According to World Resources Institute, human activity threatens the health of nearly 60 percent of the world’s coral reef. Add to that the estimated 30 percent of all coral reefs that are already dead or severely damaged and it’s easy to see that coral reef are in desperate need of attention if they are to survive for future generations.

As part of our on-going green projects, Langkawi Coral will be joining CoralWatch as a registered operator in monitoring activities to make a difference and protect coral reef ecosystem. We will start collecting data for the monitoring of coral bleaching and assessment of coral health in Pulau Payar Marine Park, Malaysia. We will also encourage our customers, snorkelers and divers to participate in CoralWatch activities.

CoralWatch is a non-profit research organization, initiated and underpinned by leading coral and sensory biologists from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. The organization has developed an inexpensive, simple, non-invasive method for the monitoring of coral bleaching, and assessment of coral health. By using the Coral Health Colour Chart, anyone can monitor bleaching and add essential data to a global monitoring database thus contribute to the protection of coral reefs worldwide.

What Is Coral Bleaching?
Coral bleaching refers to the ‘whitening’ of corals due to a loss of the symbiotic dinoflagellates (algae) living within the tissue of the coral. In a healthy reef, the algae supply the coral with energy (sugars and amino acids) and in turn receive products essential to their survival (ammonia and phosphate).

During a bleaching event, the brownish algae disappear from the tissue of the corals, leading to a change in coloration from brown to a brilliant white, purple or green. This loss of the ‘nutrient factory’ in corals may lead to death of the corals, or the corals may slowly recover. However, even if they recover, their reproductive capacity is reduced, leading to long-term damage to the reef systems.

Elevated water temperatures due to global warming have been found to be the major cause of coral bleaching. Sea temperatures are predicted to continue to rise and bleaching is expected to occur more frequently, thus leading to the death of large areas of coral reefs worldwide within a few decades.

Why CoralWatch?
Currently, most coral health monitoring is done by scientists around a few reefs and very little is known about trends of coral bleaching on a global scale. There are still many questions that are yet to be answered in order to save the reefs.

If more and more people like tourists, operators, students or even individuals participate in the monitoring program, we will be able to understand more about the coral bleaching condition in Malaysia, and the severity of the bleaching events.

The collected data will also enable us to carry out appropriate measures to educate the public on the importance of coral reefs conservation.
 

Some 47 eighth graders and five teachers from Dalat International School Penang, and five Langkawi Coral staff participated in a beach clean-up at Pulau Payar Marine Park on 15 April 2010. The activity was organized by Langkawi Coral and Dalat International School as part of the students’ annual class trip.

The purpose of the three-day trip (14 to 16 April) was to give students a chance to bond together as a class and prepare them for the transition to high school. The trip gave the students some time to reflect, evaluate the current school year, and set goals for high school. This trip had also provided the students a great chance to learn more about marine science in an outdoor classroom setting.

During the beach clean-up, the students collected trash items such as plastics, fishing line and nets, glass bottles and aluminum cans. This activity served as a platform to educate the students on the importance of conservation in addition to providing them with first-hand experience in protecting the marine environment.<see more photos on E-Gallery/E-Photo Beach Clean Up>

The students were also educated on the harmfulness of marine debris and what they can do to help keep waters debris free. For example, they were taught how to reduce, reuse and recycle as well as to avoid buying plastic products and products with excessive packaging.

Plastics, which take up nearly 80 percent of all the marine debris, are causing harm to underwater environment and wildlife. The rate of plastic usage is alarming as research shows that one million plastic bags are used every minute of the day and almost three million tons of plastics are used to bottle water globally every year.

Marine debris, such as those collected by the students, is affecting an estimated 100,000 marine mammals globally including dolphins, whales, seals and sea turtles. These animals are getting choked or tangled in debris every year.

Having experienced first-hand in a green project, the students are now equipped with the knowledge of ‘going green’ which they can practice in their everyday lives. This is in line with Langkawi Coral’s vision to promote and support green projects that will make an impact on the community.

We also believe that by educating the younger generations and disseminating this green message to students, we are doing our part in cleaning up the earth thus paving the way to more future green projects.

It is very crucial that the next generation understands the importance of conservation because even a small change in thinking, can make a long term difference.

In an effort to conserve the underwater environment, 6 dive masters from Langkawi Coral participated in a reef clean-up project in Pulau Payar, a marine park in the state of Kedah, Malaysia. The project , which was held from 22 to 24 March 2010, was organized by Jabatan Taman Laut Negeri Kedah.

In line with Langkawi Coral's corporate vision, which is to promote green tourism, environmentally responsible travel to natural areas to appreciate nature and promote conservation, and sustain the well being of local people, our company participates in and carrying out on-going green projects to promote conservation. This reef clean-up is one of the many green projects that we strongly support.

A number of fishing nets were found during the reef clean-up. These fishing nets and other marine debris such as plastic bags, plastic and glass bottles, and cigarette filters pose a threat to the coral reefs and marine life. The destruction of coral reefs will ultimately cause serious impact to the earth's ecosystem. <see more photos on E-Gallery/E-Photo Reef Clean Up>

The importance of coral reefs

Coral reefs are composed of thousand of tiny animals called polyps. The reefs occupy only 0.7% of the ocean floor but provide homes and vital nursery grounds for 25% of all marine species on earth, which include 4000 species of fish, 700 species of corals and thousands of plants and animals.

Apart from being responsible for building the largest structure on earth - the Great Barrier Reef, coral reefs protect shorelines from erosion and storm and wave damage. The economy of some countries is also associated with coral reefs. Tourism brings in billions of dollars to local economies and being the largest industry on earth, it sustain 10% of all jobs on earth.

Marine debris -  a threat to marine life

Marine debris in the world's ocean causes harm to underwater environments and wildlife. In September and October 2009, a staggering 222,215kg of debris were collected from the world's shorelines and underwater environments during the International Clean-up Day organized by Project AWARE Foundation.

Nearly 80% of all marine debris is plastics and these plastics do not biodegrade. Marine debris such as plastics, fishing line and nets, glass bottles, aluminum cans, disposable diapers and others are causing entanglement and ingestion in more than 260 animals species worldwide. More than 1 million seabirds are also reported to be killed by litter each year.

All these numbers are reflection that the world's ocean is in dire need of cleaning-up and conservation. No matter how big or small scale a green project can be, it will make a difference, for in the effort to conserve our environment, every little step counts.

The "Green Fins" programme was initiated in 2004 by the East Asian Seas Regional Coordinating Unit(EAS/RCU), the secretariat of the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia(COBSEA) - located in Bangkok, Thailand. The overall objective of the "Green Fins" programme is to establish a network of environmentally-friendly dive operators through which snorkelers, diving enthusiasts and dive operators can participate in conservation, monitoring, and management of coral reefs by fostering the adoption and practice of environmentally-friendly snorkeling and diving in protecting the coral reefs. The programme awards certificates to dive operators who carry out their operations using a set of environmentally-friendly guidelines.

The project is being launched in Malaysia in year 2008. In Malaysia, Department of Marine Park malaysia, NRE is responsible for expanding the network in Malaysia and to produce educational and public awareness materials and certificates.

The expected outcomes of implementation of Green Fins Programme are:-
1. Increased awareness of good snorkeling and diving practices.
2. Increased protective measures for coral reefs.
3. Increased coral reef data and information at the selected sites.
4. Improved coral reef health.

We are the first pioneer member to Green Fins Malaysia on 21st February 2009 witnessed by the Director General of Department of Marine Park Malaysia and Network Leader for Green Fins Malaysia. <see more photos on E-Gallery/E-Photo Green Fins>