Seas of Borneo expedition

Giles Mackey

This project is the cumulative result of over three years collaboration between the University of Aberdeen and the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS). So far 28 reefs along the eastern and northern coast of Sabah have been surveyed, making it the most ambitious and extensive coral reef survey that has occurred in Malaysia so far. As a result the survey has made a significant contribution to the 'International Year of the Reef' and will provide a clear picture of the health of Sabah's reefs. Of the 28 reefs surveyed, not a single reef was free from human impact, with the majority showing evidence of significant and in most cases severe dynamite bomb damage. However, the picture is not entirely a gloomy one. A few scattered reefs are relatively pristine and these coral reefs are certainly some of the most diverse in the world. these reefs represent East Malaysia's most pristine and diverse coral reefs and are therefore of significant national and global importance. It is vital that a series of such reefs along Sabah's coast are awarded the status of Marine Parks in order to slow the coastal decay that is denuding Sabah's natural heritage.