Monitoring the Marine Environment In Sabah And Terengganu

Bernama 30 Sep 10;

KUALA LUMPUR, 30 Sept (Bernama) -- The Environmental Monitoring for Marine and Coastal Ecosystems (EMCEE) will be held in Pulau Redang, Terengganu and in Sabah next year.

Talisman Malaysia Limited is collaborating with the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) in the project that is expected to cost RM329,000.

Talisman Malaysia acting country manager Jim Tarlton said for the Terengganu chapter, it would also be providing volunteers and transport to the MNS project team during the marine mammal observation period.

"We are committed to investing in the communities where we operate, as we see it as our responsibility and we believe in conducting business in an ethical, socially and environmentally responsible manner," he said at the signing ceremony, here Thursday.

MNS vice-president Prof Jeffrey Phang said the project mooted by MNS was part of its nationwide effort to track changes in marine and coastal environment.

"Day after day, we see our marine and coastal areas being overexploited, overdeveloped and overused.

"This project aims to empower the community to monitor the changes, so that we'll be more aware of the health of our coastal ecosystem and manage it in a proper manner."

Phang said this was the first time the EMCEE study would be conducted in Terengganu and also the first to involve local residents.

"The findings from the study will be compiled into a report and used for further research, as well as to support the government's many ongoing environmental preservation efforts", he said.

The MNS-Talisman project partnership is not new as they had collaborated before on other projects, such as mangrove tree planting at the Kuala Selangor Nature Park and in a bird-watching survey, the result of which contributed towards producing informative brochures.

-- BERNAMA