SUNSHINE STORIES

Group 4 of the Interim Steering Committee for Tun Mustapha Park (TMP) led by the District Office of Kudat, Kota Marudu and Pitas organized a dialogue with communities especially with the fishermen in Kg. Taritipan and Kg. Langkon Baru on the 7 July 2011. Over 50 people attended the dialogue including government agencies and NGO in each dialogue held. The dialogue held intended to update the community on the progress and status of TMP gazettement and also to obtain their feedback on the gazettement of TMP. Major concerns highlighted by the communities were fate of houses built on coastal areas in untitled land, fate of fishermen whose fishing area are near No-Take Zone , land application, status of gazettement of TMP, and area covered in TMP. The communities appreciate more of such dialogues held in the days to come to provide a platform for the communities to be involved and to be updated with the gazettement of TMP. All in all, they voiced out positive support for the gazettement of

One of the groups of people I had the privilege to work with was small-scale fishers, also described in literature as ‘artisanal fishers’. An artisan is basically a skilled manual worker and that is precisely what an artisanal fisher is. You might wonder what the big deal is but in a world where products are mass produced or extracted with machinery, the artisans are a dying breed and their products can fetch a pretty penny. But does an artisanal fisher earn a decent living and how are they perceived by society in general? I like using the gender-neutral term ‘fisher’ to describe these resilient, kind and generous people. Although men dominate this dangerous trade, women and even children are equally important contributors to the household. I once went out with a woman and her son to catch shrimp off the mangrove-lined coast of Langkawi. It was hard work through and through: back-breaking task of hauling in the gillnet; sorting the spiky shrimp; and to my horror, tossing out coun

Posted by: Hui Ling Cheerful PPMS children who attended the programme © WWF-Malaysia A total of 83 children from PPMS attended the Puppet Show and Exhibition Programme organized by 11 Banggi Youth Club (BYC) members in PPMS Felcra, Batu Layar, Banggi on the 28th May 2011. PPMS, Projek Perumahan Masyarakat Setempat, is a government's initiative aimed to lift targeted families out of poverty and dependence through Agropolitan Project under the responsibility of FELCRA Berhad, Ladang Rakyat, Pulau Banggi. The objective of this activity is to increase the awareness of PPMS children about the dangers that plastic waste pose to the marine environment, and to gain support from the community for the Green Lifestyle Campaign to be implemented from July to June 2011. Puppet show by members of BYC © WWF-Malaysia A puppet show was performed by BYC members with the theme " Kerana Plastik Penyu Menjadi Mangsa ” (Because of plastics, Turtles become victims). The children were so taken with

Written by: Angela Lim Congratulations, Robecca ! For having your photo of a baby dugong selected to be in the Top 10 of the worldwide photo contest by Frontlines, USAID’s newsletter. The Kudat-Banggi PCA Team is proud to see this photo recognised as a clear reflection of the good conservation work done on the ground. Please visit USAID.gov ( http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/environment/photo_contest/ ) to see the photo contest results. Recap on the dugong release Early morning on 15 December 2009, a rarely seen dugong was found in a net by a Bajau fisher within the marine sanctuary in Pulau Maliangin Kecil. It was taken to Pulau Banggi, after members of the newly formed Maliangin Island Community Association called for assistance. WWF Kudat-Banggi PCA Team, with advice from Sabah Wildlife Department, arranged for the dugong’s release back on the same afternoon. The dugong was a female juvenile measuring 1.5 metres. This marine mammal is now an endangered and protected species,

Posted by: Hui Ling Participants of Alternative Livelihood workshop at the end of Day 1. Over 60 stakeholders from government agencies, the private sector and local communities within the proposed Tun Mustapha Park (TMP) took part in an alternative livelihood workshop, aimed at exploring sustainable business opportunities within the Kudat-Banggi Priority Conservation Area, in Kudat from 8-9 February 2011. The first day of the workshop consisted of a series of talks on WWF’s alternative livelihood programmes, eco-tourism potential, fisheries, sea cucumber and virgin coconut oil processing; followed by group discussions. Study visits were conducted the following day to a fish cage and ecotourism operation in Tampakan; a bee and honey processing centre at Kg. Gambizou; a Maranjak longhouse homestay at Kg. Bavanggazo; a gong making centre at Kg. Sumangkap; and a virgin coconut oil processing centre near Simpang Mengayau at the Tip of Borneo. Discussion on what alternative livelihood m

Posted by: Hui Ling Mr. Lawrence Kissol, Head of Marine Resource Management of Department of Fisheries Sabah, presenting a Maliangin mat as a token of appreciation to Dr. Alma Dickson, Head of National Marine Fisheries Development Center of Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. © WWF-Malaysia / Irwanshah Mustapa “It is important to manage the declining fisheries resources in the proposed Tun Mustapha Park, and we need fisheries data to help with fisheries management,” Fazrullah Rizally Abdul Razak, Head of Marine Park Section, Sabah Parks. A study visit to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)’s Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) Station in Navotas City, Manila was organized by WWF-Malaysia from 22-23 March 2011. Three members of the Persatuan Pemilik Kapal Nelayan Kudat (PPKNK), 2 staff of Department of Fisheries Sabah, 2 staff of Sabah Parks and 2 staff of WWF-Malaysia were part of the group that visited the MCS Station and the National Fis

The NCEAS Group at Lotus Land, Santa Barbara Posted by: R. Jumin I was lucky to be able to participate in the recent Society for Conservation Biology’s 2 nd International Marine Conservation Congress in Victoria , Canada . I was invited to present a paper at a symposium entitled Science and Policy in the Coral Triangle where I presented a paper on the use of local knowledge in conservation planning in the proposed Tun Mustapha Park (TMP). The on-going zoning process in the proposed TMP under the zoning group (See post on establishment of ISC in TMP) will benefit from the information provided by the local communities of TMP compiled through a rapid community survey in 2006 to 2007. The Coral Triangle Symposium at the 2 nd IMCC was organized by Carissa Klein as part of the the Hugh Possingham/Carrissa Klein’s NCEAS working group that work on supporting decision making in the Coral Triangle. A special newsletter edition on Coral Triangle prepared as part of the sympos

Posted by: Hui Ling From left, HSBC Area Director East Malaysia, Mr Ong Eng Mun; New Sabah Times reporter, Shirley Poilis; WWF Kudat Team leader, Irwanshah Mustafa; and Raleigh Borneo Recruitment, Support and Media Coordinator, Yolanda Graham © WWF-Malaysia / Angela Lim Remember previous update for Pulau Maliangin with a question whether communities can manage their own resources ? Since 8 October 2010, the community at Pulau Maliangin has been managing its resources through with the help of traditional handicrafts as an alternative source of income and to reduce dependency on fishing. The Pulau Maliangin community is delighted when HSBC sponsored Raleigh Borneo youths in building 9 units of self-composting toilets, repairing broken gravity water feed system and constructing a camp area for potential visitors to the island. This boost of facilities is part of the plan for collaborative management of the proposed TMP, which a

Posted by: Hui Ling We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. This quote reminds us not to take the earth for granted because if we do, our children and grandchildren may not be able to enjoy the beauty of nature like we can now. Banggi Youth Club a.k.a BYC came up with a Green Lifestyle Campaign that will run for a year starting July 2011, with supervision from WWF Kudat Team members. It will cover Kg Karakit, Kg Singgamata, Kg Perpaduan and Perumahan Felcra, and SMK Banggi (secondary school) and SK Karakit (primary school) in Pulau Banggi, within the proposed Tun Mustapha Park. Anti-plastic use and recycling modules’ combined discussion led by WWF Kudat Team Leader, Irwanshah Mustapa ©WWF-Malaysia / El Said Abdel Aziz A workshop to develop a Green Lifestyle Campaign using the social marketing approach was held on 20 February 2010. Five Green Lifestyle Modules were proposed at the workshop: Anti-fish bombing and cyanide fish