The largest marine park in Malaysia has opened in Sabah

Here’s a great piece of news to start your week: the country’s largest marine park has opened in Sabah.

The 890,000ha Tun Mustapha Marine Park that spans from Kudat, Pitas and Kota Marudu will conserve marine life and rehabilitate the ecosystem as part of the massive Coral Triangle, The Star Online reports. 

The park will include waters of Indo­nesia, Malaysia, the Phi­lip­pines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste.

With the opening of this marine park, the total area of protected marine parks in Sabah —  along with the Tun Sakaran Marine Park and the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park — is now some two million hectares.

“Tourism is among the main sectors for Sabah and the country, and that is why it is important for us to ensure that our natural resources are protected for generations to come,” Sabah chief minister Musa Aman was quoted as saying, adding that other nations were keen on learning from Sabah about its conservation efforts and policies. 

The Coral Triangle, as described by the World Wide Fund for Nature — which has helped spearhead the project along with Sabah Parks — is the global centre of marine biodiversity; a six million km2 area spanning Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and the Solomon Islands. 

Here live 76% of the world’s coral species, 6 of the world’s 7 marine turtle species, and at least 2,228 reef fish species. 

According to the Sabah Parks website, the designated area also provides the source of livelihoods to 80,000 coastal inhabitants of diverse ethnic groups who form the rich cultural heritage of the proposed park.

The concept for the park is said to be multiple use — where the managed area includes zones for strict protection, tourism, artisanal fishing and commercial fishing among others.



Reader Interactions

Leave A Reply


BECOME A COCO+ MEMBER

Support local news and join a community of like-minded
“Coconauts” across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.

Join Now
Coconuts TV
Our latest and greatest original videos
Subscribe on