The Tun Sakaran Marine Park is the largest
Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Malaysia and
was gazetted in 2004, following the first
phase of the Semporna Islands Project.
The second phase of the project is focusing
on the implementation of strategies to
promote conservation of biodiversity and
sustainable use of resources. If the
biological, economic and cultural values of
the area are to be retained and enhanced
then this means tackling a number of
problems, including fish blasting and
over-exploitation of marine resources.
SIDP has been working with local communities
to formulate workable solutions, and has
recently been engaging the tourism sector to
become the ‘eyes and ears’ in the quest to
improve surveillance in the the 350 km2
Park. Community awareness has been another
focus of SIDP activities, and has involved
organizing participatory Roadshows both
inside and outside the Park in an attempt to
ensure that people appreciate the need for
conservation action and the benefits that it
will bring.
TSMP has many attributes that make it
suitable for tourism development, especially
in relation to experiencing and appreciating
the natural environment and unique cultures.
The main challenges are to ensure that
tourism is sustainable and carefully managed
so that the carrying capacity of the area is
not exceeded. It is also vital for long-term
sustainability that tourism brings benefits
to local communities and directly helps to
promote conservation.
