State of the Coral Triangle: Malaysia Malaysia has made a firm commitment to sustainable management and conservation of its coastal and marine resources, helping formulate and implement the Sulu–Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion Initiative and the Coral Triangle Initiative. Rapid economic growth, uncontrolled tourism development, unregulated fishing, and unsustainable use of marine resources have depleted the country’s fish stocks, lost nearly 36% of its mangrove forests, and increased the STATE OF THE CORAL TRIANGLE: number of endangered species. Despite impressive national economic gains, Malaysia’s fishers remain poor. This report assesses Malaysia’s coastal ecosystems and summarizes the country’s plans in (i) rehabilitating marine protected areas, (ii) protecting threatened and endangered Malaysia species, (iii) adapting to the negative impacts of climate change, and (iv) responding to the need for financially sustainable, community-based initiatives. About the Asian Development Bank ADB’s vision is an Asia and Pacific region free of poverty. Its mission is to help its developing member countries reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their people. Despite the region’s many successes, it remains home to approximately two-thirds of the world’s poor: 1.6 billion people who live on less than $2 a day, with 733 million struggling on less than $1.25 a day. ADB is committed to reducing poverty through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Based in Manila, ADB is owned by 67 members, including 48 from the region. Its main instruments for helping its developing member countries are policy dialogue, loans, equity investments, guarantees, grants, and technical assistance. Asian Development Bank 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550 Metro Manila, Philippines www.adb.org Printed on recycled paper Printed in the Philippines STATE OF THE CORAL TRIANGLE: Malaysia © 2014 Asian Development Bank © 2014 Asian Development Bank All rights reserved. Published in 2014. PrintedAll rights in reserved.the Philippines. Published in 2014. Printed in the Philippines. ISBN 978-92-9254-516-1 (Print), 978-92-9254-517-8 (PDF) PublicationISBN 978-92-9254-528-4 Stock No. RPT146476-3 (Print), 978-92-9254-529-1 (PDF) Publication Stock No. RPT146478-3 Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cataloging-in-Publication Data Asian Development Bank. AsianState Development of the Coral Bank. Triangle: Malaysia. Mandaluyong Regional City,state Philippines: of the Coral Asian Triangle—Coral Development TriangleBank, 2014. marine resources: Their status, economies, and management. 1.Mandaluyong Coral Triangle. City, Philippines:2. Marine environment.Asian Development 3. MarineBank, 2014. fisheries. 4. Malaysia. I. Asian Development Bank. 1. Marine resources. 2. Marine environment. 3. Coral Triangle. 4. Indonesia. 5. Malaysia. 6. Papua New Guinea. 7. Philippines. 8. Solomon Islands. The9. Timor-Leste. views expressed I. in Asian this publication Development are Bank.those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the ADBviews does and notpolicies guarantee of the the Asian accuracy Development of the data Bank included (ADB) or in itsthis Board publication of Governors and accepts or the no governments responsibilitythey represent. for any consequence of their use. 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PhotoNote: credit FrontIn this cover publication, (from left “$” to refersright): to James US dollars, Berdach unless and “Checkered otherwise stated. snapper” by “dachalan” Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) Accessed 30Photo April credit 2014. https://flic.kr/p/5gDvrz BackFront cover: cover: “700_0010” ADB photo libraryby “pygmyseahorse” Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivsBack cover: Oscar Dennis Espenilla2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Accessed 30 April 2014. https://flic. kr/p/5KvC7Q 6 ADB Avenue,Avenue, MandaluyongMandaluyong City City 1550 Metro Manila,Manila, PhilippinesPhilippines Tel +63 22 632632 44444444 Fax +63+63 22 636636 24442444 www.adb.org For orders,orders, pleaseplease contact:contact: Public InformationInformation CenterCenter Fax +63+63 22 636636 25842584 [email protected] Printed on recycled paper Contents Tables and Figures iv Foreword vi Acknowledgments viii Executive Summary ix Abbreviations xv Introduction 1 Sulu–Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion Initiative 2 Sustainable Fisheries: Sulu–Celebes Sea Sustainable Fisheries Management Project 2 Biophysical Characteristics 4 Physical Geography and Oceanography 4 Biodiversity of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems 9 Economic Value of Ecosystems and Beneficial Uses of Indicator Species 30 Governance 34 Legislation 34 Policies 38 Institutional Arrangements 41 International Commitments and Participation 41 Socioeconomic Characteristics 49 Demography 49 Resource Use Patterns and Issues 50 Gender Issues 70 Payment for Ecosystem Services Schemes 71 Threats and Vulnerabilities 72 Current Issues in Marine Resource Management 72 Current Developments in Marine Resource Management 80 Emerging Issues in Marine Resource Management 81 National Plan of Action Initiatives and Future Plans 89 National Coordination Committee 89 Technical Working Groups 89 National Plan of Action 91 Other Programs and Projects Related to the National Plan of Action 94 References 98 iii Tables and Figures Tables 1 Sea Areas of Malaysia 4 2 Marine Parks in Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan 11 3 Major Coral Reef Areas Adjacent to the South China Sea 14 4 Threats to Corals and Coral Reefs in Malaysia 20 5 Extent of Mangrove Forests in Peninsular Malaysia, 2006 and 2010 21 6 Classes and Areas of Permanent Reserved Forests in Sabah, 2010 22 7 Seagrass Species and Distribution in Malaysia 26 8 Anthropogenic Threats to Selected Seagrass Beds in Malaysia 28 9 Economic Value of Mangroves in the Western Coast of Peninsular Malaysia 32 10 Federal Legislations in Malaysia Relevant to Coastal and Marine Resources 36 11 Sabah State Legislations Relevant to Coastal and Marine Resources 37 12 Summary of Other State Legislations Relevant to Coastal and Marine Resources 38 13 Federal Policies in Malaysia on Biodiversity and Resources Management 39 14 Sabah State Policies in Malaysia on Biodiversity and Resources Management 40 15 Government Agencies Related to Marine Biodiversity Conservation and Management 42 16 Relevant International Conventions and Treaties Signed by Malaysia 44 17 Number of Fishers in Malaysia, By Region/State, 2003–2007 53 18 Marine Fish Landings and Values, By Region/State, 2010 56 19 Volume and Value of Fish Catch in Sabah, 2003–2007 59 20 Volume and Wholesale Value of Marine Landings in Sabah, 2003–2007 59 21 Volume and Value of Aquaculture Production in Malaysia, 2010 61 22 Aquaculture Production, Volume and Value, 2010 65 23 Climate Change Adaptation Measures Proposed for Malaysia’s Coastal and Marine Habitats 86 24 Status of Action Plans Relating to the Coral Triangle Initiative as of April 2012 94 Figures 1 Malaysia’s Fishing Zones 35 2 Number of Fishers Working on Licensed Fishing Vessels in Malaysia, 2006–2010 51 3 Number of Fishing Vessels Licensed in Malaysia, 2006–2010 55 iv Causes of Underinvestment and Persistent EnergyTables andInefficiency Figures v 4 Estimated Volume and Value of Inshore and Deep-Sea Fisheries Landings, 2006–2010 57 5 Marine Fish Landings in Sabah, 1999–2008 57 6 Marine Landings in Sabah in 2007, by Type 58 7 Value of Aquaculture Production in Malaysia, 2006–2010 62 8 Estimated Production and Value of Ornamental Fish, 2000–2010 63 9 Estimated Volume and Value of Freshwater Fish Output from Aquaculture, 2000–2010 64 10 Estimated Volume and Value of Aquaculture Production from Brackishwater Aquaculture, 2000–2010 66 11 Organizational Chart of Malaysia’s National Coordination Committee for the Coral Triangle Initiative 90 Foreword he Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security (referred to in this report as Coral Triangle Initiative [CTI]) was launched in 2007 as a multilateral partnership T of the governments of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the