Act now to save Malaysian reefs

The New Straits Times, Asia One 22 Jul 08;

Perhentian Island in Terengganu is in danger of losing its marine and coral life in 10 years time, no thanks to over development. -NST

But all is not lost, says Reef Check representative in Malaysia Julian Hyde who believes that, with controlled development, the situation will improve.

"There's too much tourism activity in and around Perhentian and it has led the waters around it to lose much of its reef. We have to seriously make efforts to correct things if we want people to continue visiting the island.

"What's the point of killing the goose that lays the golden eggs? In 10 years, Perhentian will be gone and so will the tourists."

Hyde said it is okay to have tourism development in and around marine parks but this shouldn't be done at the expense of the environment which tourists and locals want to see.

"Also, authorities must make sure there are no fishing activities near reefs and marine parks. Fishing can be done a distance away from the park which will not affect the reefs.

"Even resorts must make changes, like having better waste management system. What happens on land, including sedimentation from excessive land clearing, affects the water in the marine park," he added.

Corals reefs are affected by sedimentation and coral bleaching. The reefs need clear water and sunshine to survive. Over-fishing in our waters also poses a great threat to coral reefs along with dynamite and trawler fishing.

So which islands are setting a good example in reef conservation? Hyde names Redang in Terengganu and Tioman in Pahang.

Reef Check has offices in 80 countries worldwide and has a registered office in Malaysia since August last year. It works hand-in-hand with Malaysia Underwater, which has some 1,900 divers.

Malaysia Underwater member Izwar Zakri said: "We have sustainable island programmes and we collaborate with Reef Check to do surveys on marine life to find out what's happening to certain types of fish including the garoupa which is killed with spear guns. We then pass the data on to the relevant authorities. The surveys are done twice a year with six to 10 divers taking part."

Hyde and Izwar presented papers on The Role Of Monitoring In Coral Reef Conservation and Sustainable Island Development at the recently concluded Malaysia International Dive Expo 2008 (Mide).