Malaysia

Sabah (population 2.52 million) is the second largest state in Malaysia and is bordered by Sarawak on its southwestern side, and Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) to the south. The capital is Kota Kinabalu (a.k.a. KK) (population 209,175).

In East Malaysia (Borneo), sites were established in Sabah, north of Kota Kinabalu, in proximity to coastal townships.

Potential for expansion of a seagrass monitoring network is high, especially in regions where students are working on coastal management projects with communities and non- government organisations. Development of the network will depend on integration with existing projects and available resources. Non government organisations such as WWF and Greenforce expressed interest in developing a community monitoring program in Palau Bangi to complement existing community education projects. A student based marine science organisation “The Marine Club” were interested in taking a lead role in monitoring sites in the Kota Kinabalu region with assistance from the University Malaysia and non government organisations.

Sepanggor Bay (SABAH)

Principal watchers: Leela Rajamani, Marine Club (University Malaysia Sabah) and Dewi Masayu (Maktab Sabah).
Occasional and watchers: DPI&F
Location: Teluk Sepanggor, 10 km north of Kota Kinabalu.
Site code: SP1
Issues: Sewage & land runoff
Comments: Site is on sandy sediments. Access to site is by road.

Status:

Only monitored on 2 occasions in 2002/2003.
Meadows dominated by Halodule spp. and Cymodocea rotundata.
Insufficient data to describe long-term trends.
Species differences between sampling events may be an artifact of the Halodule uninervis/pinifolia complex (there is some debate regarding whether the species are in fact separate and the morphological differences may be a consequence of the environment).
The meadow did not appear to show any significant difference between surveys, although more sedimentation was noted in early 2003.
Although current information is limited, anecdotal reports are that the seagrass meadows in Sepanggor Bay are in a fair condition, and no major losses are apparent.
Seagrass monitoring is planned to restart in January 2005.

Teluk Ambong (SABAH)

Principal watchers: Leela Rajamani & Marine Club (University Malaysia Sabah)
Occasional and watchers: DPI&F
Location: Teluk Ambong, located 50 km north of Kota Kinabalu (Sabah, Borneo)
Site code: TA1, TA2
Issues: Sewage & land runoff
Comments: in proximity to a coastal township. The site consisted of muddy sediments and a mix of Thalassia hemprichii and Enhalus acroides.

The student based marine science organisation “The Marine Club” are taking a lead role in monitoring sites in the region with assistance from the University Malaysia and non government organisations such as WWF and Greenforce.

Status:

Only monitored on 1 occasion in 2002.
Insufficient data to describe long-term trends.

Johor

Seagrass-Watch has formed a partnership with SOS Malaysia. SOS stands for "Save Our Seahorses", a non-profit organization comprised of young scientists, students, public volunteers and local fishing communities committed to conserve the Pulai River Estuary in Johor using the Spotted Seahorse, Hippocampus kuda, as a flagship species.

Since 1995, massive port development around Pulai River Estuary has destroyed large tracts of seagrass meadows, which are home to the Spotted Seahorse, Hippocampus kuda. The Spotted seahorse, which once thrived in the Pulai River Estuary, is losing its habitat as well as numbers. SOS is particularly concerned that they may vanish soon.

The Pulai River Estuary boasts the most extensive intertidal seagrass meadows in Malaysia and supports large tract of intact riverine mangroves and endangered species such as the seahorse, pipefish, dugong and sea turtles.

However, development in the surrounding area is closing in since the last decade and had resulted in habitat and species loss. SOS is fighting to conserve what still remains in the Pulai River Estuary through research and awareness raising activities.

Since September 2005, SOS volunteers deploy the standard Seagrass-Watch monitoring techniques to monitor the seagrass bed. The seagrass bed, located between Malaysia and Singapore, is approximately 1.3 km in length.

So far 10 seagrass species are found here with the predominant ones being Enhalus acoroides and Halophila ovalis. Apart from seagrass monitoring, they also conduct capture and release research on seahorses and pipefishes to estimate their population abundance, seagrass invertebrates census and community survey.

The data gathered will aid in the development of a long-term conservation and management plan for the Pulai River Estuary. SOS is working closely with the government and developers to achieve this goal.