The Chek Jawa Case Study

I know that this doesn't have much to do with coral reefs, but the case study stands to give some inspiration that people can make a difference.



Ever since I heard its story (which actually wasn't that long ago) I've wanted to visit Chek Jawa. And I definitely plan to. I got a hold of the brochure and everything so that I know how to get there and make arrangements and everything.

What is Chek Jawa? Well, it's a wetland reserve about 100 hectares. It's its own island and has several ecosystems in one area - like Labrador beach it's one of the few places that still has a natural rocky shore in this part of the world. It's also got sandy beach, seagrass lagoon, coral rubble, mangroves, and coastal forest ecoystems.

This place was virtually unknown before its rich biodiversity was discovered almost by chance during a low tide in the early 2000's. Around the same time, the government unveiled its latest land reclamation project plans for Chek Jawa. The news didn't go so well over the public, however, and there were many efforts to reverse the plans. What's beautiful about Chek Jawa's story is that, the people were successful in their conservation effort - in December 2001, the government surprisingly backed down and let the National Parks Board take over Chek Jawa's management. This just goes to show that people can influence change; it's all about how involved you want to be.

Recently, in early 2007, Chek Jawa was closed to the public as it was put into major environmental strain - damaging rains had upset saltwater balance and had drastically affected the ecosystem. The park was closed off to allow the wetlands to recover. Half a year later, in July, the park was re-opened with some added developments like a visitor's center and boardwalks. Visitors also no longer needed to join a guided tour.

Links

Chek Jawa homepage
Chek Jawa Wikipedia Article
A site about a film documentary based on events at Chek Jawa

posted by Sage @ 8/28/2008 05:50:00 PM Comments: 0