|
Sustainable Island Program |
Year 2008 has come and gone.. and a quick review of International Year of the Reef (IYOR) 2008 begs one question to be answered.... Have we met the objectives of IYOR 2008 in promoting conservation actions for marine life? The main objectives of IYOR 2008 broadly cover:- - Effective communication to diverse target audiences of the value and importance of the world's coral reefs,
- Highlighting the variety of threats to the reef's sustainability, and
- Motivating target audiences to take action to protect reefs.
How has MUW contributed to this?
Many beach and underwater clean-ups as well as underwater photo shoot-outs were
carried out (refer to relevant threads on Forum).
But an addition to the line-up, a pilot project known as the Sustainable Island Programme
was introduced to MUW earlier this year. A collaboration between Wild Asia and Reef Check Malaysia, and with generous financial backing from Sime Darby Plantation, the months of April to October kept us busy conducting reef surveys at selected dive sites in the islands of Perhentian, Redang, Tioman and Aur.
|  | The MUW Ecodivers have posted their photos and shared their experiences on the following threads:-
* SIP # 1 in Perhentian [more]
* SIP # 2 in Tekek, Tioman [more]
* SIP # 3 in Perhentian [more]
* SIP # 4 was called off.
* SIP # 5 in Redang [more]
* SIP # 6 in Redang [more]
* SIP Video Upload [more]
| |
|
Read more...
|
|
 |
Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi is well known amongst scuba
divers and skin diver for the magnificent wall and macro diving.
Those who have visited this haven had only these few words to
describe their experiences:
"Unforgettable".
"Amazing".
"Superb".
"Unbelievable".
|
|
Manado's wonderful and rich biodiversity underwater will probably still be undiscovered if it wasn't for one man : Loki Herlambang, who, over 3 decades ago (circa 1975), made an exemplary dive in Manado Bay. Awed by the beauty he explored the inexplicable and breathtaking Bunaken and the neighbouring islands.
The mind blowing experience has inspired Loky to form Manado's first diving club now known to the dive world as Nusantara Diving Center or NDC for short (www.ndcmanado.com ). NDC has now grown and is rated to be among the best dive and spa resorts in North Sulawesi.
Divers today are forever in awe of the dominating volcanic landscape that has created a unique backdrop for North Sulawesi. The year-round diving offers excellent visibility averaging 25m and offers an amazing variety of marine life and exotic surroundings. Many unusual species, like the prehistoric "coelacanth", reef-sharks, turtles, eagle rays, napoleon wrasse, dugong and orca (to name a few) have come to call this amazing place "home". It is one of the world's best, yet at the same time, the least known dive destination in the world.
A majority of the sites are conveniently accessed within one hour from your hotel and North Sulawesi's remote location means that the sites are never crowded with other divers.
|
|
 |
Unlike before, where getting to Manado from Malaysia would mean having to fork out at least RM1500 (which does not include a nights stay in Singapore to catch the connecting flight the next day), Air Asia (www.airasia.com) now proudly offer divers from Malaysia the opportunity to discover the delights of Manado and Bunaken at a fraction of the traveling costs.
For as little as RM400 return (based on RM40 per way tickets), Air Asia will take you direct from LCCT to Manado International Airport, thus saving you money and valuable time.
Which means that you too, will find yourself echoing the very same words visiting divers have uttered before this :
"Unforgettable".
"Amazing".
"Superb".
"Unbelievable".
|
|
|
|
