If you’re a thief, you don’t ring up law
enforcement, promise a share of the loot, and
compliment their work. But that’s exactly what
one man did for Absan Saman. The warden of
Tun Mustapha, Malaysia’s largest marine park,
remembers the call he received from a poacher
last year, offering him a fifth of the eggs from
two illegally-raided nests on Tigabu Island in
appreciation of his conservation efforts.
Saman is a prominent personality in the
area. The former fish-bomber stretches his
arms wide as he describes the catch two
days of fishing could bring in decades ago.
Today, though, Sabah waters suffer the sameissues plaguing reefs across Southeast Asia –
overfishing, poaching, and destructive fishing
practices – and Saman has experienced the
effects of dwindling fish stocks firsthand.
Not wanting his children to face an empty
sea, he trained under the World Wide Fund
For Nature (WWF) as an honorary wildlife
warden to promote sustainable fishing in his
local waters – work for which he receives
monthly expenses.
People like Saman are promising early
indicators for the success of a new type of
environmental stewardship pioneered in Tun
Mustapha’s marine protected area.NAture
The beautiful seas off Borneo’s northern tip are a test bed for
the next marine park success formula: winning over locals first
The Mustapha Model
COMMUNITY CONSERVATION
Text and Photos Ben Blackledge
Turtle Takeoff
Turtle patrols run from
March through to
November. Enforcement
agencies receive data
on turtle routes and
timings. Key areas get
piracy patrols1
Once a nest is found,
the eggs are carefully
dug out and transferred
to a controlled nest
with mesh wire. Up to
90 percent of recovered
eggs will hatch2
Hatchlings emerge
after 60 days and are
released at night. The
villagers are invited to
watch and learn about
turtle conservation3