Sipadan needs urgent rehabilitation

by muguntan vanar (The Star Online )

KOTA KINABALU: Pulau Sipadan is likely to undergo long-term rehabilitation once a comprehensive study on the ecology of one of the world's top diving spots is completed later this year. 

Sabah Parks director Datuk Lamri Ali said the oceanic island’s sensitive ecology had been affected by soap, sewage, a drop in the water table and other factors, as the island had played host to hundreds of divers from around the world over the years. 

He said white sand on the island was slowly being washed into the sea while the fresh underwater table was dropping and was being replaced by saltwater. 

“Sand and soil erosion had occurred on the island. Being an oceanic island, once the sand washes off, it will settle at the seabed some 1,000m below. 

“We must prevent this from further deteriorating,” he told reporters at the three-day international conference of the Borneo Biodiversity and Ecosystem Conservation here. 

Lamri said the depleting freshwater table had also affected plant growth on the island.  

He said they would now have to determine the soil salinity on the island where overnight stays have been barred since Jan 1 and where tour operators have been asked to remove their chalets and other structures by next Monday. 

Lamri explained that the use of detergents and soaps that contain chemicals by visitors had also harmed the corals. 

He is seeking to gazette the island as a marine park and have it declared a World Heritage site. 

“Turtles used to frequent the island but it is now less common. Even birds are becoming rare because of human presence and other developments,” he said. 

He said Sabah Parks and Universiti Malaysia Sabah and other related agencies were carrying out the study and would put in place two separate plans – one for conservation and the other for tourism. 

On the removal of the structures on the island following the order to stop allowing overnight stays since Jan 1, Lamri said that some of the operators were acting fast while other were slow.