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The Perhentian Islands marine ecosystems were subject to several human-caused pressures, the main one being the rapid expansion of the tourism industry. Over the years, increasing reports of ghost fishing nets, crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks, and discoveries of dead turtles testified to the urgency of the situation. Although the islands were declared a marine park in 1994 and the relevant authorities were informed, their ability to respond was often limited by budget and manpower constraints. In addition, local villagers were not involved in the management of the marine park, which limited community engagement in marine conservation efforts. Seeing the need for local action, the Anak Pulau Programme set up a Rapid Response Team, empowering trained islanders to help protect the marine environment. 

Empowering Island Youth for Long-Term Marine Conservation 

By providing continuous support from childhood to young adulthood, the project is building a homegrown team of empowered ocean stewards — uniquely tailored for island life and deeply connected to their marine heritage. 

• The journey begins with the school-based Eco Club (Ages 6-12), designed to educate primary school children to become citizen scientists and future environmental advocates for their marine park. They engage in hands-on conservation activities such as kayak patrols, coral monitoring, and plastic pollution surveys.  

• Once students move to the mainland for secondary school, they are invited back during holidays to progress through the Junior Diver Programme (Ages 13-16). They can complete their PADI Open Water Diver certification, conduct reef monitoring dives, turtle nesting beach patrols and participate in emergency response to threats like ghost nets and coral damage.  

• By the time they reach young adulthood, many complete their PADI Rescue Diver level and then join the Rapid Response Team, an island-based unit that can quickly respond to urgent environmental issues. They also play a key role in annual reef checks and seagrass watch surveys, providing key data for marine park management. 

This long-term and age-tiered approach ensures continuous learning, builds local capacity, and fosters a lasting connection to nature. 

A Growing Team Nurturing the Islands Stewardship Cycle 

What began as a small school club has grown into a thriving community of passionate conservationists. At the end of 2024, the Rapid Response Team was composed of 31 trained community divers and 13 trained reef check eco-divers. In 2024, they conducted a reef check survey, a marine biodiversity survey and a bleaching monitoring for the marine park.  

Many of the earliest members have returned as mentors, continuing the virtuous cycle of island stewardship for future generations. Over the next years, the initiative hopes to reach at least 40 members from the village actively involved. 

Anak Pulau is the first programme of its kind in Malaysia and serves as a replicable model for community-based conservation in other islands and coastal regions. 

Would you like to join the journey?