Coral Reef Preliminary Resilience Report in Malaysia
Reef Check Malaysia Bhd Advocacy Report – Reef Resilience Published by Reef Check Malaysia Copyright © 2012, Reef Check Malaysia The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of Reef Check Malaysia This publication may be reproduced for educational or non-profit purposes without special permission from the copyright holders, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. Reef Check Malaysia would appreciate receiving a copy of any publications that use this document as a source About Reef Check Reef Check is the world’s largest international coral reef monitoring programme involving volunteer recreational divers and marine scientists. First carried out on a large scale in 1997, it provided the first solid evidence that coral reefs have been damaged on a global scale. The survey raised the awareness of scientists, governments, politicians and the general public about the value of coral reefs, threats to their health and solutions to coral reef problems. Reef Check is now active in over 82 countries and territories throughout the world About Reef Check Malaysia Reef Check Malaysia (RCM) was registered in Malaysia as a non-profit company in 2007, and since then has established an annual survey programme to assess the health of coral reefs around Malaysia (reports are available for download from the website: www.reefcheck.org.my). In the last five years RCM has trained over 350 divers to conduct reef surveys at permanent monitoring sites on coral reefs off the East coast of Peninsular Malaysia and at sites around East Malaysia. RCM is also active in education and awareness programmes, and has a long term education programme for schools. In addition, we have been working with stakeholders in the Perhentian islands and in Pangkor to involve local communities in coral reef management. More recently, RCM has established several Reef Rehabilitation programmes, contributing to our understanding of coral reef ecology, and providing an ideal vehicle to educate local populations, businesses and tourists on the value of coral reefs and how human activities are damaging them For further information, please contact:
Reef Check Malaysia Bhd Box 606, Lot 5.19-5.22, Wisma Central, Jalan Ampang, 50450 KL, Malaysia Phone/Fax: 03 2161 5948
Acknowledgements: We are grateful for the Department of Marine Park Malaysia for sponsoring the costs of the reef’s resilience assessments conducted on the Tioman, Redang and Sibu/Tinggi islands. Saving Our Reefs Research, Education, Conservation
Reef Check Malaysia Bhd
“We urge the Malaysian government to incorporate resilience concepts into reef management, to better enable coral reefs to withstand growing external threats”
Coral reefs are complex marine ecosystems, often described as “the Rainforests of the Seas”. Reefs are valuable: • Ecologically –habitat and breeding ground for one third of marine species • Environmentally –a carbon sink, absorbing some 700 billion kg of carbon/year • Economically – according to one estimate, coral reefs in Malaysia are worth up to RM 50 billion –per year, providing many people with a food source and employment in tourism and other marine industries • Medically – source of anti-cancer, anti-tumour and anti-viral medicines Despite being recognised for their economic and aesthetic value, coral reefs are being damaged by a variety of local threats: • • • • •
Over-fishing & destructive fishing Coastal development Pollution Siltation/sedimentation Physical impacts from tourism, including divers, snorkelers and boats.
Against these local threats, mass coral reef bleaching has emerged over recent years as a global threat that is difficult to manage locally and which can have potentially devastating effects. The amount of damage depends not only on the extent of the threats, but also on the ability of coral reefs to cope with change – referred to as the reef’s “resilience”. This is defined as: “The ability of the reef to resist threats and to recover to its former state after a disturbance has occurred” (IUCN, 2011). This paper presents the preliminary results of resilience assessments carried out on reefs in Tioman, Redang and Sibu/Tinggi by Reef Check Malaysia, and outlines key recommendations that provide an input to the Malaysian government’s coral reef management planning process.
Saving Our Reefs Research, Education, Conservation
Reef Check Malaysia Bhd
What is Resilience? Reef health is mainly determined by a reef’s “resilience”, that is, its ability to absorb or recover from disturbance and change, while maintaining its functions and services (Carpenter et al, 2001). A reef that tends to return to the same state even after major disturbances has high resilience, while one that shifts into another state has lower resilience (Obura, 2005).
Resistance – when exposed to high temperature and other factors, the ability of individual corals to resist bleaching, and if bleached to survive (Obura & Grimsdith, 2009). Resilience – following mortality of corals, the ability of the reef community to maintain or restore structure and function and remain in an equivalent phase as before the coral mortality (Obura & Grimsdith, 2009). The natural resilience of reefs however is being undermined by stresses related to human activities. These local pressures reduce the resilience of the reef system by undermining its ability to cope with additional stresses, such as those associated with climate change. Increasingly, policy-makers, conservationists, scientists and the broader community are calling for management actions to restore and maintain the resilience of coral reefs in order to minimise the negative impacts of climate change (IUCN, 2011).
Saving Our Reefs Research, Education, Conservation
Reef Check Malaysia Bhd
Why is Assessing Reef Resilience Important? The extent and severity of mass bleaching events are increasing. The number of countries reporting mass bleaching continues to grow, and no region has escaped the effects of warming seas, including Malaysia. The first significant mass coral reef bleaching event reported in Malaysia was in 1998, as a result of which an estimated 40% of corals in reefs around Peninsular Malaysia died. Reefs had barely recovered before the 2010 mass coral reef bleaching event occurred, which fortunately saw lower coral death rates. The need for assessing the resilience of Malaysia’s reefs is becoming increasingly critical as Malaysia’s reefs are under threat from episodes of mass bleaching events and a variety of local threats. These local threats act to reduce the resilience of the reef system, undermining its ability to cope with additional stresses such as those associated with climate change, and lowering the threshold for the shift from coral-dominated phase to other phases. Different coral reefs react differently to a given threat because of various factors that influence their resilience to disturbances. Because of their varying biological compositions and widely differing physical conditions, we can expect different coral reefs, even on the same island, to follow different routes with increasing human and natural threats. It is therefore important to identify resilient reef areas and focus on protecting those areas by reducing the most pervasive local threats to reefs.
Saving Our Reefs Research, Education, Conservation
Resilient Reefs in Malaysia – Tioman, Redang and Sibu/Tinggi
The resilience assessment methodology used by Reef Check Malaysia on Tioman, Redang and Sibu/Tinggi were developed by the IUCN working group on Climate Change and Coral Reefs, specifically to examine the resilience of coral reefs to climate change, with particular emphasis on thermal stress. For the assessment of Malaysian reefs, Reef Check Malaysia has modified the methodology to the needs of reefs in Malaysia. The data collected identifies the most resilient coral reef areas at each site. Comparisons of site resilience information are only valid for sites around a given island/archipelago. Conditions differ significantly between islands (eg. water quality and visibility; tourism market and impacts) and therefore comparisons of resilience information for sites on different islands does not provide useful guidance to managers.
Saving Our Reefs Research, Education, Conservation
Reef Check Malaysia Bhd
In Pulau Tioman, the most resilient reefs were located in the Northwest of the archipelago, at Renggis North, Renggis South and Soyak. The key factors are very high levels of live coral cover and very high diversity of coral species (which together indicate healthy reef environments), high topographical complexity at both micro and macro levels and highly rugose reefs (having a complex 3-dimensional structure which provide vast areas for coral recruitment and a range of habitats for marine life), high abundance of canopy corals and physical shading (which provide protection from sun and reduce water temperature), healthy fish populations, and high recovery rates from previous bleaching events.
In Redang, Teluk Mak Delah, Tanjung Gutong and Gua Kawah are the most resilient reefs. Key factors are above average levels of live coral cover, diverse coral populations, high levels of recruitment of new coral colonies, wide variety of colony size, high topographical complexity at both micro and macro levels, highly rugose reefs, near to deep water and strong currents (enhance mixing of water and help to keep water temperature low), moderate abundance of canopy corals and physical shading, and moderate recovery rates from previous bleaching events. In Sibu/Tinggi, Pulau Ibol Besar, Tanjung Mariam and Pulau Nanga are the most resilient reefs. Key factors are high coral cover, high diversity of corals, high range of coral colony size, high amounts of coral recruits, high reef complexity, high levels of natural shading, and good recovery from past bleaching events. Coral reef managers must protect these resilient reefs because in the event of any reef-damaging events, these resilient reefs are able to recover from the disturbances, continue to reproduce and maintain their functions and services. These reefs will also provide source larvae to regenerate adjacent damaged reefs.
Saving Our Reefs Research, Education, Conservation
Reef Check Malaysia Bhd
Recommendations The coral reefs of Tioman, Redang and Sibu/Tinggi islands are an important economic resource. Tourism is the only industry on the islands and brings in significant revenue. In the context of building resilience to global threats (climate change and ocean acidification) managers should consider ways to improve management of these areas. Local threats are considered to be substantially the same in each location. The principal threats identified are land clearing for resort development, sewage pollution from resorts, physical impact from damage caused by individual divers and snorkelers through to the impact of construction of tourism facilities and poor enforcement. We make the following broad recommendations: Department of Marine Park Malaysia: consider introducing “zoning” into the existing management structure; establish a better dialogue with tourism operators to raise awareness of the importance of coral reefs and how tourism operators can play a role in reducing damage and protecting resilient areas; ensure DMPM staff (both headquarters and island-based staff ) are briefed on the findings of the resilience assessment, so that they develop a better understanding of the threats facing coral reefs.
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State government: work together with Indah Water Konsortium to investigate the possibility of providing septic tank de-sludging facilities to resorts on the islands; collaborate with relevant local authorities to improve management of development on the islands, in particular where resilient areas might be affected by development proposals; carefully assess any proposals for new resorts/tourism facilities to ensure that these critical areas are protected to the fullest extent possible.
Saving Our Reefs Research, Education, Conservation
Reef Check Malaysia Bhd
References Carpenter, S., Walker, B., Anderies, J. M. & Abel, N. (2001) From metaphor to measurement: Resilience of what to what? Ecosystems 4, 765�781. IUCN (2011). Coral Reef Resilience Assessment of the Bonaire National Marine Park, Netherlands Antilles. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. 51pp. Obura, D. (2005) Resilience and climate change: Lessons from coral reefs and bleaching in the Western Indian Ocean. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. Obura, D. O. & Grimsdith, G. (2009). Resilience Assessment of coral reefs – Assessment protocol for coral reefs, focusing on coral bleaching and thermal stress. IUCN working group on Climate Change and Coral Reefs. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. 70 pages.
Saving Our Reefs Research, Education, Conservation