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Ecotourism in Malaysia’s Marine Parks:
Principles, Issues and the Effects of ‘Green
Washing’ Practices
By
Cheryl Rita Kaur
<cheryl_rk@mima.gov.my>
Researcher, Centre for Coastal & Marine
Environment
Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA)
Tel:
+6 03-21612960 / Fax: +6 03-21617045
Abstract
In Malaysia, the tourism
sector ranks second as a generator of foreign
exchange after oil and gas. The rapid speed at
which the sector has been developing warrants
adequate attention to infrastructure planning
and development, as well as the management of
tourists to ensure that the marine ecosystem and
marine resources are not adversely affected. As
such, the Malaysian Tourism Policy which was
formulated in 1992, identified ecotourism as one
form of tourism to be expanded and sustained.
Against this background, a
more specific National Ecotourism Plan was then
implemented in 1996. However, although
ecotourism was touted as a type of tourism that
could sustain natural resources without
compromising the commercial benefits of the
area. In practice, and in Malaysia at least it
is difficult to distinguish it from mass
tourism. This is true in marine parks where
several have suffered from mass tourism and
overdevelopment.
In reality, the benefits
reaped from ecotourism are often negated by the
impact of activities needed to support the
industry, such as development of infrastructure,
transportation, and other impacts from mass
tourism activities. Moreover, the term
ecotourism has also been widely employed as a
marketing buzzword or as a form of
‘green-washing’ in the attempt to ride on the
crest of the ecotourism wave.
This paper discusses the
principles involved, identifies the issues in
implementation of ecotourism and recognises the
effects of ‘green- washing’ pertaining to the
marine parks in Malaysia.
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BIO-DATA
Ms. Cheryl
Rita Kaur
Researcher
Centre for Coastal & Marine Environment (CMER)
Maritime
Institute of Malaysia (MIMA) Unit B-06-08, Megan Avenue
II, 12 Jalan Yap Kwan Seng 50450 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03–2161
2960 / Fax: 03-2161 7045 E-mail:
cheryl_rk@mima.gov.my
Cheryl
received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Marine
Biology from College University of Science and
Technology Malaysia (KUSTEM) in 2005 and has since been
attached to the Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA).
She is an advanced SCUBA diver (NAUI) and has dived
around several islands (Kapas, Redang, Tioman Island,
and at the Western Gulf of Thailand) to carry out
research work.
Prior to
joining MIMA, she worked on the benthic blue green algae
(cyanophyta) distribution and water quality assessment
in the coral reefs of Redang Island Marine Park in
collaboration with the Terengganu Marine Park Unit.
Following to
that, she was awarded the best theses project for the
Marine Biology Degree Programme 2005. Besides that, she
is also a lifetime member of the International Golden
Key International Honour Society, Atlanta for excellence
in academic achievements.
In MIMA,
Cheryl has been active in marine environmental
management policy research. Her research interest is in
the areas of Marine Pollution, Marine Protected Area (MPA)
Management, and Marine Tourism. In a nutshell, she has
worked on Marine Ecotourism in Malaysia’s Marine Parks,
and Ballast Water Control and Management in Malaysia.
She was also
involved in the consultancy Project for UNEP/GEF –
Reversing Environmental Degradation Trends in the South
China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand (Coral and Coral
Reefs Component): Management Perspectives - Legislation
Arrangement and Economic Valuation for Corals and Coral
Reefs Ecosystem in 2005/06.
While in
MIMA, she has participated and presented papers in
various conferences/seminars/workshops, as well as
undertaking various training programmes covering a range
of matters on maritime. For instance, she was awarded an
Asian Conservation Training Fellowship 2006 by the
Earthwatch Institute of Australia. She has also
published several related articles on her research.
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