KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (20 July 2002) -- The government of Malaysia has announced it will launch a project with Coral Cay Conservation to survey threatened reefs around the Perhentian Islands near Thailand. The initial phase of the project will last three months and utilize volunteers to assess plant and animal life on reef systems that have been damaged by overdevelopment, siltation from logging, overfishing and pollution. If the pilot phase of the project is successful, the UK-based Coral Cay Conservation, which has organized similar projects in Fiji, Belize, the Red Sea and Honduras, plans to extend the project for three years to help stop damage to reefs that boast some of the world's best dive sites. Peter Raines, founder and manager of Coral Cay Conservation, told a news conference the reef system, which extends from Malaysia to Indonesia and the Philippines, is the "epicenter" of coral reef biodiversity and is far richer than Australia's renowned Great Barrier Reef. | | To protect its coral reefs, Malaysia must stop dynamite and chemical fishing. Malaysia plans to further develop its tourism industry, which attracted almost 13 million tourists in 2001. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORKSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
