Concern over Mabul resort plan
P. Katharason, The Star 16 Nov 08;
SEMPORNA: A plan to build Malaysia’s first and biggest oceanarium resort of luxury chalets in Mabul, in the east coast of Sabah, is facing a wave of opposition.
Environmentalists, villagers and dive operators warn that the proposed project on a 33ha parcel of shallows will bring disaster to Mabul marine life and may also degrade the eco-sensitive coral reefs of Pulau Sipadan, a 20-minute boat ride away.
Application for a 99-year lease for the parcel facing south of Sipadan was first put in by a local company based in Kota Kinabalu in September last year.
The Semporna Assistant Collector of Land Revenue approved the application early this year and the Sabah Cabinet endorsed it last month, according to state officials.
They said the project was supposed to be undertaken by a local and Japanese joint venture based on an environment-friendly building concept.
Work will only commence after a thorough study of the environment impact assessment report.
The sources added that the oceanarium would be surrounded by five villages of more than 200 sea-view bungalows and semi-detached villas, with side pools and spa villas as well as staff and scientist quarters.
Sabah Environment Protection Association president Wong Tack asked if the oceanarium was necessary because one could easily see fishes swimming in the clear Mabul waters.
“How can approval be given to such a massive project before the terms of the EIA are known?” he asked.
Citing scientific studies of corals in tourism islands such as Fiji and elsewhere, Wong said any major construction activity in the shallows is bound to have negative impact on the reefs.
He added that tonnes of construction material would have to be brought in by barge and sand pumped in from the shores of the island, thus heavily impacting the rich exotic Mabul marine life.
Wong said the authority that approved the resort project should remember what happened in Sipadan in 2006 when a construction barge ran aground, destroying a coral reef patch the size of three tennis courts and putting Malaysia in a bad light.
He said the existing four resorts for higher-bracket tourists and five to 10 home-stay places for backpackers with a total of more than 250 rooms provided enough accommodation for 120 divers given permits to dive in Sipadan waters every day.
Wong said the 2,000 local Bajau and Suluk villagers living on Mabul island were also worried about relocation and that their historic grave site would be removed to make way for the oceanarium resort project.
New resort accused of threatening Malaysia's top dive spot
AFP 18 Nov 08;
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) — An oceanarium resort planned near the world-famous Sipadan diving spot off Malaysian Borneo could spell disaster for the region's delicate coral reefs, environmentalists said Tuesday.
The plan for the huge resort, complete with an artificial reef and research facilities, has also come under attack from indigenous Bajau or "sea gypsies" who say it infringes on their native rights.
The oceanarium resort is slated to be built on a 33-hectare (82-acre) site on Mabul island, located just next to Sipadan, which is famous for its coral reefs, teeming sea life and crystal clear waters.
Reports said plans for the resort, touted as "a marine habitat wonder," include fake sea grass and other devices to attract fish, as well as the construction of swimming pools and more than 200 bungalows and villas.
Environmentalists have criticised the plan, which will require tonnes of construction materials to be brought in by barges, saying it could destroy the island's marine life and degrade the corals off nearby Sipadan.
Sabah Environmental Protection Association president Wong Teck said there were fears of a repeat of a 2006 accident on Sipadan when a construction barge ran aground, destroying a coral reef patch the size of three tennis courts.
"Mabul has an extremely sensitive marine ecology and the plan for a new oceanarium is certain to affect the environment there badly," he told AFP.
"An increase in the number of people staying on the island as a result of the resort and the amount of waste created, in addition to the construction work right on the coral and shallows, are almost certain to destroy much of it."
"It is definitely not environmentally sustainable and the whole idea of an oceanarium seems quite strange given that people can already see all the fish and sealife in the pristine clear waters without the need for such a facility."
Bajau villager Fung Haji Sappari also opposed the project, telling the Star newspaper that his people have had customary rights over the land as they have been using the area for fishing, transport and passage for hundreds of years.
"How can they do it? Several years ago I also applied for 15 acres around the same spot. It was not approved," he told the daily.
Fung said more than 2,000 villagers on the island feared being moved out once the project was complete as the local land office considered them to be squatters.
The Star quoted officials as saying the state cabinet had approved the resort on condition that the project managers would conserve and repair the coral reefs.
However, it said the developers would have to get approval for the project's environmental impact assessment before they can begin work.
Concerns over environmental damage on Sipadan prompted the closure of five dive resorts on the island in 2005, and most visitors now stay on Mabul and travel to the Sipadan reefs by boat.
