THE Serenity and beauty of the underwater world we see in
television documentaries make us want to learn scuba-diving so that we
can really see the scenes up-close. In Singapore, the marine environment
is an important resource contributing to economic growth. The
surrounding waters support a busy port and one of the largest oil
refining centres in Asia.
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As Singapore works overtime to reclaim more land from the sea,
there appears to be a bleak future for marine life and coral reefs.
Researchers estimated that close to 60 per cent of the total coral reef
areas have been lost through offshore reclamation over the years.
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But all is not lost. According to Professor Chou Loke Ming of the
Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore,
there are still clusters of healthy reefs with about 110 marine species
in Singapore's territorial waters.
Reefs off islands used by the military for live-firing exercises
and those off Pulau Bukom where Shell has its refineries are among the
healthier reefs in Singapore. Chou explains: "Because they are
off-limits to the public, marine life there is undisturbed. Usually,
corals are destroyed by boat anchors, careless divers, fish traps, and
others who collect corals as souvenirs or to sell them."
He quotes another example of unintended reef management: "In
Sattaheep, south of Pattaya, Thailand, the reefs are in excellent
condition as they lie within a naval base that is off-limits to the
public. A good example of effective management in a region where
enforcement is, for the most part, weak or symbolic, is the strong
protection given to reefs surrounding small islands that attract
swiftlets to nest.
"The birds roost in caves of these islands and their nests are
harvested to produce bird's nest which can fetch up to S$5,000 per
kilo."
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He adds that operators who pay to harvest the nests take measures
to ensure that no one goes near the islands. Some even hire guards with
machine guns. The reefs around these places are in the best of health.
On the Singapore government's policy on reef conservation,
Chou says: "This is something difficult to comprehend. We
don't have a marine protected area except for the military
off-limits areas. There seems to be a reluctance to declare marine
protected areas. The National Parks Board is looking at coral reefs to
try to get a good understanding of the biodiversity."
Benefits of Reefs
It will be easier to get funding for research and conservation if
businesses can see the benefit of reefs. Chou says that reefs prevent
heavy erosion of the beaches; they do the work of sea walls. Reefs,
being natural habitats can generate food for coastal communities. They
attract tourists, especially divers, who help to generate economic
benefits. This may not be applicable to Singapore as our waters are
turbid. A healthy and well-managed reef is worth a lot of money. The
annual economic gain from healthy reefs is estimated at S$500,000 per
square kilometre. Australia's Great Barrier Reef is an asset to the
east coast states.
Reefs help in the carbon fixation process to use up global-warming
gases and thus help to regulate the quality of the environment.
Professor Chou has been involved with coral reef management
research in southeast Asia. He was chairperson of the Global Coral Reef
Monitoring Network from 2003 to 2005. "I've all along been
very attracted to the sea," he confesses. "From young, I was
living by the sea at Siglap before the shore was reclaimed. At
university, I had the chance to go snorkelling and saw the beauty of
reefs. In the 1960s, our coastal waters were very clear."
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While being so involved with marine life over the years, Chou
smilingly admits that if served with shark fin soup at a restaurant, he
will take it. He says that he not that kind of an activist.
On the dangers of diving, he remembered that in the earlier days,
there was once when his air tank just ran out. He had to signal to his
buddy to share the air.
Conservation Problems
One of the main problems in reef conservation is trying to convince
decision-makers of the real value of reefs. "We can tell them that
if protected, this reef is worth $1 million but they don't see
that. It doesn't accrue to their budget. Only after the reef is
destroyed and people have no food, then they try to protect the
reef," Chou says.
A well-known example of a coastal community transforming a degraded
reef that has been severely damaged by blast-fishing and over-fishing to
one that supports sustainable fisheries is that of Apo island in the
Philippines.
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The 800 inhabitants of this small island realised in 1982 that they
had damaged the surrounding reef by over-fishing. Listening to the
advice of reef scientists, they stopped the destructive fishing and set
aside a quarter of the reef as a marine sanctuary. The sanctuary is a
protected zone operating as a "no-take" area.
Nobody is allowed to fish or extract anything from the zone and
scientific investigation is limited to non-destructive methods. Over
time, the reef recovered and the community has been able to fish at a
sustainable level since. Today, it attracts tourists and generates
additional income for the community.
Another problem lies with private developers who do not understand
the ecology of reefs. They want to create artificial reefs that will fit
into their development plans which can sometimes be unrealistic. For
example, they may want the reef to be sited at a specific location where
the reefs can grow naturally. It is better to work with the environment.
In effective reef management, the reef must be free from the
destructive impacts of development, pollution, and other human
activities.
On the future of reef conservation in the region, Chou says:
"I'm always optimistic. The regional reefs have been degraded
but they are not totally degraded. There is still hope for the reefs to
escape total destruction. Public awareness has gone up. For example, in
Indonesia, the World Bank funded an awareness programme with a million
dollars."
His message to the younger generation is "don't give up
hope". The challenge is to balance development and conservation. He
feels young people are sometimes too idealistic; they just want to
conserve without development. In the case of coral reefs, development
and conservation can co-exist.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Singapore Institute of
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