El Nino Affecting Biodiversity In Malaysia, Say NGOs

KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 (Bernama) -- The El Nino phenomenon currently sweeping the country is affecting Malaysian marine ecosystems, said the General Manager of Reef Check Malaysia, Julian Hyde. He said the current El Nino level which is categorised as 'strong' is causing sea temperatures in the Pacific Ocean to rise, contributing to corals bleaching and has a devastating impact on complex coral habitats. "If the water stays too warm for too long for example, the water temperature rises about one degree to two degrees Celcius for four to six weeks perhaps, and there could be widespread coral mortality. "When the corals bleach, they die and if the reefs die, certain marine species will die because most of them depend on coral reefs for their survival," he said during the 13th Merdeka Award Roundtable on the topic 'Banking on Biodiversity: Striking a Balance Between Conservation and Development in Malaysia' at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre here, Thursday. Hyde added that the rise of sea temperature was also affecting the production of phytoplankton which has a consequence on the food chain, causing top predators to lose their food source. However, Hyde said although the phenomenon is irreversible, its impact on coral reefs can be reduced through action of local community. "Since we cannot do much to reduce the warming of the water, we can focus on reducing the local impact on the ground. For example, the things that happen to the communities around where the coral reefs are, like the snorkellers damaging the reefs and pollution from sewage," he said. Meanwhile, Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) president Henry Goh, who was also one of the panelists during the roundtable session, said drier weather due to El Nino is affecting migratory species like birds. "The weather is affecting the birds, especially along the coast because their habitat and food source are reduced due to the heat," he told Bernama. Thus, he said, MNS tries to remedy this issue by monitoring migratory birds' pattern in collaboration with different states in Malaysia. "We are working on the protection of coastal water-birds like the migratory waders. They (birds) are actually trying to cross Malaysia from Lumut, Perak to Penang and we are trying to protect them in collaboration with Perak, Selangor and to some extent Pahang state," he added. The country’s temperature is expected to rise between 0.5 to two degrees Celsius during the El Nino phenomenon. The strongest El Nino phenomenon that had swept the country was in 1997/1998 with the maximum temperature of 40.1 degree Celsius recorded in Chuping, Perlis. During the roundtable, the other panelists included guest scholar at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Prof Emeritus Dr Abdul Latiff Mohamad; Senior Communications Officer at TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, Elizabeth John and Science Advisor to Prime Minister, Prof Emeritus Dr Zakri Abdul Hamid. -- BERNAMA