Protect Coral Reefs in Malaysia

The Community Marine Conservation Group (CMCG) effort under Reef Check Malaysia (RCM) refers to a group of local residents, resort/chalet/boat operators, or NGOs who agree to implement conservation programmes.

Community Marine Conservation Groups (CMCG) has been one of the core programmes implemented by Reef Check Malaysia (RCM) with the communities where we are based. We now have 6 CMCGs working alongside us to protect our ocean!

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as Malaysia’s National Policy on Biological Policy and the 12^th Malaysian Plan all highlight the need for a community-based approach to the management and conservation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

The Reef Care programme was introduced by the Department of Fisheries Malaysia (DoF) in 2019. Reef Care is an arrangement whereby the local stakeholders living on the Marine Park islands are given limited responsibility for maintaining a defined area of coral reef, seagrass, and/or mangrove adjacent to the coastal area where the stakeholder is located. RCM then began forming the first CMCG, the Tioman Marine Conservation Group (TMCG) in 2019 and the success of this group has been the blueprint for the establishment of the other CMCGs.

Involvement of local communities and other stakeholders in marine ecosystem management and conservation is a way of mainstreaming environmental protection at community level. The objectives of the CMCG are to:

• Encourage local community participation in the care and conservation of marine ecosystems
• Strengthen cooperation between management agencies and the local communities which rely on marine resources for their livelihoods
• Improve the socio-economic circumstances of local communities

The CMCGs are encouraged to participate in conservation activities such as:

• Coral reef monitoring and rehabilitation
• Coral predator removal and management
• Coral bleaching monitoring
• Underwater clean-ups and ghost nets removal
• Mooring buoy management
• Communication, education and public awareness (CEPA) programs for all stakeholders
• Consultations with all stakeholders to engage them in conservation programs and highlight issues that communities face

CMCGs are encouraged to collaborate with one another to build a strong CMCG network that allows local stakeholder to work alongside protected area managers and play a meaningful role in the conservation of their marine resources.

RCM has successfully established 6 CMCGs to date and they are:

• Tioman Marine Conservation Group (TMCG)
• Redang Marine Conservation Group (RMCG)
• Larapan Marine Conservation Group (LMCG)
• Selakan Marine Conservation Group (SMCG)
• Kulapuan Marine Conservation Group (KMCG)
• Pemimpin Iklim Mabul

Each of these local CMGCs have been working tirelessly, carrying out daily conservation activities and making amazing progress to contribute towards better marine resource management in their own islands. You can follow the journey of our CMCGs on Reef Check Malaysia's social media pages:

• Instagram
• Facebook
• X (formerly Twitter)
• LinkedIn