Rt€@lll

and planning. To be
cargoes such as oil,
eventually, hydrogen.
- 202
looked-out for, for instance,
liquef ied natural gas (LNG);
ESTABUSHMENT tr MARIITC RESERVES
are possible spills of the npre eritical
urenium ore, ruclear spent fuel andt
TfE increasing extent and severity of reef degradation throughout the world hae
stimuhted some concern for their management and preservation. One of the more impor[ant
concrete steps taken is the move to establish marine reserves in critical reef areas. Such a
move hes gained a foothold in ihe East Asian Seas region, although more vigorous and
concerted effort is undoubtedly called for. Some of the steps taken toward this end in each
country are described in this paper. A review of the major concepts, rccent trendsr and
important issues pertaining to the marine reserve movernent on the world scene, with
particular focus on the Philippines, rnay be found in Gomez and Yap (1982).
In Indonesia, nature conservation began to receive higher priorities in central
governrnent planning in the 1970s, a manifeetation of which was the gnowing commitment to
the establishment of marine parks and reserves (Robinson et $r I98f). Other encouraging
signs were the 1977 accession !o the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and the crea[ion of t]re Ministry of Development
Supervision and Environment. Recent years have also seen the formation of the Nationel
Commission m Marine Parks System (Segiarto, 1981), with the responsibility to develop a
master plan for marine parks as an integral part of the country's Nature Conservetion
Programme. More than 40 polential sites are unden study. Assistance is provided by outside
sources s:ch as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Food and Agricultural Organization of
the United Nations (FAO), Unesco, and UNDP. Governnent plans include increasing the area
coverage of nature r:eserves from I to l0 million hectares within the nexl decade or so,
There are reported at present five existing eorel reef reserves in Indonesia, and two projects
(Salvat, f982). Proposed areas for declaration as marine reserves include reefs in the Bay of
Jakarta (Unar, L979), the Spermonde Archipelago (Wijsman-Best et e!., 1981), and the marine
area around Bali Barat (Polunin et a!.r f98]).
In Malaysia, there are at present at least lhree existing coral reef reserves, and two
projeets (Salvat, f982). Proposed corel reef reserve areas include Pulau Redang Archipelago
on the east coast, and Pulau Redak and the 4-island group off Kuala Kedah on the west
coast (Lulofs, 1977, 1979; De Silva and Rahman, I982)i and the Pulau Tega group and Pulau
Balumbangan in Sabah (Langham and Mathias, I977). Extensive baseline surveys also in Sabah
waters have been conducted by E. Wood (1979, l98I), as a prelude to lhe possible
establishment of additional marine reserves. These include areas off the norbheast coegt of
Sabah and around Kudat, and, more recently, islands off the Semporna peninsula snd the
oceanic island of Pulau Sipadan.
Trends in the Philippines are detailed in Gcnez and Yap (1982), and are brief ly
surnmarized here. Moves towards the protection and conservation of the marine ecosystem
may be considered to have started in L952, with the establishment of the NaLional Park
System by virtue of Act No.l9l5 (Palaganas and Bina, f98l). To date there are some sixteen
designated marine conservation areas (White, I98I). The only active marine reserve at
present, tnwever, is [he one at Sumilon Island in the central Visayas administered by Silliman
University. Proposed reserve areas include reefs at Ssnbrero Island, and Apo off the coast of
Mindoro Occidental. A partieularly innovative strategy is the involvement of local
eommunities in conservation through the eslablishment of what are Lermed 'rmunicipal coral
reef parksrr(Castaneda and Miclat, I98f). Pilot sites exist at Guindulman, Bohol, and Sagay'
Negros Occidental. Experience has shown that the implenentation of reef conservation
programmes is more ef f ective where local communities are made to understand their
significance (White, I98I), thus emphasizing the need for continuing education programmes
(Cabanban and White, f98I). In the area of legislation, the reef conservation effort may be
helped by the recent drafting of an Executive Order establishing a Marine Parks Management
System, with emphasis m endangered marine species and their respective habitats.
There sppear to be at present neither existing nor proposed coral reef reserves in
Singapore (Salvat, f982).