PROJECT LOCAL LOVE

 

A three day programme held from 24^th Apr 2017 to 26^th Apr 2017 at the resort, kicked off this restoration programme under the Care Luxury Hotels & Resorts (Care Luxury CARES) initiative. The programme aims to protect and conserve the coral reefs around Tunamaya Beach & Spa Resort – Tioman Island using newly designed Coral Frame Structures donated by the Department of Marine Park Malaysia. “As the ocean conditions may damage the coral reefs from time to time, we started looking for a sustainable solution to allow them to thrive faster under adverse conditions and that is what made us kick-off on this initiative to ensure our “Coral Floral” so that we can preserve and protect it for the many future generations to enjoy its natural beauty." Mr Mohd Yahya Hamsain, Project Leader, Care Luxury CARES added.
 
Mr John Low Teng Boon, National Dive League (NDL) Head Diver and Instructor, said “Once the frames are planted, we will monitor the growth of our corals. This is a very crucial process to ensure a healthy growth of our house coral reefs. Although coral reefs are known to be resilient, they still need our help especially in critical areas. This is why we at NDL and Care Luxury Hotels & Resorts (Care Luxury CARES) are working together to plant these frames to prevent further damages to the corals here." He further commented, "There are more than 400 species of corals and over 500 species of fish here. However, human activities such as overfishing, coastal development, climate change and pollution are causing serious threats to our coral reefs and other marine life.”
 
In line with these efforts, Ms Norliza Jailani, Director of Operations Tunamaya Beach & Spa Resort Tioman Island officiated the commencement of the restoration project by presenting the Official Frame to Department of Marine Park Malaysia, Reef Check Malaysia and National Dive League (NDL). In the long term, she hopes that Tunamaya Beach & Spa Resort – Tioman Island will create an awareness on preserving the coral reefs, ultimately creating a sustainable eco-tourism industry while protecting the island's natural heritage. "Our main effort is aiming at restoration and rehabilitating the coral reefs, at the same time we will educate our guests in what we can do towards helping to protect our diverse marine ecosystem.” she added.
 
Meanwhile, Department of Marine Park Malaysia Officer & Reef Check Malaysia Program Managers, Mr. Shahabudin and Alvin Chelliah mentioned about the importance of coral reefs for our future generations. They also shared that coral reefs are like rainforests of the seas and they are key to the continuity of life in the sea, thus it is everyone’s responsibility to keep our “Coral floral” and to maintain its beauty for the next generations to come.
 
A total of 40 divers from Tunamaya Beach & Spa Resort- Tioman Island, National Dive League, and Media Partners made up the Care Luxury Hotels & Resorts (Care Luxury CARES) Volunteer Team and they took part in the coral reef clean-up during the three day programme. They managed to safely remove the Crown of Thorns Starfish which prey on coral reefs. "The Crown of Thorns and climate change are behind the destruction of coral reefs," said Shahabudin.
 
All in all, it was a refreshing and fruitful day for our Care Luxury Hotels & Resorts (Care Luxury CARES) Volunteer Team and our partners. The joint efforts towards cleaning and caring for our environment was indeed gratifying and enriching. The activity reinforced Care Luxury Hotels & Resorts' commitment towards supporting social causes which have a positive impact on the environment and society in the locations it operates in and the crucial role it has to play to protect, and preserve the natural surroundings so that future generations can continue to enjoy the beauty of Tioman Island.