JABATAN PENGURUSAN ALAM SEKITAR FAKULTI PENGAJIAN ALAM SEKITAR KURSUS EMG 4104 : COASTAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

LIMITING TOURIST ARRIVAL AT PULAU PAYAR

GROUP MEMBER`S NURDIYANA BT ISMAIL SITI FADILAH BT ABDULLAH FARAH NIJIDA BT AB JALIL MUHAMMAD AKMAL BIN SALLEH THAI JIN YOW SUPERVISOR:
FIRST ADMIRAL (R) ASSOC. PROF DR HAJI SUTARJI BIN KASMIN

(152505) (151496) (150572) (151860) (153257)

TABLE OF CONTENT

NUM. TITLE 01. 02. 03. 04. 05. 06. 07. 08. 09. 10. Table of Content Introduction Problem Statement Objective Literature Review Methodology Result Analysis of Result Conclusion Reference

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LIMITING TOURIST ARRIVAL AT PULAU PAYAR INTRODUCTION The Pulau Payar Marine Park is one of the famous tourist destination visited by tourist. It is situated in the northern part of the Straits of Melaka, 19 nautical miles south
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of Langkawi. It is located between two well-known tourist destination of Langkawi and Penang. The Marine Park consists of a group of four islands which are Pulau Payar, Pulau Kaca, Pulau Lembu and Pulau Segantang. However, Pulau Payar is the largest with an area of 31.2 hectares. Pulau Payar can be considered as part of the Pulau Langkawi visitor package and the first choice for a snorkeling or diving experience. The main attraction of Pulau Payar is the coral reefs that meet the needs of snorkelers and diving activities is also main attraction of the Pulau Payar. Over the past few years, the marine park has seen an increasing number of very large tourists that came to visit Pulau Payar. Besides of the enchanting dive spots, there is also have the great place which is "Coral Garden", an area covered with bright, multi-hued soft corals. The marine park gives fascinating experience of diversity on marine life and vegetation. Subsequently, there are several sandy beaches on Pulau Payar for picnics as well as hiking trails for those who wish to explore the island. Just off the beach, they can indulge in the thrilling experience of feeding baby sharks. Facilities include gazebos, picnic tables, barbeque pits and restrooms at selected areas. Besides, there is also a Visitors' Centre that provides information about the marine park. The islands are uninhabited, and since being afforded Marine Park status in 1989, the area has not been utilized by fishing communities The planning and construction of Marine Park in Pulau Payar began in 1986, and the center was fully operational by 1988 (Aikanathan & Wong, 1994). The setting up of Marine Parks is provided for under section 41 through 45 of the Fisheries Act, 1985. The principal goal of establishing Marine Pars in the country is to protect, conserve and manage in perpetuity representative marine ecosystes of significance, particularly coral reefs and their associated flora and fauna, so that they remain undamaged for future generations (Chng,1990). There are a lot of endangered species of fishes and marine organisms live within the sanctuary. Tourist activities give pressure on coral reefs due to tourism
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development. This may contribute to the extinction of marine species and the ecosystem will be affected. PROBLEM STATEMENT The unique of the Pulau Payar can attract tourists visiting Pulau Payar and enjoy the beauty that can be view in Pulau Payar. According to the department of Marine Park Malaysia, the total of visitor visiting Pulau Payar from local and foreigner on year of 2000 is about 106,780. Apart from that, the total of visitor is increasing year by year until year of 2006 which is 824,799. Pulau Payar has been expanding rapidly as a tourist destination with the increasing number of visitors dramatically over the years. There are a lot of activities that can be done in Pulau Payar such as snorkeling, diving and swimming. However, pressure from tourist activities gives an impact to coral reefs destruction. It will disturbing ecosystem in marine life that will lead to the extinction of the coral reefs. OBJECTIVE The main objective of this report is to analyze the environmental impact from the increasing number of tourist visiting Pulau Payar. The specific objectives are:

1. To determine marine resources that still available in Pulau Payar 2. To investigate the optimum carrying capacity that can be supported in Pulau

Payar
3. To analyze the approach to reduce anthropogenic effect to environments

LITERATURE REVIEW 1. Marine protected area

Since 1997 to 1999 the number of fishing marine protected area in EU had double. As a consequence of this sudden development, the heterogeneity in design, objective, characteristic, management tools, monitoring plans and involved administrations is as the large number of existing MPA.

2. Marine tourism

The Malaysian industrial development authority (MIDA 1994) reported that in 1993 a total of rm16205 million was invested in hotel and tourism project, nearly 80% of which are projects located in coastal areas and island. The overall investment figure represents a 24.8 % increase compared to the 1992 total of RM1297.6 million

3. Definition of carrying capacity The physical carrying capacity is the threshold limit for space. Beyond which facilities are saturated (Getz, 1982). The social carrying capacity can be looked at from two perspectives; one is the capacity of the host population to tolerate the presence of tourists, the second is the level at which visitor enjoyment diminishes and dissatisfaction sets in (OReily, 1986). Graefe et al (1984) define social carrying capacity further as the level of use beyond which experience parameters exceed acceptable levels specified by evaluative standards. Economic carrying capacity is the level at which tourism interference with nontourism activities becomes economically unacceptable.

4. Coral reef carrying capacity

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The coral reef ecosystem is extremely vulnerable to changes in the environment. Globally, reefs are now receiving increasing pressure from both the expansion of reef tourism, and land-based activities. The concept of carrying capacity can be utilised for reef ecosystems to identify reef capacity determinants, and subsequently for the reduction or elimination of the causes of damage. Nevertheless, reef ecological carrying capacity is difficult to establish; this is an aspect of carrying capacity that would require in-depth long-term study of the reef ecosystem, which was not possible to do in this instance. The physical carrying capacity of the reef relates to the availability of boats which ferry divers and snorkellers to the reefs, as well as the number of mooring buoys available; space on the reef is also considered. The social carrying capacity of the reef is the limit to visual contact between divers and snorkelers beyond which they become dissatisfied (Salm, 1986) . 5. Determinants of reef carrying capacity The concept of carrying capacity can be utilized for reef ecosystems to identify reef capacity determinants, and subsequently enables the reduction or elimination of the causes of damage. In addition, proper management will help ensure that user-related damage is controlled and minimized. METHODOLOGY
1.

Comparative case studies by establishing case studies for research sites draws

out other essential data of the ecotourism industry in Sabah. We compare the environmental impacts of Sabah ecotourism site and Pulau Payar. The nature of this research is purely qualitative. According to Ida Peterson (1994), the characteristics of qualitative research include extensive information from each respondent and a search for meaning, ideas and relevant issues. In shorts, we call this as combination of literature review and personel observation.

2.

Secondary data analysis. We analyze data that we obtain from other research.

The data has been collected and analyzed the data to get results. We also compare the data with other journal and summarize to get the best result. RESULT The increasing number of tourist will give an environmental impact towards the marine ecosystem. The damage will be face towards coral reefs, ecosystem will be affected and also pollution. The marine recourses in Pulau Payar is mainly constitutes one of the few coral reef areas found off the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and a wide variety of habitat types are found within a relatively small area coral reef and species of fish. Optimum carrying capacity can be determined by three fundamental components which are ecological, physical, social and economic carrying capacities. The approach use is by gazette the Pulau Payar as Marine Park to reduce anthropogenic effect such as snorkeling, sewage and solid disposal from tourists, fishing, scuba diving and underwater photography. Another approach by comprehensive education and awareness program targeting snorkelers specifically should be implemented for Pulau Payar Marine Park ANALYSIS OF THE RESULT

The environmental impact from the increasing number of tourist will give impact towards: 1. Coral reef damage
a. Collection of souvenirs such as seashells, corals, rocks, and other

organisms have been popular for the tourists visiting in Pulau Payar. As a result, the population of marine lives and fauna like coral has decreases in terms of its number and reproduction rate. Some species of coral reef has very slow growth rate, therefore,
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their continual generation is affected by the souvenir collection actions.

b. Coral reef is also damaged by the anchor of boats entering to Pulau

Payar as the boats boarding near the port. The releases of anchor often damage the coral reefs underneath the port or the snorkeling hotspot.
c. Snorkeling and diving also give impacts to the coral reefs living

conditions. Snorkeler and diver often stand and stop on the coral reefs that affected the growth and also cause damage to some part of the coral reefs as it is very sensitive towards the living environment and the optimum temperature. As the number of tourists increases, the damaged of the coral reefs damaged is also increased. d. Many chalets and resorts are constructed on the island in to accommodate the increasing number of tourists in Pulau Payar years to years. There are also other constructions of general tourism infrastructure and facilities also caused over-development activities on the marine parks. The development caused changes in currents and coastlines and it harms coral reef indirectly. The construction also led to sedimentation impact on coral reefs where the high concentration sedimentation kills the coral colonies. 2. Ecosystem affected
a. These also include by throwing garbage directly into the water. The

garbage, especially plastics, clothing and paper, may be mistaken for food and swallowed by marine animals, resulting the death of animals like sea turtles. b. Detergents and chemicals like sun-block lotions consumed in by tourists and chalet management are released into the sea. This has
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caused the parameter of sea water quality to change and it is harmful to marine lives.
c. Discharges of sludge from septic tanks and treatment equipment on

the island also affect the water quality of the sea. The sewage water has high concentration of nutrients and it enables the growth of algae. This could limit the growth of marine fauna growth as the algae could possibly block the sunlight from entering the deeper sea level and reduce the photosynthesis rate of marine fauna. 3. Pollution
a. Boat has become the main transportation in Pulau Payar. The

number of boats depending on the demand of the tourists, for example, the number of boats going inbound and outbound of the island is higher in the peak season. The transportation of the boat causes oil and grease and other hydrocarbon pollution. The boats discharge the oil at Pulau Payar and causing the area polluted.

The marine resources that still available in Pulau Payar The group of islands in Pulau Payar constitutes one of the few coral reef areas found off the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and a wide variety of habitat types are found within a relatively small area. In the early 1980s, 35 hardcoral genera, 92 other marine invertebrates and 45 genera of fish, some of them commercially important, were recorded in the area (De Silva & Ridzwan, 1982).Major coral genera reported include Acropora, Montipora and massive corals such as Porites, Platyara, Goniopora,Diploastrea and Plerogyra (Aikanathan & Wong, 1994). Smaller coral colonies such as Galaxea, Pocillopora,Pavona, Hydnophora, Favia as well as the mushroom corals Fungia and Herpolitha were found dispersed among the large coral (De Silva & Ridzwan, 1982).
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In term of fishing gear, there are two types of fishery, namely traditional and commercial. Traditional fishery operates in the coastal waters, using traditional gears such as anchovy purse seine, drift nets, barrier nets, handlines, pots, and push nets. Commercial gears such as trawl and fish purse seine operate in waters further than 5 nautical miles from shore. The most important fisheries operating in waters surrounding and close to PPMP are the anchovy purse seine and the prawn trawl fishery (<40 GRT). Other fisheries include handlines and drift nets. Kedah was one of the important fishing states in the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia in the eighties. The fishery production for Kedah grew from about 30,000 tones in 1970 and attained its highest in 1982, where it landed about 149,600 tones or 39% of total west coast production (Alias & Saupi, 2000). After 1984, its contribution has dropped to only about 20% of total west coast production. Today (2005), the landing was only about 63,703 tonnes or 12 % of the total west coast production (DOF, 2005). This is an indication that Kedahs fishing ground has been extensively exploited and its habitat has been turned to unproductive fishing ground. The optimum carrying capacity that can be supported in Pulau Payar The physical carrying capacity that can be supported in Pulau Payar is dependent on the number of boats available to ferry divers and snorkelers to and from the reef. In addition, at the dive sites, the boatmen prefer to moor their boats rather than hover around waiting for their divers. The number of mooring buoys that the Department of Fisheries has made available sets a physical limit to the number of boats, and thus to the number of divers and snorkelers that can visit a particular reef. Mooring buoys also avoid the need for anchoring on reefs, an activity which can cause extensive physical damage to coral structures. The ecological carrying capacity for example is reef carrying capacity. Reefs can often withstand a certain level of stress, such as low-level tourism, for a long time, but the introduction of a second impact, for example increased pollution, may tip the balance and result in significant damage (Kinsey, 1988). In a situation like Pulau Payar Marine Park where the number of tourists visiting the
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Park is significantly high, pressure on the reefs can be acute, especially at the snorkeling areas in front of the Marine Park Centre and Langkawi Coral Pontoon. Coupled with the threats of illegal fishing on the reefs, and pollution, the reefs at the Marine Park are vulnerable and need proper management to ensure that environmental damage is controlled and minimized. In social carrying capacity, perceptions of crowding have more to do with the nature of interactions, settings and visitor attributes and expectations than they do with user density (Watson, 1998). In a Marine Park setting which connotes some sort of wilderness experience, most people would expect a less crowded environment whereby emphasis is placed on appreciating the natural marine environment. Visitor satisfaction may not necessarily be a good measure of social carrying capacity as the number of visitors may reach a point where the desired experience is no longer provided even though there may not be a noticeable reduction in satisfaction of the visitors present. Satisfaction will always be fairly high for current visitors to recreation areas. Although their experiences may be drastically different from previous visitors (Watson, 1988). Nevertheless, visitor satisfaction can still act as a useful indicator for social carrying capacity. In addition, the consequences of visitor dissatisfaction with Pulau Payar Marine Park will have to be weighed in relation to the effect on the tourism industry. Not only in the Marine Park itself, but also in Pulau Langkawi as the two are closely linked and jointly promoted. Next, an individuals willingness-to-pay is a measure of the economic value placed on being, able to undertake specific marine tourist activities and on being able to visit specific marine and coastal tourist sites (Wong, 1997). Preliminary results of the questionnaire survey shown that most tourists and tour operators are willing to pay a small fee for entry to the Marine Park or to be able to participate in certain activities, provided that this money is channeled towards the conservation and management of the Marine Park. Revenue generated from the fees should be used to manage the site, repair damages to the natural resources or infrastructure, or to implement environmental mitigation measures
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(Wong, 1997). In addition, of an entry fee or user fee could help reduce the number of visitors to the Marine Park. It would attract only those who are willing to pay. These visitors are often also more environmentally aware and responsible. The approach to reduce anthropogenic effect to environments The approach use by gazette Pulau Payar is to reduce the anthropogenic effect to the environment. The setting up of Marine Parks is provided for under Section 41 through 45 of the Fisheries Act, 1985. The principal goal of establishing Marine Parks in the country is to protect, conserve and manage in perpetuity representative marine ecosystems of significance, particularly coral reefs and their associated flora and fauna, so that they remain undamaged for future generations (Chng, 1990). According to its First Schedule, the limit of any area or part of an area established as a marine park shall be at a distance of two nautical miles seaward from the outermost points of the islands specified ". Activities that are permitted in Marine Parks include underwater photography, swimming, observation and appreciation of aquatic flora and fauna, SCUBA diving and snorkelling. The following activities are prohibited, except with permission : water skiing, speed boat racing, spear fishing, collection or corals and other aquatic life whether dead or alive, anchoring of boats over coral areas, carrying and using weapons that endanger aquatic life.

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Source: Pejabat Daerah Langkawi Since the gazettement of the Marine Park, Pulau Payar has been expanding rapidly as a tourist destination, with visitor numbers increasing dramatically over the years. This can be attributed largely to the rapid development of the tourism sector of Pulau Langkawi as a major tourist center for the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia. In addition, Pulau Langkawi is being promoted worldwide as a tourist destination. The promotion of Pulau Payar as a tourist destination is very strongly linked to that of Pulau Langkawi. Pulau Langkawi has been aggressively promoted overseas and coupled with the boom in tourist arrivals during Visit Malaysia Year 1990 and Visit Malaysia Year 1993; this has led to the island making its mark on the global tourist map. The Kedah State Economic Planning Unit (UPEN Kedah) tends to focus more on promoting Pulau Langkawi and Pulau Payar among domestic tourists. The promotion of Pulau Payar emphasizes its marine environmental attributes. Besides, Marine park has also introduce zoning so that would be easier to limit visitor activities and numbers according to the respective zones. All these zones will have to be continually monitored and evaluated as their designations may change over time depending on reef health and condition. Another approach is comprehensive education and awareness program targeting snorkelers specifically should be implemented for Pulau Payar Marine Park. Raising awareness about the vulnerability and benefits of the coral reef ecosystem will help
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towards fostering a more careful attitude in the water. In addition, enforcement must be effected to ensure that tourists do not collect coral and shells. Tour and boat operators should also be responsible for the actions of their guests. Furthermore, boats should not be allowed to pass over reef areas at low tide, and this should be strictly enforced. When compared to the majority of snorkelers, divers present considerably less potential damage to a reef due to their thorough training and hopefully greater awareness. The actions of the divers can also be controlled to some extent by Dive Masters or Dive Instructors who can give briefings, and take groups to reefs suited to their abilities and experience. CONCLUSION Although the increasing of tourists can contribute to the economy; but, actually it is also contributes to the environmental impact that caused by pressure from the activities undertaken by the tourists. The increasing of tourists will give environmental impact towards the marine ecosystem. The damage will be face towards coral reefs, ecosystem will be affected and also pollution. Besides, the marine recourses in Pulau Payar is mainly constitutes one of the few coral reef areas found off the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and a wide variety of habitat types are found within a relatively small area coral reef and species of fish. Subsequently, the optimum carrying capacity can be determined by three fundamental components which are ecological, physical, social and economic carrying capacities. Next, the approach use is by gazette the Pulau Payar as Marine Park to reduce anthropogenic effect such as snorkeling, sewage and solid disposal from tourists, fishing, scuba diving and underwater photography. Another approach by comprehensive education and awareness program targeting snorkelers specifically should be implemented for Pulau Payar Marine Park

REFERRENCES

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1. Li Ching Lim, (1998). Carrying Capacity Assessment of Pulau Payar Marine

Park, Malaysia.
2. Alias B Amin, (2008). Assessment of Coral Reef Fish Population at pulau Payar

Marine Park and Adjacent Waters.

3. Pulau Payar Marine Park Partially Closed, (26 June 2010) (http://www.langkawi-

gazette.com/news/1163-pulau-payar-marine-park-partially-closed)
4. James Comley, Damian Allen, Alice Ramsay, Inge Smith, Peter Raines, (June

2005). Malaysia Coral Reef Conservation Project Pulau Payar Report to the Department of Marine Parks, Malaysia.
5. Pulau Payar Marine Park (http://northern.malaysianaturalheritage.com/?p=166) 6. James Comley, Damian Allen, Alice Ramsay, Inge Smith, Peter Raines, (June

2005). Malaysia Coral Reef Conservation Project Pulau Payar Report to the Department of Marine Parks, Malaysia.

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