Reef Check Malaysia Sees Continued Success with Community Marine Conservation Groups

Submitted by Reef Check Malaysia

COMMUNITY MARINE CONSERVATION GROUPS (CMCGs) IN MALAYSIA

Recently, a 7^th Community Marine Conservation Group (CMCG) joined the six previously established groups. This new group in Mersing consists of youths. Most youth in Mersing tend to leave their town to look for opportunities elsewhere, but this amazing group has stayed and is now making an impact in their own area!

1. Tioman Marine Conservation Group (TMCG)

2. Redang Marine Conservation Group (RMCG)

3. Larapan Marine Conservation Group (LMCG)

4. Selakan Marine Conservation Group (SMCG)

5. Kulapuan Marine Conservation Group (KMCG)

6. Pemimpin IKLIM Mabul 

7. Mersing Marine Conservation Group (MMCG)

The members of these CMCG groups are trained with various skills to handle day-to-day marine conservation tasks, including buoy installations, reef rehabilitation and monitoring, ghost net and predator removals, coral bleaching and reef biodiversity monitoring as well as Reef Check surveys. The members of these teams are passionate about conserving the marine environment, and it is visible in their determination and dedication as they tackle their tasks.

Here are some of their achievements:

• Nine members of our Selakan Marine Conservation Group were recently elected as Honorary Park Rangers by Sabah Parks, the state legislative body that manages state parks in Sabah, Malaysia
• The Redang Marine Conservation Group, together with RCM, piloted a Reef Rehabilitation Toolkit, now available on our website  
• The success of the Tioman Marine Conservation Group (TMCG), the first group to be established, has become the blueprint for the other CMCGs. 

Read more about RCM’s community-based conservation efforts here, as penned by RCM’s CEO, Julian Hyde.

COMMUNITY-BASED WASTE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

Our Community-Based Waste Management Program on Larapan Island, Sabah, which ran from March 2022 to September 2024, has now wrapped up. We have officially passed the baton onto WWF-Malaysia (Semporna, Sabah) as part of their No Plastic in Nature (NPIN) initiative.

A total of 105 households, representing nearly 1,000 residents, participated in the program. Together, we prevented 22,896.4kg of waste from being directly disposed into the marine ecosystem. Compliance levels, based on our monitoring system, reached a satisfactory 54%.

The program would not have run smoothly without the support from the local district council, village leaders, our partners, the waste management team on the island, as well as the local community members for their active involvement. 

COP 16 IN COLOMBIA

Our CEO, Julian Hyde, recently attended the COP 16 in Colombia. Julian joined Malaysia’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES), Nik Azmi Nik Ahmad to address key funding priorities for Malaysia’s biodiversity conservation initiatives. Julian had the opportunity to meet with esteemed representatives from Pew Charitable Trusts, Pacific Environment, and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) during this trip. Read Julian’s takeaways from COP16 here.

2024 STAR GOLDEN HEARTS AWARDS

Recently, Reef Check Malaysia was honored to be one of 10 organizations and individuals out of over 500 nominees to receive a 2024 Star Golden Hearts Award, given to those who have sparked changes and created impact nationwide through their noble efforts. RCM’s team attended the award ceremony, and our Chief Program Officer (CPO) Alvin Chelliah, gave a speech on behalf of RCM. The award ceremony, themed “Power of One, the Strength of Many”, was a significant one as SGHA 2024 celebrated its 10th year anniversary since its inception in 2015.