Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
spreading of sediment and pollution in the coastal area. Year 2003 was cho-
sen as “design period” for “production runs” as analysis showed it was an
average year for rainfall, catchment runoff etc. Details can be found in the
project reports.
3. Coastal Ecology Results
A detailed understanding of the coastal ecology and the distribution of the
dominant ecological systems along Sabah's coastline (Fig. 1) guides a sound
sustainable management of the coastal environment.
In 1999-2002 the total area of Sabah mangroves was 341,377 ha. Based
on analysis of recent satellite images, mangroves presently cover an area of
327,678 ha. Overall, in Sabah, as elsewhere in Malaysia, the main threats to
mangroves arise from wholesale clearing and destruction of mangrove habi-
tats, rather than indirect impacts such as changes in water quality, sedimen-
tation, etc. In general mangroves are resilient to environmental changes.
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Owing to the importance of mangrove forests, the primary management
objective under the SMP for mangrove areas is protection and conservation.
Economic objectives, such as aquaculture or other mangrove conversion for
development, should only be considered in specific areas with clear limits
and guidelines.
The waters around Sabah support over 75% of all Malaysian coral reefs.
The main causes of reef habitat loss in Sabah are the use of destructive
fishing methods, and sediment erosion from improper development along
the coast and in the hinterland leading to coral mortality from high turbid-
ity and/or burial. There has been a dramatic rise in sediment and nutrient
loads of rivers in Sabah over the past two decades with adverse effects on
the coral reef ecosystem.
Good quality coral reef areas shall be considered “critical environmen-
tal capital,” the preservation of which is essential to achieve environmental
sustainability. Buffer zones around good quality coral reef areas shall be
established under the SMP based on knowledge of water flow and existing
suspended sediment and pollution loadings to appropriately restrict adja-
cent and nearby shoreline area development.
Seagrass beds intermix with coral reefs or cover shallow areas that fringe
mangrove swamps. Seagrass beds in many areas around Sabah are at risk
due to siltation.
Under the SMP all remaining coastal areas containing seagrass are to
be protected as either wildlife or marine reserves and are also considered
