Marine Rehabilitation & Resource Management

ASEAN Regions Involved in the CRM Plan

Six Asean countries, namely: the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand have developed CRM Plan for specific sites.

1. Philippines

In the Philippines, a CRM plan has been developed for Lingayen Gulf under the ASEAN-CRM Project as a result of 3 years of research and planning activities although the field implementation of the plan has not been formally begun.

Overfishing is a serious problem in Lingayen Gulf. The fishing effort is more than double what it should be for sustainable use of the fishery. An initial recommendation of the plan for this problem is to ban all commercial operations of the gulf. This will provide more catch for the small-scale fishermen. However, this is only a short-term solution because eventually, fishing effort will again surpass the sustainable limit.

2. Brunei

Sand mining has been done in many of the beaches along coastal areas as well as in the offshore areas of Brunei. This resulted to severe erosion. The CRM plan for this problem is the prohibition of coastal sand mining and Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) are required for mining in all areas. It was also recommended that offshore sand mining be banned.

Many residents of Brunei live in houses over water in Brunei bay. The problem is the low water quality in the enclosed bay. It is important to maintain good water quality for the fisheries and for mollusk culture. Mussels, for example, are very vulnerable to pollution in the water. The CRM plan addresses the need for sewage treatment so that the city waste will not be dumped in the Bay.

The economy of Brunei is almost totally dependent on oil production. In recent years, the problem of oil pollution has become so magnified so that the CRM plan includes contingencies for any major or minor oil spills along the coast.

Brunei has only 8 commercial fishing trawlers which are closely regulated by the government. A sustainable use fishery plan is being developed which will ensure that over-fishing within Extended Economic Zone of Brunei will be prevented. Monitoring and analysis of god statistics play a major role in this fishery regulation.

3. Indonesia

The CRM Planning for Cilacap, Indonesia includes a large estuaries lagoon, the Segara Anakan, which serves as nursery ground for prawns. This fishery, worth about USD 12 million a year is threatened by fine mesh filters nets in the channels leading out of the lagoon to the offshore areas. The role of the Segara anakan Lagoon in the offshore shrimp fishery was a major focus of research during the CRM planning for the area. The CRM Planning team wanted slid evidence for the importance of the lagoon as a nursery ground before regulations wee passed to limit the fishing effort in the lagoon. The outcome is a plan to limit the mesh size for some fishing gear.

Fishermen in the Segara Anakan Lagon have been almost totally dependent on catching juvenile shrimp for livelihood. This is indirect conflict with management of the offshore shrimp fishery. The trade off is the development of alternative livelihood for the fishermen. In this case, the most viable livelihood is the cage culture of mangrove crabs, common in the extensive mangrove habitat of the lagoon.

4. Malaysia

The City of Johore, Malaysia dumps all its waste into the Straits of Singapore near a causeway which des not permit any water flow through the Strait. The CRM studies have determined that the causeway should be reconstructed as a bridge so that the natural water movement can be regained and that the city of Johore should treat its waste. Both are very expensive recommendations but will probably be implemented because Singapore and Malaysia are committed to eliminating serious water pollution in their coast.

A major consideration for CRM planning in Malaysia has been the trade-off between maintaining mangrove habitat in its state and the development of aquaculture. In Johere, large areas of mangrove swamps have been converted into shrimp ponds. Now, the Government is looking at the value lost from its mangrove areas and conducting coast-benefit analysis before future decisions are made.

Shipping and industry have become the major actors in the coastal areas of south Malaysia and have created problems of pollution and altered inshore habitats. CRM planning includes land use zones which limit the industrial and port areas to specific sites so that other coastal areas will not be affected. Also, pollution from ships is monitored by the Malaysian Government.

Most of the islands offshore from Malaysia have been designated as marine parks. The CRM planning for Johore includes several marine park areas which have been set mostly for tourism and recreation. Also, Malaysia has few good coral reefs and has decided to maintain all of its reef areas. Unlike the Philippines, coral reefs are not so important in fisheries as for tourism, recreation and research.

5. Singapore

Singapore has developed a CRM plan for its entire coastal water space. One of the main concerns has been the allocation of space for different uses. Thus, a zonation scheme has been devised which designates use zones for major users such as shipping, recreation, research, parks, etc. It is likely that once it is accepted by the Government, it will be implemented.

Coral reefs in Singapore are heavily silted because the country has reclaimed large areas of land from the shallow marine shores. The water quality surrounding the city has suffered and the marine ecosystems have been mostly destroyed. Now as part of CRM planning, some areas being zoned for protection of the natural habitat of coral reefs and few mangroves. The rationale is to maintain the last natural areas in the country and to create recreation and research sites.

Singapore has little fishing industry but is experimenting with cage culture for sea bass, snapper and grouper. The market for these fishes is very good and the technology has been developed to the point where such operations are profitable. CRM planning has allocated space for cage culture and has stipulated water quality standards in these shipping channels.

6. Thailand

Aquaculture ponds in Ban Don Bay in Thailand have also taken their toll of mangrove habitat as more than 60% of the original mangroves have been converted into shrimp ponds. The CRM project highlighted the role of mangrove in the offshore fishery of the bay which is a very rich fishing ground. Now, the Thai Government has totally banned the cutting of mangroves and plans to replant some areas. CRM in Thailand has been concerned with maintaining the environmental quality is coastal areas for tourism. Thailand earns more foreign exchange from tourism than any other industry and much of this is from tourism who visits local sites. CRM planning for tourism considers the impact of boat anchors, the design of beach resorts, the dumping of waste matter from resorts and the management of beaches.

Beach resorts in Phuket Island have been often built on cliffs and caused unnecessary erosion of soil into the marine waters. As a result, the coal reefs of Phuket have been entirely smothered with silt. The CRM plan for Phuket includes a set of guidelines for the development of resorts which will minimize the impact of construction on the marine environment through set-back distance and guideline to prevent water pollution.

It is interesting to note that among the six countries, except for the Philippines, planning was centered in one national agency. In the Philippines site of Lingayen Gulf, the planning was based in NEDA of Region I which took lead in the planning process. This more localized planning involved the regional line agencies and the municipal governments.

Regardless of the ultimate planning strategy, the local, national or both, technical advice for CRM planning is needed. In this regard, it is important that at least one national technical agency plays a major role in the planning for CRM to ensure that all problems are considered and that the most appropriate solutions are included.