Alternative Livelihood Project Boosts Marine Resource Management in Malaysia

The Maliangin Island Community Association, located within the proposed one-million hectare Tun Mustapha Park area in Sabah, Malaysia, has signed a contract to sell 1,200 pieces of woven handicrafts to Shangri-La's Tanjung Aru Resort and Spa strengthening the sustainability of its community-based livelihood and marine resource management activities. The handicraft project, which builds on a public-private partnership forged with Shangri-La in recent years with the support of WWF-Malaysia and USAID’s Coral Triangle Support Partnership, is expected to boost the community’s income, reduce its dependence on marine resources, and partially pay for coral reef monitoring in the marine park.

The project, managed by women and youth, will roll up into a larger program that will include eco-tourism and that will then be further replicated to other sites in the Park. Tun Mustapha Park, which is located in the western part of the Coral Triangle, is home to endangered green sea turtles and dugongs making it a strategic area for sustainable ecotourism. It is also source of livelihood for 80,000 coastal inhabitants of diverse ethnic groups.

Photo: Woven handicrafts from Maliangian Credit: WWF Malaysia