Guest guest Posted June 1, 2002 Report Share Posted June 1, 2002 ***************************Advertisement*************************** eCentral - Your Entertainment Guide http://www.star-ecentral.com ***************************************************************** This message was forwarded to you by yitzeling. Comment from sender: This article is from thestar.com.my URL: http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2002/6/1/features/wknredang & sec=\ features ________________________ Saturday, June 1, 2002 No landing strip! I refer to your article in the WeekEnder on May 18, 2002 entitled <A HREF= " http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2002/5/18/features/divelognew & s\ ec=features " >“Ravishing Redang”</A>. Many Malaysian island lovers like myself unanimously agree that the Redang-Perhentian-Tenggol islands of Terengganu are the best in the Peninsula in terms of marine wildlife and habitat. However, we have to admit that it has seen better days. Coral bleaching as a result of the El Nino of 1996/97 and increased commercial/ tourist activity is most evident in reefs up to 10m in depth. Beautiful hard coral has been reduced to lifeless limestone props. In the last year or so, I observed that the coral, particularly soft coral, is making a slow comeback. While this brings much joy to naturalists like myself, the impending El Nino of 2002 casts a shadow of doubt over further recovery of the reef. To further compound this, I was dismayed to have read in your article that an airstrip has been constructed and is to be in operation this December. We all know the kind of land clearing required for an airstrip — no matter how small the aircraft. On Redang, this is a luxury which this little island can ill afford. Bear in mind that Redang is a National Marine Park. Its marine life and habitat are totally protected. How could such a development proceed without an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) being made public? Or for that matter, how could the existing 18-hole golf course find itself in a National Marine Park in the first place? The whole idea of a marine park is to protect it from these intrusions. Polluted water run-offs, change in the island’s surface temperature and improper sewerage treatment/disposal will affect the growth of the coral reef. Coral reefs are the most important breeding grounds for marine life — even for deep sea fish. Moreover, this new development will affect the island’s already scarce water supply. To top it all off, Redang was one of the few breeding beaches in Terengganu for the Leatherback turtle. In the 60’s and 70’s, Terengganu was synonymous worldwide with the great Leatherback. Sadly, as we all know today, the Leatherback is officially extinct in Malaysia. The two remaining species — the Hawksbill and Green turtles are also dwindling in numbers in Terengganu. Landings are becoming scarce and we may well lose these species too if we continue in this direction. On Redang, the last bastion of the turtles lie in a little sanctuary known as Turtle Bay. With the continued commercial activity, many operators in Redang have given it an environmental shelf life of a mere five years. Any novice diver or snorkeller can see this happening. Look at Tioman. It has exactly the same set-up — massive luxury accommodation, an 18-hole golf course and, of course, an airstrip. Tioman, by the way, is also a National Marine Park. Reef degradation around Tioman is perhaps at its apex. We only hope that the outlying reefs remain unaffected. All this was due to the misguided use of the eco-tourism tag. If we are serious in showing the world that we are to be a developed nation in 18 years, maybe we should start by being more serious about nature conservation — more importantly the enforcement of conservation laws. The Federal agencies such as the Department of Environment and the National Parks Board should seriously look into the above for a start. If we can have laws prohibiting people from wearing bikinis on our beaches, I am sure that we can come up with some action more beneficial, but less trivial, in this respect. We should look at eco-tourism not only for the next five years but really for the next five generations and more. Corporations should not use eco-tourism so freely as an excuse for development. Today’s public is an educated and vigilant one — and we demand immediate action. Love life, love nature. The Dugong Dude<BR>Kuala Lumpur <!-- Page: 23 --> ________________________ Your one-stop information portal: The Star Online http://thestar.com.my http://biz.thestar.com.my http://classifieds.thestar.com.my http://cards.thestar.com.my http://search.thestar.com.my http://star-motoring.com http://star-space.com http://star-jobs.com http://star-ecentral.com http://star-techcentral.com 1995-2002 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd. All rights reserved. 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