Malaysia's Marine Parks Vital For Conservation

Melati Mohd Ariff, Bernama 4 Dec 08;

PULAU TIOMAN, Dec 4 (Bernama) -- In 1983, the then Prime Minister Datuk Seri (now Tun) Dr Mahathir Mohamad directed the agriculture authorities to establish the national marine parks.

The move was among efforts to boost the nation's fisheries resources via the conservation of breeding grounds and refuge for the various species of commercial fish.

Each of the marine park measures 2.0 nautical miles from the shoreline of the island gazetted for the purpose and any forms of fishing as well as other activities detrimental to the marine life are prohibited within this zone. So far the authorities have turned 42 islands and their respective marine perimeter into national marine parks.

Among them are the islands of Pulau Tioman in Pahang, Terengganu's Pulau Redang and Pulau Perhentian, Pulau Tinggi and Pulau Sibu (Johor), Pulau Payar (Kedah) and Labuan Federal Territory.

CRITICAL HABITAT

Director General of the Marine Parks Department (JTLM), Abdul Jamal Mydin, said most of the areas gazetted as marine parks are coral reef zones.

"The coral reefs act as breeding grounds apart from providing shelter for this marine life before they move out to the deeper sea.

"In a way we are helping the fishermen to have a better and bigger haul of catch. Just imagine islands without marine parks like what has happened to Pulau Pangkor and Pulau Langkawi," he told Bernama in an exclusive interview here recently.

Abdul Jamal said the coral reefs should be conserved and protected as the structures are exposed to natural and human-related destruction.

He said the department has also constructed artificial reefs as part of its programme to provide more breeding grounds for the fish.

"Before, we used a lot of old tyres but as this adversely affected the sea water quality and we have stopped using this material. Now we are using concrete, PVC and boat wrecks as the fish homes," said Abdul Jamal.

Abdul Jamal was appointed as Director General of JTLM on Oct 13, 2008 after compulsory retirement on May 26, 2008. Prior to the appointment, he has served JTLM for three years.

ECO-TOURISM

According to Abdul Jamal, the coral reef is an important element for the eco-tourism industry.

Each year some 500,000 tourists visited islands that have marine parks. Pulau Tioman alone receives about 200,000 visitors annually.

Abdul Jamal said many of the tourists came to view the various species of coral reefs and fish found at the marine parks and Malaysia is well endowed with marine treasures that include 400 species of corals and over 1,000 species of fish.

"However we need to have a balance between the conservation measures and eco-tourism. This is to ensure that eco-tourism activities do not hamper efforts to conserve the coral reefs," he said.

MORE MARINE PARKS

Abdul Jamal said the department hopes to add more marine parks to the existing list and a road show is planned for early next year for this purpose.

He hoped the road show would provide the public with the information on why marine parks are crucial to the country socially and economically.

The road show is expected to travel through Pulau Pinang, Perak, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan and Kelantan within the first quarter of 2009.

He said one of the key criteria for an island to be made a marine park is that it needs to have coral reefs and other marine resources.

"The consent of the state government is also required as islands in the country come under the jurisdiction of the respective state authorities.

"We need to convince the state government first but if there is no consent then we cannot gazette the island as a marine park," he said.

Abdul Jamal cited the case of Pulau Sembilan, one of the cluster of islands off Pulau Pangkor.

He said the island used to showcase many species of beautiful corals and fishes but certain quarters there rejected the suggestion that the island be made a marine park, hence eliciting a negative answer from the state government.

"Now all of the corals and fish have disappeared from the waters of the island due to extensive trawler activities," he said, adding that many islands in the country are suffering the same fate.

Abdul Jamal called on the state authorities to view marine parks in the long-term perspective as much benefits could be obtained from such a move.

He said the Terengganu government has been very perceptive towards the idea of turning the state's islands as marine parks.

"Almost all of the islands off the Terengganu coast have been turned into marine parks apart from Pulau Bidong due to security reasons."

MARINE PARK ACT

Abdul Jamal said the move to create national marine parks is provided under sections 41-45 of the Fisheries Act 1985 as the marine parks used to be a section under the Fisheries Department.

This section was later moved to be under the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry (NRE) in 2003. Four years later in July, the section was made the Marine Parks Department.

He said with the move, it is a necessary for a new law on marine parks to be enacted and added that the draft has been completed and submitted to the NRE Ministry for further action with the Attorney-General's Chambers.

STIFFER FINES

The draft for the new enactment provides stiffer fines for fishing vessels that encroach into the marine parks.

At the moment, maximum fine is not exceeding RM20,000 depending on the type of offence and size of the vessel.

He said the intruding fishing boats are willing to take the risk of being fined due to this small amount.

At times, they gave the excuse of taking refuge from the stormy seas and bad weather when they intruded into the marine parks, he said.

Abdul Jamal cited Pulau Tioman where from January to November 2008, there were 29 cases of encroachment as compared to only 13 for the whole of last year.

When the new Act is in place, the authority to impose the compound would be with the JTLM as compared to under the Malaysian Fisheries Department currently.

FEES FOR MARINE PARK VISITS

Since 1994, each of the tourist who visited the marine parks has to pay conservation fee of RM5 for adults and RM2 for children below 12 years old. This is provided for under the Fee Act 1951.

"Those exempted are residents of the respective island where the marine park is located, those working at the park and civil servants exempted by the department's Director-General," said Abdul Jamal.

He said there were no problems with foreign tourists over the fees imposed.

"However some of the local visitors have refused to pay," he said, adding that the fees collected is around RM1.5 million per year.

Abdul Jamal said the proceeds were used to fund the conservation of the marine parks including beach clean up, monitoring and enforcement operations.

He also said the department might review the fees imposed.

PATROL BOATS, BOOST EFFICIENCY

Abdul Jamal said the department plans to acquire more patrol boats to boost enforcement at the marine parks.

At present it has 12 of such vessels for patrols at 42 of the national marine parks nationwide.

"All of these boats are from the Fisheries Department and a number of them are not suitable for use particularly during the monsoon season.

"But, we still need to conduct the patrols during this season as it is the time when the fishing trawlers particularly the foreign vessels take the opportunity to cast their fishing nets in the midst of taking refuge in the marine park islands from the rough weather," he said.

According to him, the department is hoping to buy the all-weather boats that could cost up to RM10 million each.

Abdul Jamal also said the department planned to boost its manpower from the existing 86 to 240 people.

LOCAL COMMUNITY

To ensure that the conservation plans of the marine parks to proceed well, the National Marine Parks Department have roped in the assistance of the islanders.

The move has assisted the department particularly in the enforcement aspect as it is being hampered by the shortage of manpower.

Abdul Jamal cited the 'Rakan Park' programme that the department implemented on Pulau Tioman which involved the island's Village Development and Security Committee (JKKK) members.

He said the Rakan Park members function as the 'eyes' and 'ears' for the department on activities like catching fish, sea cucumber and coral destruction at the marine parks.

This programme has instilled the 'sense of belonging' among the island's residents as they became more responsible in protecting their own environment.

"Furthermore, most of the island's residents are involved in the tourism industry," he said.

Since the programme's establishment last year, it has shown a marked improvement with the higher number of encroaching fishing vessels apprehended within the Pulau Tioman marine park.

Abdul Jamal said the department took the Pulau Tioman's Rakan Park members for a motivational course to Pulau Pangkor where they also interacted with the residents there.

He said at Pulau Pangkor, the Rakan Park members were told of the hardship experienced by the fishermen there to the extent that they were forced to sell their fishing vessels due to the severely depleted fisheries resources at the island.

The Rakan Park programme would be expanded in stages to other marine park islands, he said.

EDUCATION IS ALSO VITAL

Abdul Jamal said apart from making enforcement, the department is also into tourism, research, monitoring and management of the marine parks.

He said the department is collaborating with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to stage awareness programmes not only for the school children, right from the year one stage, but also the villagers, university undergraduates and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

So far these programmes have been implemented at Pulau Perhentian, Pulau Redang, Pulau Tioman and Pulau Payar.

"The focus is on conservation. We want our children to realise the importance of conserving the resources, maintaining the island's cleanliness and the most important aspect is having the sense of belonging.

"Both the young and old should be working as a team to protect the island which would benefit not only the country but the island's community as well," he said.

Abdul Jamal said the department viewed knowledge as the crucial factor as enforcement alone is insufficient to ensure the marine parks' sanctity.

"If we tell them not to fish, many would not take heed of that but if their own children asked them not to do so, then it could be more effective. "Hence, this psychology way has better impact," said Abdul Jamal.

The department is also planning to ask the education authorities to include the national marine parks' conservation in the school's co-curriculum syllabus, he added.

-- BERNAMA