Pulau Redang is still one of the most beautiful places in Malaysia, the water still clear and the turtles still coming, but underneath the surface that tourists photograph and post online, the reefs that make all of it possible are in serious trouble and the window to do something about it is narrowing.
Four of the 15 coral reef sites used for snorkelling and diving at Redang are now being proposed for a two-year closure after sustaining damage of up to 80%, as reported by NST. The Terengganu government has since announced it will hold engagement sessions with the Department of Fisheries Malaysia, tourism operators and researchers to discuss the extent of the damage and what comes next, as reported by The Star.
How it got here
The decline has been building for years. Data collected after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 by a team working with Reef Check, an organisation dedicated to marine conservation, showed that coral reefs around Redang had been deteriorating year by year. During the lockdowns of 2021 and 2022, the reefs made modest recoveries as human activity slowed. Since 2023, that progress has reversed as mass tourism returned.
The causes are not hard to identify. Tourists stepping on coral despite repeated warnings. Boats dropping anchor directly onto reef structures, including areas where restoration work is already underway. Day-trip operators from the mainland who do not know the reefs and do not follow basic protocols.
“The problem with day trippers is that their boatmen and guides are not from Redang,” said Muhaimin, an assistant programme manager with Reef Check Malaysia, as reported by SCMP. “They don’t know where to put down the anchor. They don’t even know that you can’t feed the turtles.”
The growing number of visitors has also brought increasing amounts of solid waste to the island. “Day trippers will gather at Teluk Dalam Beach to have their pre-packed lunches. After they eat, they just leave their waste there. We are facing an overload of waste,” Muhaimin added.
Local boatmen who live on the island and have spent years learning how to operate sustainably around the reefs are being pushed out by the volume of mainland operators who face no such accountability. The reef that sustained their community for generations is paying the price.
What is already being done
The picture is not entirely bleak. Licensing and training programmes for tour operators are gaining traction. Grass-roots awareness campaigns and volunteer reef patrols have been running. These efforts are working, but the scale of what is being lost is currently outpacing the scale of what is being protected.
State tourism committee chairman Datuk Razali Idris has said the damage cannot be tolerated. “Pulau Redang is a state treasure and a tourism asset that must be protected. All parties must shoulder the responsibility of ensuring environmental sustainability on the island rather than just pursuing profits,” he said, as reported by The Star.
The proposed two-year closure of the four most damaged sites is a significant step that scientists and conservationists have been calling for. Reefs can recover when human pressure lifts, even temporarily. The question is whether Malaysia is willing to make that tradeoff in a destination that generates significant tourism revenue.
Redang can still be saved
The reefs of Redang did not deteriorate overnight. They deteriorated across years of decisions about how many boats to allow, how to regulate operators, and how to enforce what was already supposed to be protected. Reversing that will also take years.
“If we do not take care of this now, I am convinced that in another 20 to 25 years, Pulau Redang will be nothing more than an island. Its beauty and underwater attractions could be lost forever,” Razali said.
But to save Redang, the starting point has to be now.
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‘I gave up my family to pursue my dreams’ Shares 34 YO M’sian woman
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