The seascape around which the sanctuary is built is home to the second largest concentration of coral reefs in Malaysia. The other habitats the establishment of the sanctuary will protect include mangroves and sea grass beds. The road to the establishment of the MPA was a rocky one. It took thirteen years of consultation and planning before the park was notified.
Sabah is famed for its wildlife parks. The province has five marine parks already, besides terrestrial and heritage parks. As the region is largely a marine-based economy, it becomes necessary to meet the tenuous balance of sustainable conservation- something the park is attempting by pioneering a mixed-use approach where local communities and the fishing industry can continue to fish in designated areas.
The region has a history of overfishing. Nefarious and ecologically damaging methods such as the use of sodium cyanide to capture high-value marine species such as the grouper, and blast fishing threatened the ecosystems. A 2012 research found that while 57 per cent of analyzed reefs were in good condition, the region was also compromised - the absence of sharks and turtles, which the region is famed for, was impossible to disregard.
Sustainability was key in this situation- a fact acknowledged by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), who spearheaded the process of establishing the park, while meeting the needs of the fishing communities. Thus, the communities were involved in the discussions about the demarcation of fishing and non-fishing areas with the Sabah Parks Department and WWF. As reported, according to WWF Malaysia, areas with minimal damage can recover in as little as three to five years. Areas with more significant damage will require longer.
There is space for hope - Tun Mustapha has huge potential for nature based tourism development. Diving, beaches and an area spanning more than 50 islands, open up opportunities for ‘voluntourism' and pro-active measures for nature conservation. If the Tun Mustapha Park builds a sustainable and replicable management system, it will go a long way in conservation of wildlife.
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