The Department of Marine Park Malaysia (DMPM), along with various NGOs in the marine conservation field, including Reef Check Malaysia (RCM), launched the Malaysian initiative of The International Year of the Reef 2008 (IYOR 08) in 1 Utama shopping mall in February as an effort to raise public awareness on the importance of coral reefs which are found abundantly in our Malaysian coastal waters. Found in the centre of the “Coral Triangle”, which is an area recognized by scientists worldwide with the most diversity of marine life, it is important to educate the public on how we can play our part in protecting the coral reefs in our waters.

As an effort to meet the objectives of IYOR 08, DMPM and RCM conducted a Coral Reef Camp on Pulau Tioman from the 10 – 11 May 2008. Twenty students, ranging from 9 – 12 year olds, were selected from the Kelab Pencinta Alam from Sek. Keb. Tekek, Pulau Tioman to participate in the programme. There were 15 facilitators, including teachers, Marine Park officers, Reef Check staff and volunteers from one of our sponsors, BP, as well as seven industrial training students from University of Terengganu (UMT) who helped out during the camp.

The objective of the camp is to raise awareness among the students on the coral reef ecosystem, including the important services they provide for humans. It is also an opportunity to educate them on how they can help protect the reefs by simple actions like keeping the environment clean, not picking corals and shells from the sea as well as sharing with their friends about what they’ve learned. The camp was led by Daniel Lee from RCM, with assistance from Saras Suresh Kumar (RCM) and Izarenah Bt Mad Repin (DMPM). During the two-day camp, a few sessions were dedicated to teaching the students about the coral reef ecosystem, the threats they are facing as well as introducing them to what a Marine Park is all about.

Besides these knowledge-based sessions, students were also required to squeeze their creative juices in activities such as dressing up a mascot, making models of marine life, creating a story based on the “Survival” theme and acting in a role-play. The role-play activity is aimed at helping the students to understand the role of a Marine Park Officer on the island as well as giving them an alternative career to work towards. The play involves five different characters, each played by two students. The characters include Marine Park officers, local fishermen who were fishing in the Marine Park area, foreign tourist collecting corals and shells, villagers picking up giant clam to feed their family and Reef Check divers who had just finished conducting a survey on the reef. The Marine Park officers go on a patrol and find out what each of these characters are doing. The officers needed to advise and take action against those who violated the Marine Park rules and regulations. Each team had to be creative in preparing the story and script for the play.

The students were also given a tour around the Marine Park Centre by a Marine Park officer, En. Anuar Bin Safia. The tour was really an eye-opener for the students where they were able to look at the variety of marine life on the reef from the photos and posters exhibited. They were then treated to a video show of the Marine Parks of Malaysia, which features many exciting creatures found on the reefs.

However, the highlight of the camp has to be the snorkelling activity, where many of the students actually snorkelled for the first time even though they have been swimming in the sea since they were young. Many of the students were really excited to see living corals and a variety of fishes and invertebrates in the sea. The students were required to identify the things they see in the water using the Reef Check Underwater Guide book so that they know what they are looking at. The safety of the students was well taken care of, with sufficient life-jackets provided, along with a high ratio of adult to students (1 adult to 2 students). There were also 3 safety personnel and a Marine Park boat on standby in any case of emergency. Some younger students who were initially afraid to get into the water also managed to overcome their fear and snorkelled near the boat as they were all determined to participate in all the activities that were planned in the camp.

On the second day, a closing ceremony and dinner was held at the school. Several distinguished guests were invited to the event including En. Wahialkhan (Manager of Tioman Development Authority), En. Hafaz (SK Tekek’s PIBG Vice Chairman), En. Nordin (Headmaster of SK Tekek) and En. Anuar Bin Safia (Marine Park Officer for P. Tioman) as well as the parents of all the students involved. The programme received support from the Vice Chairman of the PIBG, En. Hafaz, who said, “It’s wonderful that this camp has taught our kids to learn about the coral reefs which is the treasure of our island. I hope that they will take up the responsibility to take care and protect the coral reefs around here for their own future and generations to come.” “I hope this programme can be conducted annually and involve more students, not only from Tekek but also for other students in Tioman,” added En. Nordin.

The winning team (Dolphin) then presented their play to the invitees and parents, conveying the message of coral reef conservation to the local community at the same time. Each student was then presented with a certificate of participation as they each made their pledge to protect the coral reefs. Some of the pledges include:

I will not fish or try to catch any other marine life in the Marine Park.
I will not litter all over the place.
I will tell my friends what I’ve learned from this camp.
I will not pick up live or dead corals from the sea or beach.

The ceremony then ended with a hamper presented to each of the two teams (Dolphin and Good Shark), souvenirs and books for the school, courtesy of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Malaysia and Pansing Distribution Group, followed by a sumptuous meal.

Overall, the camp was successful in meeting most of the objectives. The assessment from the questionnaire which was given to the students at the start and the end of the camp (same sets of questions) showed that everyone at the end of the camp. This is an encouragement for the organisers and facilitators as their efforts to instil this knowledge and good habits have proven fruitful. The feedback from the teachers and volunteers was also very encouraging with some requesting that such programme be held more often.

This Coral Reef Camp Programme is sponsored by DMPM, BP Malaysia and HSBC. The Coral Reef Camp will be conducted in Pulau Tinggi and P. Sibu in May and P. Redang and P. Perhentian in June.