Global warming has only worsened the situation, posing a very real threat to marine life that have been at the losing end with the destruction of their natural habitat.
Alarmed by this situation, a group of Malaysian university students formed the organisation, Reef-liable, to help stem the destruction of the all-important coral reefs in the country.
Functioning as the sister organisation of Charisma Movement, Reef-liable is an organisation led by youths.
Besides the bigger objective of racing against time to preserve the country’s fragile coral reefs from total destruction, the organisation hopes to instil the spirit of volunteerism amongst youths.
“Volunteers from Reef-liable also partake in projects held by Charisma Movement,” Nurul Zafirah Hamka, Environmental Project Director of Charisma Movement and head of Reef-liable, tells FMT.
The damage to coral reefs is also prevalent in islands closer to home. In Perhentian Island for instance, unchecked human activities along the coastline have damaged 25% of marine life due to loss of their natural habitat.
To kickstart Reef-liable, the group launched a fundraiser campaign recently called “Save Our Reefs, Be Reef-liable!”.
The campaign also hopes to raise awareness about the shocking depletion of coral reefs, specifically in Perhentian Island.
“For this campaign, we collaborated with two establishments, the Perhentian Marine Research Station (PMRS) and Alunan Coral Project,” Zafirah shares.
“All proceeds will be used to protect and adopt remaining corals, as well as fund extensive research and development to conserve coral reef species in Malaysia,” she adds.
Zafirah says the unexpected outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has meant that Reef-liable have had to modify their planned projects. “However, we believe that virtual volunteering can be impactful as well”.
As part of their campaign, they organised a three-day fun-filled virtual camp to educate the public and youth about the rising crisis that coral reefs in Malaysia face.
Called Coral Awareness Matters Programme or CAMP for short, it was the main event organised by Reef-liable to push-start its fundraising campaign to help save the coral reefs of Perhentian Island.
Held from July 23-25, CAMP’s main objective was to help participants gain insight on the strategies that can be deployed to help conserve marinelife.
“Activities included talks by guest speakers on saving the country’s reefs and ways to reduce our carbon footprint by creating DIY compost bins.”
Zafirah says that despite the government-imposed movement control order as a result of the pandemic, Reef-liable did not hit the pause button on their plans to generate awareness and educate the public about the conservation of marine life.
“Even from our homes, we were itching to make a difference, to help conserve our oceans and put an end to the devastating news about wildlife extinction.”
“It was a weekend filled with virtual symposium-like opportunities for young conservationists, youths who are passionate about the environment and all those who are looking for ways to help the Earth in any way they can,” Zafirah explains.
“The response was truly overwhelming,” Zafirah says, adding how “shocked and grateful” she was for the support she received.
“We believe that youths have the power to save our wildlife,”
To that end, the Wildlife Conservation Project was set-up in the hope to instil in youths a sense of stewardship for the environment.
“Volunteers will spread wildlife conservation awareness among school students. We are collaborating with SBPI Temerloh, Pahang to spread awareness about the environment and the importance of preserving it,” Zafirah says.
To help Malaysia’s coral reefs, follow Reef-liable on Instagram to keep up to date with their upcoming events.