Melati Mohd Ariff, Bernama 24 Dec 08;
PULAU TIOMAN, Dec 24 (Bernama) -- Almost two years into its implementation, the Marine Parks Project funded by the Government of Malaysia, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Global Environment Facility (GEF) is well on its course to conserve the three islands chosen under this initiative.
The islands are Pulau Redang (Terengganu), Pulau Tioman (Pahang) and Pulau Sibu-Tinggi (Johor).
According the national project manager for UNDP's Marine Parks Project, Ramzi Abu, the five-year project began in 2007 and the planning itself took about six years.
"Actually the project is called Conserving Marine Biodiversity Through Enhanced Marine Park Management and Inclusive Sustainable Island Development and UNDP is the project manager.
"Normally, UNDP projects are funded by the World Bank but because this marine parks project falls under biodiversity and involves environment, we received funds (US$2 million) from Global Environment Facilities (GEF)", he told Bernama in an interview here recently.
GEF is a global partnership among 178 countries, international institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the private sector to address global environmental issues while supporting national sustainable development initiatives.
MARINE PARK PROJECT
Marine Park is a sea-zoned area of two nautical miles from the lowest sea level during low tide and is established to protect and conserve various marine habitat and aquatic life.
The project is to assist the Malaysian Government to integrate development planning with effective conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity, resources and ecosystems.
As the implementing agency for this project, the Malaysian Marine Parks Department (DMPM) would ensure improved marine resource conservation and management at the islands of Redang, Tioman and Sibu-Tinggi.
These three locations would be used as pilot sites where the management plan model and activities could be replicated to other marine parks in Malaysia.
The project's goal is to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity and sustainable island development in Malaysia.
This five years project targets 164,534.2 hectares of Malaysian sea (project sites only), for the conservation of marine bio-diversity.
CHOICE, APPROACH
On the choice of islands, Ramzi explained the three islands (Redang, Tioman and Sibu-Tinggi) were chosen because of three different scenarios.
"Tioman we can say is advanced in terms of tourism as it receives more than 200,000 visitors a year. Redang is rather moderate (at that time when it was picked for this marine project). Now the number of visitors is almost 200,000 a year.
"As for Pulau Sibu-Tinggi, there is not much tourism now but that does not mean we are abandoning the island. In marine conservation terms, less people would be good but without tourists, there would be problems for the islanders in terms of job opportunities. They may resort to fishing and we have to find alternative livelihood for them", he said.
In implementing the marine parks project, Ramzi said, the approach used comprised three components, namely to protect biodiversity, enhancing the management capacity and sustainable island management.
DIFFERENT PHASES
The Marine Parks Project has several phases and according to Ramzi the first year alone was spent on the Project document (drafted some six years ago) and socializing.
"We have to re-look at the conceptual report as some of it are redundant and some have been carried out by the DMPM and at the same time, some new problems occurred and so we incorporated what we have resolved.
"We have to look at the conditions at every side. We have to call all the stakeholders to attend a workshop and go to the ground and it took us some time to gain the confidence of the villagers and resort operators of what we are going to do.
"Those who were vocal at first later became our partners. They were concerned but they definitely care. One of them became the chairman of Rakan Park", said Ramzi, referring to the village head of Kg Air Batang, Kamarulzaman Ismail, popularly known as Tok Empat.
MAIN CHALLENGE
According to Ramzi, as the project has multiple stakeholders (local people, state and federal governments), the main challenge is to get everybody together to speak a 'common language'.
"To a certain extent, we have managed to cross this hurdle through the Rakan Park (in Pulau Tioman) and Redang Reef Rangers (Pulau Redang). It would be easier if we can engage the local community to be our 'eyes' and 'ears'", he said.
Ramzi said, the Rakan Park Pulau Tioman is the first Malaysian community park ranger corps founded by the Pahang Marine Park Unit and established by the DMPM.
Its main purpose is to help combat marine issues especially illegal activities and environmental problems within the Marine Park protected areas.
Tioman Rakan Park was established on Sept 6 last year as a pioneer project in Tioman and it is a vital link between the local communities with DMPM.
Members of Rakan Park comprise representatives from all villages in the Marine Park islands.
But as Ramzi said, the UNDP's role in the Marine Parks Project is very low profile and what is more prominent is the DMPM.
"We are not going to be here forever, we would make our exit after five years. That is why capacity building for Marine Park is very important and each island has its own officers", he said.
WHY CONSERVE MARINE PARKS?
Once a marine park is damaged, it may take years for it to recover and that also, depends on the extent of the damage.
DMPM's Marine Parks Project Director, Rahim Gor Yaman, who has been involved in the Marine Parks project since the planning stage shared his experience in rehabilitating a damaged marine park.
He told Bernama of a place called Pasir Akar in Pulau Redang.
"There was a small cove and many boats would take refuge from the storm and when they anchor, huge areas of coral reefs were destroyed. The place is just next to a village.
"Looking at the damage, we had to close the area in 1990 and by 2000, we noticed the corals have re-grown. It has not been re-inhibited and we have heard comments from people to let the area as it is. Now the place has become a research area for marine park", Rahim said.
He also told of a damaged area in Pulau Pinang off Pulau Redang that took about 10 years to be rehabilitated. The corals there, he said, were also destroyed by anchors thrown from boats.
"That particular stretch of beach of the rehabilitated area is only about 250 metres in length but has become a major tourist attraction including for snorkeling.
"The last count in terms of tourists arrival I heard is between 85,000 to 90,000 a year. We do minor management there, asking people to wear life jackets and not to damage the corals", Rahim said.
CORALS ARE VITAL
The establishment of marine parks, as Rahim said was basically for food security.
"We need to protect the breeding ground for fish and also for eco-tourism which is very important for the country. If you imagine the sea, brimming with islands where fish can hide and breed and protected from waves and predators.
"But if you destroy the corals and the seabed is left sandy and muddy, it is not a productive ecosystem. It is very important for us to protect their habitats for them to breed", he said.
According to Rahim, coral reefs is a living organism and any two-degree rise in temperature would cause them to die.
"Corals are very sensitive pre-historic organism and they are a cross between the animals and plants. Corals are very unique living organisms that have evolved for so long.
"We are lucky because Malaysia is located in the tropics. Their redistribution is within the tropics between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn. Major diversity of coral reefs is around the Equator and Malaysia is located on the fringe of the coral triangle.
"People fail to see what anchors could do to corals. If one boat anchors, the area of corals that could be damaged is about one square metre and if the anchor is dragged, the damage would be worse.
"Multiply by the number of boats and days, there you have it. As I have said, it take years for corals to re-grow as corals grow very slow", said Rahim.
-- BERNAMA
