Mantanani Islands : Reflecting on the Past, Envisioning the Future!
It was a funny experience of how I started working and living in Mantanani. As part of my job interview with Reef Check Malaysia, I was offered the opportunity to experience the field situation at Mantanani.
So, I joined them for a 3-day visit to Mantanani, which I thought would be a normal visit where I would just observe how they do things. I was suddenly asked to facilitate an FGD, and that’s how I was hired to work for Reef Check Malaysia and be based in Mantanani.
Mantanani is a typical tropical island with clear crystal waters and white sandy beaches. Like other islands in Sabah, Mantanani is struggling with critical marine conservation issues coupled with a lack of basic facilities.
When I started working and living in Mantanani in 2016, I spent my early years getting to know the villagers and understanding their day-to-day issues, from no electricity to no phone coverage, environmental issues, and even issues with cows.
During my time from 2016 to 2022, I observed many changes and positive transformations, including those from our livelihood programs developed through our Cintai Mantanani project, a long-term project aiming to build ecological resilience while improving the locals' economy.
Our reef monitoring data in Mantanani Island helped us understand and design this project. That's when we realized the need to work with local villagers to address coral reef threats. Mantanani was one of the islands identified as a fish bombing hotspot in Sabah, recording over 2000 blasts a year – imagine the damage.
Through constant engagement and consultation with the local communities, we understood that marine ecosystem protection and conservation were not on the top priority list for the villagers – it's not even on the list of their daily lives.
So, how do we move it up the list so that local communities can start looking after it? We believe that when the priority needs of the local communities have been addressed, then they will start to think about the marine ecosystem, like coral reefs, especially when their livelihood is interlinked with the marine ecosystem.
One of the main components of our Cintai Mantanani project is to improve livelihoods. This was done through capacity building on important skills and diversification of products as supplementary livelihoods.
One livelihood project that stands out among the rest is the homestay program. Local homestays existed long before I started in Mantanani. However, they were not receiving tourists or income due to several reasons.
I was a bit hesitant to help the homestay operators because I was once told not to help them by their own villagers due to a conflict of interest. But I could not resist when the homestay operators themselves approached me and persuaded me many times. Knowing the facts that if I decide to help, then I am going to step on someone's nerves.
But my boss (the CEO of Reef Check Malaysia) told me, "If you want to make everyone happy, sell ice creams instead."
The quote sounds familiar, but it has convinced me to help the local homestay operators.
Through our Community-Based Ecotourism Project, we have capacity-built and mentored these homestay operators. Most of these operators are women and housewives. So, working with them is quite challenging in many ways because, in conservative communities, women's empowerment is against all odds. Some villagers don't like it when women become too proactive and become leaders in the village.
Anyway, through our Community-Based Ecotourism project, we have conducted various capacity-building skills for the homestay operators, including hospitality, management, conservation, marketing, and so on. They are also assessed using the ASEAN Homestays Standard so that each of them knows what they should improve in terms of conditions and their services. From then on, we have seen an improvement in their services and the tourists that they are receiving.
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In 2021, they received 124 tourists. In 2022, they received 424 tourists. Last year (2023), they received 665 tourists. This year(up to April) they got almost 300 tourists!
I have since moved out from the island last year due to the hostility of the village leaders to our conservation programs. However, our projects, such as waste management and livelihoods, remain operating with the support of the local staff, Diana.
My visit to the island last week was a bit nostalgic, with everyone asking where I went missing, why I am getting healthy (another way of saying I gained weight), and when I will be resuming programs in Mantanani. It's also sad to hear that fish bombing is getting active, but mainly by the mainland fishermen.
Erosion is getting worse. There is still no clinic on the island. Electricity is still an issue. Trash is still visible in some parts of the area despite our waste management preventing 5-6 tons of waste every month.
On a side note, I am happy to see many familiar faces who used to participate in our training, such as dive and snorkelling guides working in the tourism sector. Many who also attended various capacity-building skills are working in various types of works in resorts.
This is not common back then as the resorts prefer to hire non-islanders to work with them. One of the reasons is a lack of necessary skills. So, I was glad to know that our Reef Check Malaysia efforts in providing training for the locals have become useful for them somehow.
But what would be the future of the island? Clearly, land clearing for more resort development is not going to be sustainable in the long run. We have seen many tourism models like this unable to address many problems faced by the villagers and the island itself.
I still believe in the approach that RCM has been advocating since we started in Mantanani in 2016. If the islands are gazetted as an MPA, the islanders need to be given the opportunity to participate in their management—many existing models like LMMA, CUZ, etc., etc can be used.
Sustainable financing through payment for the ecosystem should be established to fund and finance the management and development of the island. Continue the awareness and capacity-building skills of the locals.
All in all, our Reef Check Malaysia project on the island will continue, and I really hope we will be able to do more for the island. Diana and Ira, my colleagues, are now taking the baton with great challenges ahead, but I am pretty sure they can do it!
Many important highlights of our work in Mantanani would not be possible to elaborate on here. But here is a link to several of them.
Attended University Malaysia Terengganu
8moThanks for sharing such an inspirational story!