This study examined the sea cucumber industry in the Philippines through the value chain lens. The intent was to identify effective pathways for the successful introduction of sandfish culture as livelihood support for coastal communities. Value chain analysis is a high-resolution analytical tool that enables industry examination at a detailed level. Previous industry assessments, from Gamboa et al. 2007 and Labe, 2010 for example, have provided a general picture of the sea cucumber industry in the country. The present study builds on the earlier work and supplies additional details for a better understanding of the industry’s status and problems, especially their implications for the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) funded sandfish project “Culture of sandfish (Holothuria scabra) in AsiaPacific” (FIS/2003/059). Value chain analysis is integral to the ACIAR project’s expanded aim of developing sea ranching and pond culture of sandfish as an alternative livelihood for marginalized people in coastal communities in the Philippines. Effective pathways for marketing the produce from sea ranching and pond culture have to be identified and developed. These pathways should yield the highest possible benefits, especially to small-scale fisher folk. Existing market chains (for wild caught sea cucumber) have to be assessed, and the potential impact of increased supply from sea ranching and pond culture has to be understood. The paper is organized into three sections. The methodology is discussed in the first section while the second section provides the results of the study. A discussion of these results and specific recommendations are presented in the third section.

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Different forms of debris pollute the marine environment. Due to lack of knowledge and awareness among the public on the negative impacts of marine debris, coastal areas such as beaches have been polluted and contaminated with waste. Existing knowledge on marine debris in Malaysia, especially in the state of Sarawak are limited. Therefore, a study was conducted at four beaches in Sarawak to document the types and abundance of marine debris. Marine debris items were collected and categorized during beach surveys at Pandan (Lundu), Pasir Pandak (Santubong), Temasyah (Bintulu) and Tg. Lobang (Miri) in October 2012. Plastic category was the most numerous (90.70%), followed by wood, rubber, glass, metal and cloth contributing 3.53%, 2.20%, 1.78%, 1.58% and 0.21%, respectively. Pasir Pandak beach received the highest quantities of debris (1,120 items/km or 44.1 kg/km). For sources of debris, 23.99% items collected were objects that were directly associated with marine sources. Items associated with terrestrial and common sources were 11.67% and 64.34% respectively. Out of the 21 objects identified as marine source debris, 86.91% comprised of ropes, oil bottles, packaging and cigarette lighters which were present in all study sites. Five highest number of items found in all the study sites for the terrestrial source debris were wrappers, shopping bags, cardboard cartons, aluminium cans and cloths which contributed a total of 97.98%. Clear and coloured plastic bottles represented 46.15% of the total objects in the common source debris. A total of 730 item/km of debris at 42 kg/km was collected from this study. The high number of plastic-based items contributed from the terrestrial and common sources indicates that continued efforts need to be made to reduce marine debris on those beaches

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Continuous growth in the number of tourists at the Marine Parks in Malaysia has resulted in uncontrolled number of tourists, sometimes surpassing the carrying capacity of the site. Such situation has resulted in reduced quality of visitor experience and satisfaction level at the Marine Parks. By taking Pulau Payar Marine Park as an example, this study aims to evaluate snorkeling satisfaction on 259 selected respondents at the marine park. The measurement of snorkeling satisfaction is based on the mean analysis, i.e. the importance mean (expected mean) and the satisfaction mean (perceived mean). The results showed that the perceived mean is less than the expected mean for all attributes except for ‘fish feeding activity’. Over sixty eight percent were satisfied with the environmental service quality offered by the Marine Park, but several issues need to be managed by the Marine Park Department. Suggestions, such as limiting the number of visitors to the park, improving public facilities and solid waste management of the park to protect the island and its sustainability were introduced. This study highlights the importance of site management in environmentally sensitive areas, for marine park managers and tour operators towards developing better service quality for a quality visitor experience

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Being the 64th nation to ratify the Convention on Biological Diversity in June of 1994, Malaysia remains steadfast in implementing its commitment under the Convention. Since the last reporting period in 2010, Malaysia has made much progress and taken many strides towards achieving effective biodiversity conservation, protection and management. At Part One of this report, the overview of Malaysia’s species richness; both in flora and fauna validates and confirms Malaysia’s place in the world as being one of the most mega diverse countries. Various efforts are being pursued at the Federal and State levels to ensure that the multiple and complex ecosystems are conserved. Part One of the report include status and updates in accordance with the CBD thematic areas which consist of mountain biodiversity, inland waters biodiversity, marine and coastal biodiversity, agricultural biodiversity and forest biodiversity. Forest biodiversity has been given particular importance and contain more elaborated data; which is warranted in view of the vastness and importance of tropical forest biodiversity in the country as well as in the global context. Malaysia continues on the well-established trajectory in relation to forest biodiversity conservation through the establishment of Permanent Reserved Forest (PRF)/Permanent Forest Estates (PFE). Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak, using various legislative instruments constitute PRF/PFE as the primary in-situ means of protecting biodiversity. At the time of reporting, collectively Malaysia has recorded around 14.5 million hectares of PRF/PFE. Malaysia remains committed to maintain at least 50% of its land area under forest and tree cover in perpetuity. Recognition is also given to the concept of High Conservation Value Forests as well as the protection of critical ecosystem such as water catchments. In addition to the establishment of Permanent Forest Reserves, Malaysia also constitutes various networks of protected areas (both terrestrial and marine) in order to secure biodiversity protection. These in a nutshell include Wildlife Sanctuaries/Reserves, National Parks and State Parks, Nature Reserves, and Protection Forests within Permanent Forests Reserves. Marine protected areas despite small in its overall coverage in hectares (1.4%) in comparison to Malaysian waters of about 453,186 km2 , nevertheless harbours great marine biodiversity ranging from coral reefs to marine mammals such as dugongs. The proposed gazettal of the Tun Mustapha Marine Park in the state of Sabah is estimated to contribute over 1.0 million hectares of marine protected areas in the nation. Malaysia has since the last reporting period picked up the pace in relation to mammal protection. More effective protection of species from a regulatory standpoint was achieved through the passing of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 which repealed the Protection of Wildlife Act 1972. This new stronger and more punitive law was introduced to act as a deterrent to wildlife offences particularly in relation to illegal wildlife trade. Peninsular Malaysia also embarked on its first ever Red List for Mammals using indicators and criteria suited to the local context. Commitment to species conservation is further strengthened through various action plans. Since the last reporting period, a number of action plans have been developed and currently being implemented namely the National Tiger Conservation Action Plan (NTCAP), The National Elephant Conservation Action Plan (NECAP) for Peninsular Malaysia, the Orang utan Action Plan 2012-2016, and the Elephant Action Plan for Sabah 2012-2016. When fully implemented, these actions plans are expected to halt the decline and further loss of the species, recover species populations and prevent habitat degradation. The status and trends of marine turtles conclude Part One of the report.

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The Sunda Banda Seascape (SBS), located in the center of the Coral Triangle, is a global center of marine biodiversity and a conservation priority. We proposed the first biophysical environmental delineation of the SBS using globally available satellite remote sensing and model-assimilated data to categorize this area into unique and meaningful biophysical classes. Specifically, the SBS was partitioned into eight biophysical classes characterized by similar sea surface temperature, chlorophyll a concentration, currents, and salinity patterns. Areas within each class were expected to have similar habitat types and ecosystem functions. Our work supplemented prevailing global marine management schemes by focusing in on a regional scale with finer spatial resolution. It also provided a baseline for academic research, ecological assessments and will facilitate marine spatial planning and conservation activities in the area. In addition, the framework and methods of delineating biophysical environments we presented can be expanded throughout the whole Coral Triangle to support research and conservation activities in this important region.

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