Protect Coral Reefs in Malaysia

Reef rehabilitation is the act of partially or, more rarely, fully replacing structural or functional characteristics of an ecosystem that have been diminished or lost, to a close approximation of its condition prior to disturbance. It is important to understand that this activity needs to be looked at in the context of the wider landscape, whereby the rehabilitation activity is integrated as a part of the existing ecosystem, and not creating a new one. It is important to note that there is no point rehabilitating coral reef unless the local stressors that were the original reason for the decline are addressed. Reef rehabilitation should therefore go hand in hand with rigorous management.

On Tioman Island, reef rehabilitation is part of an on-going conservation activities carried out by Reef Check Malaysia under its Cintai Tioman programme. The rehabilitation programme is more of an emergency response system to address physical impacts to corals such as anchor damage, storm damage and physical damage caused by divers/snorkellers. This system has responded to many incidents, saving many corals.

Live broken coral fragments (regardless of growth form and species) are collected from the surrounding reefs and attached to substrate made either from iron bar or cement block and recycled glass bottles. Many of these coral fragments were on the seabed and thus partially bleached (the side resting on the sand). Without attachment to a solid substrate, these corals would, over time, be abraded by natural water circulation and die.