy

The elusive political will: A leap forward in governance

Political will is the core to the success of any policy. Our mistake lies in taking political will for granted.

The 2010 paper “Defining Political Will” suggests that :

“Political will exist when a sufficient set of decision-makers with a common understanding of a particular problem on the formal agenda is committed to supporting a commonly perceived, potentially effective policy solution.”

Based on this definition, sufficient decision-makers refers to a sufficient number of people who are in positions of power who support the desired changes, agree that a particular issue has reached problem status, and that it requires government action.

These decision-makers must then be committed to the particular issue and reach a consensus on the type of policy response required.

Political will is complicated by the governance and institutional arrangements of the country. In our previous articles, we touched on some institutional and legal challenges that complicate managing our ocean resources. Ocean industries and coastal-based resource management (including conservation) are typically managed sectorally by multiple government authorities guided by exclusive policies, institutional arrangements, and legal instruments. This creates overlaps in jurisdiction and authorities; inconsistencies and gaps in legislative frameworks; amplifies multiple-use conflicts; increases duplication of efforts; creates unclear paths for stakeholders in pursuing interests and raises concerns on many uncoordinated approaches by different parties in similar issues.

A quick illustration is in the form of the National Policy on Biodiversity (NPBD). The policy is the responsibility of the Ministry of Water, Land and Natural Resources. However, the management of fisheries and marine protected areas are under the purview of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries, while maritime industries are managed by the Ministry of Transport.

This is further complicated by the inherently delicate relationship between the Federal and State governments. There are at least 32 key legislations (both Federal and State) concerning biodiversity conservation in Peninsular Malaysia; seven (7) in Sabah and eight (8) in Sarawak. These legislations are enforced by several authorities; each with its own objectives and coordination mechanisms.

A whole-of-government and society approach towards an adaptive National Ocean Policy

The Covid-19 pandemic has shown that large-scale urgent change is possible. The unprecedented level and speed of policy and legislative actions demonstrated our political will and capacity to adapt in the face of profound suffering and loss to our health, livelihoods, economies, and behaviours.

Reef Check Malaysia hopes that with the same determination, we can put in place a much-needed transformative change in the form of an adaptive National Ocean Policy supported by a dynamic form of governance to assist decision-makers and policy actors to address the gaps, harmonise initiatives and coordinate the actions of many government agencies that are typically involved in ocean affairs towards an agreed social and economic vision and common goals.

The development and implementation of such a policy hinges on all parties’ participation – from the adoption of a participatory approach with all concerned agencies and stakeholders to the determination and implementation of policy actions based on informed process, science and local knowledge.

As of 2015, 15 developed and developing nations had articulated and implemented an integrated, ecosystem-based ocean policy governing the ocean areas under their jurisdiction. This includes developing goals and procedures to harmonize existing uses and laws to foster sustainable development of ocean areas, protect biodiversity and vulnerable resources and ecosystems, and coordinate the actions of the many government agencies that are typically involved in oceans affairs.

Since then, countries such as Fiji (2020), Solomon Islands (2018), Indonesia (2017), and Vanuatu (2016) have developed their version of a National Ocean Policy.

In 2010, the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation commissioned the National Oceanographic Directorate to work on a draft Malaysia Ocean Policy.

The draft policy recommended guidance on national goals and principles that should govern our ocean and coastal activities. It also sets out recommendations to address the challenges of maintaining consistency in law and financial allocations in pursuit of the proposed defined goals. To achieve these goals, the draft NOP recommended that relevant existing laws and institutional arrangements will have to be harmonised in consideration of their cumulative impact on Malaysian ocean management. In essence, national laws will have to achieve integration to ensure their combined effectiveness in making certain that both current and future generations of Malaysians derive maximum benefit from the oceans.

Over the years, many individual experts and organisations have called for a revisit of the draft National Ocean Policy for Malaysia.

The revision should consider strengthening the existing recommendations that range from widening the reach of ocean-earth education, increase capacity building for all stakeholders, developing strategies for science and research & development, to remodel robust enforcement and monitoring measures that involve all parties including local communities.

Additional elements to the draft must embrace the development for sustainable financing; implementation of a blue and circular economy; mandatory reporting procedures; adequate enforcement of digital and technological advances in big data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and robotics as tools for problem-solving.

More importantly, improvements in the implementation of laws affecting ocean use and resources and related institutional strengthening must require a national ocean policy that is adaptive and has precise aims and objectives and is led by the highest office.

Retaining political will in Malaysia

Reef Check Malaysia is hopeful that, despite many political changes, Malaysia as a nation will steadfastly prioritise global common goals. In this case, prioritising our right to survive.

2021-2030 is the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. This initiative gives member nations opportunities to seek solutions to reverse the cycle of decline in ocean health, and work with ocean stakeholders worldwide to move towards a common framework that will ensure ocean science can fully support countries in creating improved conditions for sustainable development of the Ocean. In this case, a framework for a National Ocean Policy.

This common framework shall be heavily influenced by the outcome of the upcoming 15th UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP15) this October in Kunming, China; and the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow from November 1-12, 2021.

However, all these efforts will come to nought if we fail to secure political leadership and commitment from respective parties.

Political differences and self-interest ought to be set aside as we face our biggest challenge yet, the survival and well-being of humanity.

#ecosystemrestoration #oceandecade #EarthDay2021 #oceanliteracy #oceanscience #malaysiaoceanpolicy #oceanpolicy

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As a matter of urgency, Reef Check Malaysia calls for an adaptive, science-informed National Ocean Policy, responsible and collective management of the ocean ecosystem and resources supported by strong political will and leadership, fortified with legal and institutional reforms that could withstand political changes, for the benefit of the country and future generations.