It’s no secret that coral reefs around the world are at risk due to the impacts of rising seas, climate change, and human-caused impacts, such as overfishing. Today, an estimated 25 percent of coral reefs around the world have already disappeared, and two-thirds are at risk. In Southeast Asia, home to the most biodiverse reefs on earth, 88 percent of the reefs are under threat.
Luckily, the people who live near the reefs and depend on them for their livelihoods aren’t standing by – they are taking action.
For example, a small community on an island in Malaysia recently received money from Global Greengrants Fund to develop innovative ways to save their local reef with recycled materials and Go Pro cameras. Read on for the details.
Kalapaun Island is located in northeast Malaysia, and is home to a small village of 290 indigenous people. Though there are 150 youth, the village has no schools, medical clinics, utilities, roads, or law enforcement.
While low in infrastructure, the island is an important nesting site for sea turtles and other marine life who are under threat from illegal fishing and the trapping of sharks in the local waters.
The Tropical Research and Conservation Center is a nonprofit organization based in nearby Sabah that organizes scientific marine conservation expeditions, rebuilds coral reefs, and advocates for local communities to protect marine areas.
With $4,000 from Global Greengrants Fund, the Tropical Research and Conservation Center created a marine protected area around the island of Kalapaun, helping the community sustainably manage the coral reef ecosystem. The funds were used to restore the reef, purchase and install Go Pro cameras to monitor traps used to catch sharks, and create a video to build support from the government for shark and coral reef protection in the area.
The community plans to use the information gathered through the Go Pro cameras and research to discourage illegal fishing in the area. With money they bring in through legal fishing and diving permits needed to explore the new marine protected area, the community will build a school, construct infrastructure to provide a reliable water supply on the island and purchase solar panels to provide the local community with electricity.
As a result of the grant and community efforts, the reef around the island is now a fully protected area. Also, a wide range of damaged reefs have been rebuilt around the islands, including coral, turtle reefs, and twelve deep reefs. Many of the reefs were built using recycled materials, such as glass bottles, found in the community. Damaged corals were taken to a nursery to grow and then relocated back to the reefs when healthy. There has been a significant increase in the number of fish living among the newly restored coral.
The new reefs also have proven to be a more sustainable source of income for the local community, helping sustain efforts to develop an ecotourism experience on the island.
While threats to crucial natural resources aren’t going away, people on the frontlines are developing solutions to reverse the impacts and protect their ways of life and biodiverse marine environments. We’ll continue to support them every step of the way.