MALAYSIA EXEMPLIFIES THE tug-of-war between economic development and conservation that goes on in developing nations globally. We have seen widespread migration toward coastlines driven by benefits including infrastructure, industrial and urban development, and economic growth. Mangrove forests are swallowed by land reclamation, seagrass beds are entombed by artificial island constructions, and beaches are replaced by man-made coastal defence structures. All these permanently change the complex yet fragile machinations of nature.
Every metre of hardening comes with the loss of bountiful boons in fisheries, raw materials, oxygen production, water purification and natural coastal defences. Artificial coastlines are typically less biologically diverse. They support only a few local species while enabling large populations of invasive species to thrive and do not provide the same level of benefits that the natural ecosystems do. This is highly detrimental to coastal communities that depend on marine harvests and on the coastal protection natural coastlines provide.
Is there a viable compromise between the needs of a growing human population and conservation?
Nature offers an answer.
