Sustainable utilization and management of Mangrove
            ecosystems of Malaysia
                           V. C. Chong
  Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; E-mail: chong@um.edu.my



  Mangrove ecosystems of Malaysia are found largely on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, the southern
coast of Sarawak and the eastern coast of Sabah. Malaysian mangroves are largely of the river-dominated type
built on large deltaic plains, but intergrades of river-dominated and tide-dominated settings, drowned valley set-
tings and carbonate settings are also found. Mangrove resources are exploited by humans for coastal protection,
forestry products, fisheries, wildlife, agriculture, aquaculture, settlement, urban and industrial development, and
ecotourism. Very often this exploitation is unsustainable, particularly when mangroves are converted for agricul-
ture, aquaculture, urban, and industrial development. The overall loss in mangrove area due to these reasons is
about 111,046 hectares or 16 percent, from 1973–2000. In spite of an exemplary management plan implemented
for the Matang mangrove forest reserve, mangrove forests in the various states are unequally managed because
there are conflicting interests due to management policies that are largely sectoral in nature. While sustainable
management policies and guidelines are in place, it is still crucial how the State governments, which have power
over land matters, implement Federal policies regarding mangrove conservation.

  Keywords: resource use and impacts, economic value, management issues, mangals

Introduction                          and nursery areas for a variety of terrestrial and ma-
                                rine fauna. Surplus production from mangrove forests
  Mangroves are trees, shrubs, palms or ferns found      includes timber harvests used for poles and charcoal
above mean sea level in the intertidal zone of coastal     production, and a variety of materials for thatching,
and estuarine environments (Duke, 1992). Most are        fishing, fodder, tanning leather and medicine. As phys-
associated with soft muddy sediments found in shel-       ical structures, mangrove forests act as buffers against
tered tropical coasts such as bays, estuaries and la-      tropical storms and coastal erosion. Unfortunately, this
goons. Mangrove trees and their environment have also      valuable resource is under increasing pressure from
been collectively referred to as ‘mangroves’ or ‘man-      overexploitation, development and pollution. Loss of
gal’; used in this sense, the term thus refers to the      mangrove area worldwide has been drastic. The loss of
mangrove habitat or ecosystem which includes all its      mangrove forests in Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam
physical, chemical and biological components. Man-       has exceeded 60% (Chong and Sasekumar, 2002). In
grove ecosystems are unique quite unlike any terrestrial    Malaysia, although the overall loss amounts to about
or aquatic ecosystems in that they straddle terrestrial,    16%, some states had lost as much as 30-70% of their
freshwater and marine environments. They are regu-       original areas (Chan et al., 1993). In spite of its reknown
larly inundated by tides, flushed by freshwater and are     Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve which has been sus-
waterlogged most of the time.                  tainably managed as a production forest for more than a
  Mangroves are the principal source of primary pro-     century, more is desired for Malaysia’s remaining man-
ductivity in such areas providing food, as well as shelter   grove forest reserves to be utilized and managed on a


                              249
Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management, 9(2):249–260, 2006. Copyright    2006 AEHMS. ISSN: 1463-4988 print / 1539-4077 online
                                    C

DOI: 10.1080/14634980600717084
250               Chong / Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management 9 (2006) 249–260


Table 1. Mangrove forest area and reserves in Malaysia; a = Tan and Basiron (2000); b = Chan et al. (1993); c = Ooi (1996).

                                                           Gazetted
                                                      Density
                   Total Length of Gazetted Forest Stateland         Total
                                                      (ha km−2 ) Reservesb
                   Coastline (km)c Reserve (ha)a   (ha)a
Region         State                                   (ha)
Peninsular Perlis               20           0        20      20     1.0       0
 Malaysia Kedah               148         7,248        400    7,648     51.7      11
      Penang               152          451        500     951     6.3       1
      Perak               230        43,500        150    43,650    189.8      21
      Selangor              213        15,090       4,500    19,590     92.0      15
      Negri Sembilan           58          454        200     654     11.3       3
      Melaka               73          166        100     266     3.6       2
      Johor               492        17,832       6,500    24,332     49.5      10
      Pahang               271         2,675       2,000    4,675     17.3      11
      Terengganu             244         1,295       1,000    2,295     9.4       1
      Kelantan              71           0        100     100     1.4       0
East    Sarawak              1035        73,000      59,000   132,000    127.5      11
 Malaysia Sabah               1743        328,658      12,719   341,377    195.9      26
      Labuan               59           0         0      0     0.0       0
      Total              4,809        490,369      87,189   577,558    120.1      112

sustainable basis. This chapter focuses on the mangrove       are mainly located on its west coast facing the Malacca
ecosystem of Malaysia, outlining its characteristics and       Straits, while mangrove forests on its east coast facing
resources, how the resources are utilized, and finally        the South China Sea are small and mainly restricted to
examining threats and management issues.               river mouths. In the state of Sabah, mangrove forests
                                   are largely found on its east coast facing the Sulu and
                                   Sulawesi Seas, while in Sarawak state they are largely
Mangrove distribution and settings
                                   found at the river mouths of the Sarawak, Rajang and
                                   Trusan-Lawas Rivers (Figure 1).
  Malaysia’s mangroves presently cover 577,558 ha,
                                     Mangroves in Malaysia are largely river-dominated
with 341,377 ha (59%) located in Sabah, 132,000
                                   mangroves (Thom, 1982) where luxuriant development
ha (23%) in Sarawak and 104,181 ha (18%) in the
                                   is observed in major deltas such as the Merbok, Matang,
peninsular part of Malaysia (Tan and Basiron, 2000;
                                   Klang and Rajang deltas. Tides range from mesotidal
Table 1). The mangrove forests of peninsular Malaysia




Figure 1. Map of Malaysia showing some of the major mangrove forest reserves in Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak and Sabah. 1 = Merbok;
2 = Matang; 3 = Rungkup and Bernam; 4 = Klang; 5 = Sepang and Lukut; 6 = Pulai; 7 = Sungai Johor; 8 = Sungai Sarawak; 9 =
Kampung Tian; 10 = Rajang; 11 = Kuala Sibuti; 12 = Menumbok; 13 = Kudat and Marudu Bay; 14 = Bengkoka; 15 = Sungai Sugut &
Sungai Paitan; 16 = Trusan Kinabatangan; 17 = Kuala Segama and Kuala Maruap; 18 = Lahat Datu; 19 = Segarong and Semporna; 20 =
Umas-Umas, Tawau and Batumapun.
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                 Chong / Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management 9 (2006) 249–260

Table 2. Area (ha) change and percentage lost/gain of mangrove forest reserves by state (from 1980–2000). No mangrove reserves in Perlis
and Kelantan, except stateland mangrove forests. Sources, a = Chan et al. (1993); b = Tan and Basiron (2000).

                                Forest Reserve
                                                            Conservation
                                                     ±%
                          1980a      1990a       2000b              area (ha)a
Region           State
Peninsular      Perlis              0         0         0        0
                                                    −19.8
 Malaysia      Kedah            9,037       8,034       7,248
           Penang             406        406        451      11.1
           Perak            40,869      40,869      43,500       6.4          42
                                                    −46.6
           Selangor          28,243      21,983      15,090                 320
                                                    −66.4
           Negri Sembilan        1,352       1,061        454
           Melaka             77        314        166      115.6
                                                    −30.4
           Johor            25,619      16,697      17,831                  26
           Pahang            2,496       2,032       2,675       7.2          56
                                                    −56.6
           Terengganu          2,982        954       1,295
           Kelantan            —         —         —       0.0
East         Sarawak           44,491      36,992      73,000      64.1         385
 Malaysia      Sabah           349,773      316,460      328,658      -6.0         4840
           Total           505,345      445,802      490,368      -3.0        5,669

(e.g., Matang) to macrotidal (e.g., Klang), with strong       for Malaysia by Chong and Sasekumar (2002). But
freshwater flow. The Matang mangrove forest reserve          this figure is not reflective of changes in the various
is built on deltaic sediments brought down from three        states which actually show substantial losses as well
river basins, and major portions of the reserve lie         as gains (Table 2). States which show overall losses
on seven deltaic islands separated by many distribu-         of their reserves during the last two decades include
taries or waterways. Similarly, major mangrove forests        Kedah, Johor, Selangor and Negri Sembilan. Melaka
in Klang occur in eight major deltaic islands formed         and Sarawak have substantially increased their reserves
by sediments brought down by the Klang and Langat          recently.
rivers. Large areas of mangroves fringing the coastal          Unsustainable human uses of mangrove and over-
embayments of Sabah are of the drowned river val-          exploitation of its natural resources are the chief rea-
ley type which provides sheltered environments within        sons for the damage and loss of mangrove habitats.
which mangrove forests develop on muddy substrates,
for example in Marudu and Labuk Bays. The north-
                                   Coastal erosion
eastern mangrove of Langkawi Island represents the
carbonate setting type where terrestrial sediment sup-         Mangrove forests fringing the shoreline are used,
ply is low and the mangrove trees grow on sandy peat         usually not intentionally, as natural barriers against
substrates trapped amongst limestone karsts.             surge storms, protecting settlements located further
  Watson (1928) recognised five major types of man-         inland. However, the ability of mangroves to protect
grove forest zones in peninsular Malaysia, based on the       shorelines is not infallible once the coastal mangrove
dominant species which form almost pure stands from         belt is disturbed. As early as the 1950s until as late
the seafront into the hinterland: (i) the Avicennia - Son-      as the 1980s, earthen dykes were build by the Depart-
neratia type (on pioneer shore), (ii) Bruguiera cylin-        ment of Irrigation and Drainage along the west coast
drica type; (iii) Bruguiera parviflora type, (iv) Rhi-        of the peninsula to reclaim coastal mangroves so as
zophora type, and (v) Bruguiera gymnorhiza type (on         to create more agricultural lands as well as to pro-
landward margin).                          tect them from tidal inundation. A 200 metre width of
                                   mangrove belt was then considered sufficient to reduce
                                   wave energy, as was later confirmed by modeling work
Resource utilization and impacts
                                   under the National Coastal Erosion Study carried out
 The loss of Malaysia’s mangrove forest area from          by the Economic Planning Unit in 1985 (EPU, 1985).
1973 to 2000 has been estimated at 111,046 ha or 16%         The study indicates that mangroves attenuate waves by
252              Chong / Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management 9 (2006) 249–260


                                Aquaculture
obstructing them with roots and trunks as long as the
trees are sufficiently close to each other and as tall as the
                                  Coastal pond culture is rapidly developing since the
incoming wave. Coastal erosion usually starts with the
                                late 1970s due to stagnating fisheries catches, lucrative
lowering of the mudflat in front of the Avicennia plants.
                                market demand for prawns, the success stories of over-
The possible reasons are unclear but at Sungai Burung,
                                seas prawn farming, and government policy to promote
there seems to be a 20-year cycle of accretion and ero-
                                it. The species commonly cultured are mainly tiger
sion (Othman, 1992). Avicennia plants with surface
                                prawn (Penaeus monodon), white prawn (P. merguien-
roots easily topple down as erosion propagates towards
                                sis), barramundi (Lates calcarifer) and mangrove snap-
the Rhizophora and Bruguiera zones. At these zones
                                pers (Lutjanus spp.). The post-1980 period has seen
the rate eventually slows down since these species have
                                a dramatic increase in prawn ponds at the expense of
deeper roots and the soil is more compact. When the
                                mangrove forests. Coastal pond areas in Malaysia were
next accretion cycle returns the Avicennia plants recol-
                                estimated to increase at the rate of 170 ha yr−1 from
onize the mudflats. Thus, the multispecies mangrove
                                1980 to 1995 (Chong, 1998). Total pond surface area
forest acting as a system retards erosion. In spite of
                                for brackish-water farming is presently in the region of
the 200-metre buffer zone and the predictions from
                                8,826 ha (DOF, 2001). In Johor, some 3,500 ha of man-
hydrodynamic modeling, coastal erosion including the
                                groves were used or alienated for aquaculture (Choo,
dyke still occurs because the reclamation has damaged
                                1996). Aquaculture is further invading former man-
the natural system by destroying the more inland Rhi-
                                grove lands where rice farming had failed as in Kedah
zophora and Bruguiera zones. The current guideline is
                                where some 100 ha were reconverted for tiger prawn
a setback of 400 metres from the seaward edge of the
                                farming. Unfortunately there has been no critical evalu-
mangrove to be left as a buffer zone (Ooi, 1996).
                                ation of the sustainability of pond culture resulting from
  Erosion of mangrove-fringed river banks occur in
                                mangrove conversion to justify further pond develop-
several places where boat traffic is heavy, as by large
                                ment. An analysis of brackish water pond production in
fishing boats in Kuala Kedah, Merbok river, and Sangga
                                relation to three other types of coastal aquaculture has
Besar river, and by passenger ferries that ply the chan-
                                shown that prawn pond productions are low (Table 3),
nel through Klang Island. In Kuala Kedah, this type of
                                indicating suboptimal utilization of space by pond cul-
erosion has caused serious damage to settlement prop-
                                ture as compared to, for instance, fish cage culture, and
erties. In Tanjung Piai increasing shipping traffic in the
                                that it is only sustained by the high price of prawns
Johor Straits, since the recent opening of the port of
                                (Chong, 1998). Despite government tax incentives and
Tanjung Pelepas, has had a devastating effect on the
                                pioneer status given to prawn culture, production has
coastal mangroves. The wave action by large ships and
                                fallen short of expectation, with many ponds either not
tankers undercuts the fringing Rhizophora trees which
                                producing or abandoned. At present the government
eventually topple down, and has eroded at least 15 m
                                has taken a very strong stand on the issue of converting
of the coastline over the period.
                                new mangrove forests for aquaculture, and has passed
                                a moratorium on such use. It is generally now accepted
Agriculture                          that from both economic and environmental points of
                                view, there is no good reason for converting mangroves
  The expansion of the agricultural sector in the 1960s
                                into aquaculture ponds.
led to a rapid demand for land to plant cash crops in
the coastal plains. The conversion of mangrove for-
est land to arable land as described above is viewed      Table 3. Productivity and economic values of four major brackish-
as one of the major alternatives. As a result, extensive    water aquaculture systems from 1988–1995. Source, Chong (1998).
tracts of coastal mangroves were cleared for planting
                                            Productivity
rice, coconut, cocoa and oil palm during the last four
                                          (tones ha−1 yr−1 )
decades. Mangrove forests converted in this manner
                                Culture                   Economic Value
saw the greatest loss in Kedah, Selangor and Sarawak
                                                      (RM ha−1 yr−1 )
                                System      Mean     Range
during the early years. Selangor suffered the greatest
loss where about 7,500 ha or 30% of its mangrove area     Pond culture  2.1  1.43–2.82          41,036
had been excised, primarily for planting coconut and      Cage culture  86.86 70.60–103.63        1,280,403
oil palm. Kedah had 1,500 ha of its Ban Merbok man-      Mussel culture 277.2 125.39–536.02         146,764
groves converted for rice planting, whereas Sarawak      Cockle culture 11.77  6.48–21.10          4,620
Mangrove Reserve lost 4,000 ha (Chan, 1987).
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              Chong / Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management 9 (2006) 249–260


                               Fisheries
  Considered more compatible to the mangrove
ecosystem, floating fish cage culture have presently be-
                                Since mangroves function as nursery or habitat ar-
come more important since the early 1990s. Fish cages
                               eas for largely small or juvenile fishes, commercial
increased by about 5,000 cages annually from 1982–
                               fisheries inside mangrove swamps are relatively unim-
1995 in Malaysia, where cage culture is carried out in
                               portant, with the exception of crabs (Scylla spp.) and
sheltered bays and estuaries in Penang, Perak, Selangor,
                               Acetes fishing which are small-scale operations. In the
Johor and Sabah (Chong, 1998). Impacts on mangroves
                               Johor River estuary, empang fishing for prawns and
are variable but not severe in terms of water quality and
                               larger species of fish is destructive and encourages
eutrophication (Alongi et al., 2003; Wong, 2003).
                               growth overfishing (Chong and Sasekumar, 2002). Em-
                               pang is operated by staking a long fishing net with fine
Settlement and urban development               mesh size to surround an area of the river bank be-
                               low the outer fringe of the mangrove forest. On the
  Increasing coastal populations and the demand for     ebb run, prawns and fish coming out of the mangroves
land have caused large areas of mangroves to be       are caught in the net. The valuable catch are retrieved
cleared or degraded. Traditional fishing villages, such    when the river bank is exposed while leaving behind
as Kuala Perlis, Kuala Kedah, Kuala Sepetang and       thousands of young fish. Despite its destructiveness,
Kuala Selangor, many of which are built on cleared      empang fishing being a native fishing method is not
mangrove forests, are expanding rapidly. The port of     banned.
Klang, built on former mangrove land, has grown to be      Fish that nurture in mangroves are however mainly
the largest port in Malaysia, and with it is the increas-  exploited off shore. Studies indicate that on the aver-
ing need for more space and port facilities. As a result,  age 50% of the commercially exploited fish species
North Port was built from the excision of 255 ha of     in west peninsular Malaysia used mangrove habitats
the coastal mangroves, and another 32 ha of the Pulau    in some way (Jothy, 1984; Sasekumar et al., 1994),
Lumut Mangrove Forest Reserve (PLMFR) similarly       while more than 90% of the commercial prawn species
make way for the new West Port on the island of Lu-     used mangroves as nursery areas (Chong et al., 1990,
mut. Land reclamation for settlement and agriculture in   1994).
late 1950s had earlier removed about 1,300 ha from this
forest reserve, and with an additional loss of 2,300 ha
                               Ecotourism
for an industrial park on the island, the PLMFR of 4,349
ha is currently extirpated. In southeastern Penang some     Mangrove ecotourism in Malaysia is relatively
tens of hectares of mangroves make way for Penang’s     under-developed. However, mangrove habitats offer
international airport and adjacent industrial estate. In   a range of recreational activities that include nature
Kuching, Sarawak, vast areas of mangroves are recently    photography, birdwatching, wildlife observation, na-
filled in for urban and other development uses.        ture education, recreational fishing and boating. The
                               Kuala Selangor Nature Park in Selangor is a fine ex-
                               ample of a nature-cum-recreational park where de-
Forestry
                               structive activities are prohibited. The park had an an-
                               nual visit of about 40,000 visitors in 1996 (Leong,
  About 70% the mangroves which are gazetted as
                               1999). Ecotourism is seen as one of the ways to
mangrove reserves are managed by state forestry de-
                               win public support for conservation and sustainable
partments for pole, firewood and charcoal production.
                               utilization.
These reserves are managed based on a rotation cycle
of 20 to 30 years depending on the state. At the end
of the cycle the mangrove trees are clear felled and al-   Pollution
lowed to regenerate. In Sarawak and Sabah vast areas
of mangroves had been denuded by the wood chip in-        Except for anecdotal records, there are few stud-
dustry. In Sarawak, a single wood chip plant consumed    ies on pollution in Malaysian mangroves. Sementa and
15,000 ha of mangroves in 25 years, while in Sabah,     Kapar mangroves in Selangor were severely polluted by
two similar companies in their 15-year operation con-    oil palm effluents in the 1970s. Die-backs of mangrove
sumed 70,000 ha of mangroves in 15 years (Chan et al.,    trees in the Sepang River estuary were observed in
1993). These operations are now regarded as econom-     early 1990s due to point source outfalls from pig farms.
ically and ecologically unsound and have ceased.       Such organic pollution from agriculture, agro-industry
254               Chong / Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management 9 (2006) 249–260


and manufacturing industries into rivers largely ceased        edible oil refineries, palm oil mills, rubber mills and
when the EQA and its later amendments were intro-           piggeries (Lee, 1993). The river water quality indicated
duced and enforced.                          non-compliance of the interim WQ standards (Type I),
  The Matang mangrove waters are assessed to be           for coliforms, total suspended solids, ammoniacal ni-
slightly polluted with a water quality index (WQI) of         trogen, Cd, Hg, Pb and Cu in Sepetang River, Matang
60 to 80 by the Department of Environment (DOE,            (Table 4). In human settlements on mangrove areas,
1997). Pollution is attributed to nearby industrial parks       such as the fishing villages of Pulau Ketam (Klang),
where the main types of industries are textile factories,       Bagan Sangga Besar and Kuala Sepetang (Matang),
distilleries, leather tanning factories, rubber-based fac-      where there is a poor system of garbage disposal, man-
tories, food industries, electrical components industry,       grove waterways serve as regular dumping sites for
Table 4. Marine water quality parameters recorded in Matang (Sungai Sepetang) and Dinding (Sungai Manjung) mangroves and Interim
Standards for Marine Water Quality (Malaysia) (from Chong et al., 1999).

                         Sg. Sepetang        Sg. Manjung          Interim Standards
                        (Matang), DOE        (Lumut), DOE,         for Marine Water
                        (1997), Kuala Sg.       Kuala Sg.          Quality (Malaysia)
                          Sepetang          Manjung            (River water)#
   Water/
Sediment Parameters               Min.     Max.      Min     Max.     Type I     II      III
Physico-Chemical parameters
 Temperature (C)          28   31               30       32
 Salinity (‰)            7   22               23       25
 Dissolved oxygen (mg l−1 )     2.4   3.2              4.4      6.3     (7)     (5–7)    (<3–5)
 Ph                 6.72  7.7              8.1      8.2    7.5–8.4   7.3–8.8    6.5–9.0
Nutrients and Organics
 Total Organic Carbon (mg l−1 )   0.00  0.00              0.00     0.00
 Ammoniacal Nitrogen (mg l−1 )   0.07  0.26              0.13     0.16     (0.1)     (0.3)     (0.9)
 Nitrate Nitrogen (mg l−1 )    −2.00                 −2.00
                       0.09                    0.04
 Total Nitrogen (mg l−1 )      0.25  1.48              0.33     0.90
 Phosphate (mg l−1 )        0.00  0.00              0.00     0.00
 Total Suspended Solids (mg l−1 ) 170.00 390.00             330.00    370.00     50      50      150
 Oil & Grease (mg l−1 )      −2.00                 −2.00
                       9.00                    7.50     (ND)     (7.00)
 Detergents (Mbas) (mg l−1 )    0.00  0.00              0.00     0.00            (0.5)     (5.0)
 Presumptive Coliform,       0.00 2400.00              0.00   1609.00     (100)    (5000)    (50000)
   44◦ C(MPN/100ml)
 Faecal Coliform (37◦ C)      0.00  50.00              0.00     0.00    (10)   (100-400)   (5000)
Heavy Metals
 Cadmium (mg l−1 )        −0.200                 −0.200
                       0.010                    0.010 0.005        0.1      0.1
 Chromium (mg l−1 )                           −0.200
                   0.020  0.070                    0.070  0.1        0.5      0.5
 Mercury (mg l−1 )        −0.200                 −0.200
                       0.001                    0.001 0.0005       0.001     0.001
 Lead (mg l−1 )          −0.200                 −0.200
                       0.170                    0.180 0.05        0.1      0.1
 Arsenic (mg l−1 )                            −0.200
                   0.001  0.007                    0.006 0.05        0.1      0.1
 Nickel (mg l−1 )         −0.200 −0.200             −0.200     2.000  0.1
 Copper (mg l−1 )         −0.200                 −2.000    −0.200
                       0.020                        0.01        0.1      0.1
Type I For the conservation of marine aquatic resources and safe utilisation by humans (includes salt field, food processing, desalination,
  fisheries and aquaculture and marine park (conservation area).
Type II For recreation.
Type III For industrial processing, harbour, port, oceanic exploitation and development.
# Interim standards for river water quality.
ND = Not detectable.
‘−2.00,’ ‘−0.200’ = not measured.
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                Chong / Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management 9 (2006) 249–260

Table 5. Total economic value of mangrove ecosystems (83,259.1 ha) in west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Values in terms of US$ (1995
prices). Extracted from MPP-EAS (1999).

Use Values                 Gross Benefits       Net Benefits              Assumptions
Direct use
 Charcoal and Poles             28,641,130        8,592,339           $344/ha; 30% net return
 Fish and prawns              5,099,344         1,496,148            29.34% net return
   (push net only)
 Mud crabs                  4,224,720        1,239,533            29.34% net return
 Tourism                  35,301,858        21,181,115           $424/ha; 60% net return
 Subtotal                  73,267,052        32,509,135
Indirect use
 Nursery role (inshore and         343,220,013        67,717,309             19.73% net return
   offshore fish and prawns)
 Carbon sequestration           150,698,971       150,698,971              $1,810/ha
 Protection from erosion          207,659,742       207,659,742          $221,333.74/km; 938.22km
 Subtotal                 701,578,726       426,076,022
Option value
 Biodiversity value             1,248,887        1,248,887                $15/ha
Non-use values
 Existence value             919,180,464        919,180,464               $11,040/ha
Total                   $1,695,275,129      $1,379,014,508


solid wastes including sewage. Matang waterways are         and environmental quality, and mitigate damage caused
believed to be polluted by herbicides and pesticides,        by floods and erosion (Protective Forests), a supply of
which are used heavily in the surrounding rice fields and      forestry products in perpetuity for economic purposes
oil palm plantations. Silviculture operations in Matang       (Productive Forests), and conservation of forest areas
              R
use the herbicide Vespar to kill Acrostichum ferns         for recreation, education, research and biodiversity pro-
(Gan, 1995).                            tection (Amenity Forests); (2) to manage the PFE with
                                  adoption of sound forest management practices so as
                                  to maximize the social, economic and environmental
Economic value of mangroves
                                  benefits; (3) to pursue a sound programme of develop-
                                  ment of the PFE through sustainable practices in order
  Table 5 outlines the economic valuation of the
                                  to achieve maximum productivity; (4) to ensure that
west coast Peninsular Malaysia’s mangroves (83,259
                                  other forest resources not in the PFE are efficiently
ha; MPP-EAS, 1999). All non-market and net market
                                  utilized for local industry through wise planning in or-
values derived from mangrove products and services
                                  der that maximum benefits will be derived (from Chan
amounted to about US$1.38 billion for this mangrove
                                  et al., 1993).
formation. On a unit hectare basis, this amounts to
                                    Mangrove forests come under the jurisdiction of
US$16,563 annually.
                                  State Governments. Each state is empowered to en-
                                  act their own forestry laws and to formulate forestry
Mangrove Management                         policies independently. The executive authority of the
                                  Federal Government only extends to the administration
Forestry legislation and policy
                                  of matters relating to research and development, edu-
                                  cation and training, forestry-based industries develop-
  The National Forestry Policy of 1978 (revised,
                                  ment and provision of advice and technical assistance.
1992), aims to ensure that forestry resources, including
                                    The National Forestry Council (NFC) serves as a
mangroves, are utilized sustainably and managed in an
                                  forum for Federal and State authorities to discuss and
orderly manner. The specific objectives of the NFP are
                                  resolve matters relating to forestry issues, adminis-
(1) to create sufficient forest areas as Permanent Forest
                                  tration and management. Because State Forest Enact-
Estates (PFE) that will ensure sound climatic and phys-
                                  ments and Rules for respective states are varied, the
ical conditions, safeguard water supplies, soil fertility
256              Chong / Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management 9 (2006) 249–260


                                Management practices
National Forestry Act was instituted to ensure that all
States prepare and implement proper forestry man-
                                  The best managed mangrove forests on a sustain-
agement plans. In Sabah and Sarawak, forestry activ-
                                able basis occurred in the Matang Mangrove Forest
ities are regulated separately by several State enact-
                                Reserve of the state of Perak. It has been systemati-
ments or ordinances, including protection of national
                                cally managed on a sustained basis for fuelwood and
parks and wildlife in the latter case. Sabah imple-
                                poles since 1908. Since then no more than 3% of the
ments the objectives of the NFP. The NFP was revised
                                original areas has been lost; in fact recent assessment
in 1992 to improve federal and state levels coordina-
                                indicates gains of about 1,500 ha of forests due to ac-
tion, increase awareness of biodiversity conservation
                                cretion (Gan, 1995). The silviculture system was ini-
and sustainable management, and seeks to create suf-
                                tially based on a rotation age varying from 20 to 40
ficient PFE to support rational land use. It also re-
                                years, with a fixed number of seed trees maintained in
quires all the State Forestry Departments to reclassified
                                the logged-over areas for regeneration. Since 1950 this
the PFE into one or more of the following functional
                                system was changed to a fixed rotation age of 30 years
classes: (i) timber production forest under sustained
                                at the end of which all trees were cleared cut with-
yield, (ii) soil protection forest, (iii) soil reclamation
                                out retention of seed plants. Ten-year working plans
forest, (iv) flood control forest, (v) water catchment
                                prepared by Noakes (1952), Dixon (1959), Mohamed
forest, (vi) forest sanctuary for wildlife, (vii) virgin jun-
                                Darus (1969), Haron (1981), Gan (1995) and Azahar
gle reserved forest, (viii) amenity forest, (ix) education
                                Muda (2003) then followed successively. Retention of
forest, (x) research forest, and (xi) forest for federal
                                seed plants was however reintroduced after the first ro-
purposes.
                                tation cycle in 1979, but the method was again dropped
  Management of mangrove and its resources is also
                                after 1990 and clear felling was reintroduced. Matang’s
covered under other legislations which include the
                                Working Plan for mangrove utilization and manage-
Land Conservation Act, National Land Code, Wildlife
                                ment has the main objective to maximize production
Act, Environmental Quality Act, National Park Act,
                                of greenwood for pole and charcoal wood production
Wood-based Industries Enactment, and Fisheries Act.
                                both for sustained local consumption and export. In
Malaysia as a producing member country of the In-
                                maintaining the mangrove forests for this purpose the
ternational Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) is
                                plan also has the objectives to protect the shoreline
fully committed to achieve sustainable forest manage-
                                from erosion; to protect and conserve the forests as
ment in the overall context of sustainable development.
                                functioning nursery areas and wildlife habitats; to pro-
Recently endorsed or proposed policies which have a
                                vide forest areas for conservation, research, education
regulatory nature on mangrove utilization and man-
                                and training; and to promote sustainable ecotourism.
agement, include the National Biodiversity Policy, Na-
                                  In the state of Selangor, mangroves in the Klang
tional Environmental Policy, National Wetland Policy
                                Islands are managed solely for economic profits from
(in preparation; Ministry of Science, Technology and
                                the production of piling poles, charcoal, woodchips and
Environment; MOSTE, 1997), and Integrated Coastal
                                fishing stakes, and for this reason Rhizophora apiculata
Zone Management Policy (in preparation; Economic
                                and R. mucronata forests are preferred for regeneration
Planning Unit, EPU). Malaysia is signatory to a num-
                                (Soo, 1979). There is no proper working plan as for the
ber of international agreements and conventions related
                                Matang mangroves, but since 1957 the rotation based
to mangrove biodiversity, sustainable development and
                                on a clear-felling system has been fixed at 25 years
conservation. These include ratification of the United
                                when most of the Rhizophora stems achieve a diameter
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1982,
                                of 5 to 6 inches. The system does not practice inter-
Rio Declaration on Environment and Development in
                                mediate thinnings and enumeration of stand volume of
1992, Convention of Biodiversity in 1994, the Ramsar
                                wood, but there is replanting of blank areas with Rhi-
Convention on Wetlands in 1994, International Trop-
                                zophora seedlings usually 2 years after felling. Wood
ical Timber Agreement (ITTA) in 1995, the ASEAN
                                production was low.
Agreement on Conservation of Natural Resources in
                                  The state of Sarawak also has an interesting his-
1995 and the Convention on International Trade in En-
                                tory of mangrove management that dates back to 1915
dangered Species (CITES) in 1997. Malaysia adopted
                                when the Sarawak Forest Department was first estab-
the ITTO’s Guidelines for the Sustainable Management
                                lished and three large tracts of mangrove forests were
of Natural Tropical Forests in 1994 and ITTO’s Crite-
                                reserved in the First, Fifth and Sixth Divisions (Chai
ria for the Measurement of Sustainable Tropical Forest
                                and Lai, 1984). Mangroves were then also managed
Management in 1998.
                                                         257
              Chong / Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management 9 (2006) 249–260


for firewood, charcoal and poles, including tannin and    17% from 1980 to 1990, and 4% from 1990 to 2000
nipah sugar production for domestic consumption. Ten-    (see Table 2).
year working plans based on a 15 year (for charcoal) and     Currently, there are 11 gazetted conservation forests
20 year (firewood) cycles were only established since     or protected mangroves covering 5,670 ha and consti-
1953, with the main objectives of orderly exploit and    tuting only about 1% of Malaysia’s mangroves. The
produce mangrove timber to satisfy local demand as      total conserved mangrove area in Malaysia is much
well as export, and to ensure regeneration (natural and   less than the area of 30,000 ha proposed by Ong and
artificial) and conservation. From 1969 woodchip de-     Gong (1991) for the benefits of posterity. A minimum
mand for the pulp and rayon industries in Japan caused    self-sustaining area for each conserved area is neces-
large scale exploitation that reached 300,000 tonnes     sary to preserve genetic material and it should have a
or 20% of the total production in 1976, while demand     surrounding buffer zone against encroachment (Ong,
for fuel wood decreased and licenses to produce it in-    1995).
stead converted to woodchip production (Chai and Lai,
                               Partial or inadequate jurisdiction
1984).
  As far as mangrove management in the state of
                                Although the socioeconomic benefits gained by
Sabah is concerned, there was no working plan of any
                               coastal communities through sustained forestry pro-
sort, past or present. Timber exploitation for charcoal
                               duction are substantial, these direct benefits are in fact
and firewood and its management appears to be ad hoc
                               much lower in comparison to the indirect benefits pro-
with the result that excessive logging and woodcut-
                               vided by fisheries (Salleh and Chan, 1987; MPP-EAS,
ting had occurred in some forest reserves in the past
                               1999). Fisheries management is under the purview of
and which were considered worse off than unmanaged
                               the Department of Fisheries but neither agency is re-
stateland forests (Phillips, 1984). The state’s woodchip
                               sponsible for the health of the swamp’s waters since
industry consumed an estimated 70,000 ha of man-
                               management and enforcement of water quality stan-
groves over 15 years since 1970 (Chan et al., 1993).
                               dards is under the Department of Environment. Thus,
Despite an ill-defined management system, Sabah has
                               the sectoral division of management responsibilities for
the highest number of gazetted conservation areas with
                               the various components of the mangrove ecosystem is
a total area of 4,840 ha.
                               often more an obstacle to effective management of the
                               mangrove ecosystem.
Management problems and issues
                               Aquaculture development
  There are a total of 112 mangrove forest reserves,
of which 75 are located in peninsular Malaysia, 26 in      The New Agriculture Policy (1991–2010; NAP) tar-
Sabah and 11 in Sarawak (Chan et al., 1993). Recent     gets further expansion of the aquaculture sector for the
gazettement of mangrove forests includes the Tanjung     future. To achieve the goals of the policy, the Fisheries
Piai mangroves (526 ha) as part of the recently declared   Department has formulated the Aquaculture Develop-
Tanjung Piai National Park in Johor, but degazette-     ment Action Plan (ADAP) which identifies the major
ment includes reserves in Langkawi as well as the Pen-    thrust areas for expansion: cage culture, shrimp farm-
das River mangroves in Johor. Stateland forests occur    ing in former agricultural land and recirculation or race-
outside forest reserves and are not managed for sus-     way systems. Suitable aquaculture development areas
tained timber production. These forests are subject to    (ADA) are identified, zoned or demarcated, and pre-
pressures of alienation and conversion for development    sented to state authorities for land alienation. Although
purposes.                          the Fisheries Department has identified some 20,000 ha
                               of aquaculture development areas, mostly former man-
                               grove land that cannot be gainfully farmed, there has
Competing jurisdictions
                               been resistance from farm owners to part with their land
  Few State governments readily give up valuable state   in Kerpan, Kedah. If such lands remain unavailable,
lands for conservation purposes without economic re-     new land including mangroves may have to be alien-
turns or revenue that are needed for state development.   ated. In Malaysia, the ADAP provides only the guide-
Indeed, faced with pressures to develop, States often    lines for sustainable aquaculture development, and in
alienate mangrove forest lands, including reserves, for   matters concerning land use these cannot be enforced.
developmental purposes. For instance, degazettement     Hence, state legislative measures appear necessary to
of PFE in Peninsular Malaysia, has seen losses of about   promote best management practices.
258             Chong / Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management 9 (2006) 249–260


  Viewed as environmentally friendly, fish cage cul-    Malaysia. The CRMP provided a comprehensive set
ture is expected to expand markedly. Hindrance to this    of recommendations pertaining to mangrove land us-
expansion could be the availability of suitable sheltered  age. The study advocated no more conversion of man-
sites of reasonable water quality.              grove forest reserves and that further development of
  With respect to mangrove clearing for aquaculture,    aquaculture and agriculture should cease in existing
an important regulatory and legal instrument is en-     mangrove areas. Instead, non-conversional aquaculture
vironmental impact assessment (EIA, 1997), a set of     should be encouraged such as cage and raft cultures
criteria for evaluating various environmental impacts.    in mangrove waterways. Also, forestry working plans
Mangrove clearing of more than 50 ha requires an EIA     should be developed for the existing mangrove forest
under the Environmental Quality Act. In spite of this, as  reserves in Johor, while mangroves fronting coastal
Choo (1996) pointed out, there are legal loop-holes as    bunds and erosion-prone areas should be gazetted as
ponds could still be dug in stages to avoid contravening   protective forest reserves.
the act.                             The CRMP was followed up by the development of
                               a comprehensive 10-year integrated management plan
Biodiversity and productivity                (2000–2009) for the Johor mangroves, following a two-
                               year study from 1997–1999 by the Forestry Depart-
  The selective silviculture of more valuable man-     ment and the Danish Cooperation for Environment and
grove species (e.g., Rhizophora apiculata) in produc-    Development (DANCED). The study identifies 19 key
tion forests leads to almost monospecific forest stands.   mangrove areas totalling 26,912 ha in Johor. Agricul-
The loss of biodiversity as a result of the management    tural development is viewed as the main threat to the
regime as applied to Matang forests for 90 years may     Johor’s west coast mangroves. The southern coast man-
have decreased mangrove productivity (Gong and Ong,     groves are sheltered mangroves and are under substan-
1995), although this is not clearly established (Gan,    tial pressure from large-scale development projects, in-
1995).                            cluding those for new harbours, marinas, resorts and a
  Matured forests have been observed to support more    power plant. On the east coast, mangrove forests are
birds (Siti Hawa et al., 1995) and small mammals       small and isolated but are threatened by agricultural
(Yoneda et al., 1997), as compared to regenerating      and urban reclamation. The plan proposes three man-
forests which are more open. The unexploited dry-      agement categories:
land mangroves and mangroves by the riverbanks are
frequented by relatively more species of birds and       (i) Biodiversity conservation and nature tourism—
mammals.                              large mangrove areas for biodiversity conserva-
                                  tion and with potential for nature tourism. These
Sustainable forestry management                  areas could be legally designated national or state
                                  parks. The number of mangrove forests proposed
in Malaysia
                                  in this category is 3, covering 2,389 ha (9%).
  Following the rapid emergence of the aquaculture      (ii) Sustainable Use Forestry—relatively large areas
sector particularly during the 1980s, the Department        managed for commercial production of forestry
of Fisheries requested the now defunct Malaysian Na-        products as well as for conservation purposes;
tional Mangrove Committee (NATMANCOM) to pro-           such activities are also compatible with tourism,
vide a set of management guidelines for brackish-         recreation and fisheries. Certain pockets of old
water aquaculture in mangrove areas. These guidelines       growth forests within the area should be set aside
are presently used as criteria for EIAs, but they are       as permanently protected biodiversity reservoirs,
not strictly followed (Choo, 1996). For instance, the       for example, as nesting sites for large birds, and
‘graded’ selection order for pond sites does not prevent      as temporary refuges for animals during the log-
mangrove reserves from being degazetted and becom-         ging process. This category comprises of existing
ing stateland forests.                       Forest Reserves. The number of forests proposed
  The Coastal Resources Management Project            is 4, covering 16,933 ha (63%).
(CRMP), funded by USAID for a coastal resources       (iii) Protection Forests—which include the remaining
management plan specifically for south Johor, ad-          mangroves to serve some of the following func-
dressed the problems of sectoral jurisdictions over        tions: biodiversity conservation, fisheries, shore-
coastal resources. It is the first pilot study towards       line protection, recreation, nature education and
adoption of an integrated multisectoral approach in        urban green spaces. Some of these areas could
                                                              259
              Chong / Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management 9 (2006) 249–260


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