LANGKAWI (Oct 16): The Kilim Geoforest Park, one of few Unesco-certified sites in Southeast Asia, may lose the status if an assessment review is conducted during low tide, which will reveal the impact of tourism activities on the area.

Free Malaysia Today reports that Irshad Mobarak, an environmental conservationist, said the “scars” in the park had been caused by uncontrolled activities such as speeding boats and the feeding of eagles with chicken innards.

The Ecotourism and Conservation Society Malaysia president was quoted as saying that at peak periods, the 300 million years old narrow waterways may be filled with as much as 100 boats. 

When boats exceeded nine nautical knots, or 17km per hour, waves generated by the speed resulted in a slow erosion of the mudbanks of the mangroves.

Low tide reveals the damage to the ecology of the natural nursery for fish, prawns and crabs. The effects seen are fallen trees, increased sediment released into rivers, which smothers live corals on the outside of the river mouth. 

“This leads directly to a reduction in the number of fish, which depend on the coral reef for survival. This in turn affects the local fishermen’s catch,” Irshad was quoted as saying.

Tourists were also allowed to feed Langkawi’s famed Brahminy Kites and the larger White Bellied Sea Eagles, to the detriment of the birds health, he said.

“Chicken innards are not the eagles’ natural food. There is a lot of fat and little protein, unlike in sea snakes and fish which they would normally eat.”

The diseases that chickens were susceptible to, may prove disastrous should the eagles be fed with contaminated innards.

Activities such as feeding the birds, or speeding down the narrow waterways and contributing to erosion were not ecotourism, he said.

Though he recognises that tourism activities sustain the local community, he advises sustainability.

“The locals must not kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. I believe the authorities must take ownership and ensure that this doesn’t happen.”

His suggestions include the enforcement of speed limits in the geoforest park, a voluntary certification programme for tour and boat operators with three levels of certification.

“This should be issued by the authorities with strict conditions imposed, such as no speeding, no feeding of wildlife and so on.

“The three different levels can offer different services, with operators being allowed to charge certain fees according to their level of certification.”

He said that should his suggestion become a government-endorsed programme, there would be more incentive for tourists to choose ethical tour operators. 

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