Mission to green the ocean

Saving the reefs: Divers tying corals to the frame at the Semporna seabed. — Courtesy of Green Semporna

KOTA KINABALU: Two non-governmental organisations have joined forces to plant more than 40 coral frames in conjunction with World Oceans Day in Sabah’s east coast Semporna district on Wednesday.

Members from Green Semporna and Pemimpin Belia Iklim Mabul dove to reach the seabeds off Pulau Mabul in Semporna to set up the coral frames, which were made of steel and helped corals grow and develop,

The activity is aimed at supporting and continuing efforts to restore coral reefs at the island, which is famous among holidaymakers, particularly divers.

The planting of the frames were mostly carried out by members from the Pemimpin Belia Iklim Mabul.

They were earlier trained and mentored by marine conservation outfit, Green Semporna, to implement the coral restoration work.

Pemimpin Belia Iklim Mabul leader Hanafi Garwas said the activity was one of the ways the community living on Pulau Mabul could contribute to counter the effects of climate change besides raising awareness on coral reef preservation.

Besides threats from human activities, he said, coral reefs were also affected by climate change which halted their development and reduced their distribution.

“Coral reefs play an important role as a source of economy and livelihood for people on our island,” he said.

“But the corals are constantly under threat, hence, they must be protected. As youth leaders, our role is to preserve the coral reefs through restoration initiatives held by Green Semporna.”

Green Semporna founder Adzmin Fatta said the programme was one of organisation’s long-term projects done in collaboration with WWF-Malaysia and Reef Check Malaysia.

Adzmin said the initiative was funded by the United National Development Programme (UNDP) as well as the Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry.

“The programme gives the local communities an opportunity to be directly involved in conservation efforts of their marine heritage.

“This is not a one-off programme as we will have another coral planting activity soon in July and will involve more local stakeholders,” he said.

He explained the local community would not only be planting corals but would also be responsible for monitoring their growth and survival rate over the next two years.