Seagrass-Watch Magazine Issue 47 - March 2013 | Page 24

Household surveys, focus groups and visual observations
conducted in 2012 have outlined disturbing evidence of some
new and significant threats to the seagrass meadows of WNP
,
including:
! mining for 'dead' coral beneath the seagrass meadow. This
activity involves physical removal (by digging) of large
areas of seagrass to access the coral 'rock' underneath.
! use of poison to remove seagrass from areas selected for
static fishing gear (fish fence, or sero, pens). Organically
derived poison is extracted from terrestrial plant material
and squirted directly onto seagrass trapped within the fish
holding pens. These pens are made of typical mesh and
therefore the devastation of seagrass is not confined only to
the target area but spreads to affect the heath of
surrounding seagrass.
! cutting seagrass to limit its impact on seaweed (agar-agar)
growth. Seaweed cultivation has been an important
livelihood in the Wakatobi since the 1980's, however in
recent years there has been a decline in the activity due to
issues with disease and slow growth. Seaweed is cultivated
over seagrass meadows and many seaweed farmers believe
that when seagrass makes contact with their growing
seaweed stock, it causes damage and the spread of disease.
This has led to physical removal of seagrass though 'pulling'
or more often cutting the longer blades beneath the
seaweed lines.

0

500

1,000

kilometres

Wakatobi National Park
The Wakatobi National Park lies towards the centre of the 'Coral Triangle' region of high
biodiversity in southeast Asia. The Park encompasses 13,000km2 and includes a diversity of
reefs, seagrass and mangrove habitats whilst also being home to around 100,000 people. The
water depth varies, the deepest parts reaching 1,044 metres with sand and coral at the bottom.
The Park has 25 chains of coral reefs, and the total circumference of the coral islands is 600 km.
Marine resources in the Wakatobi National Park are heavily utilised for food, raw materials and
income. The sustainable use of resources within the Wakatobi is therefore of significance with
regard to both global marine conservation issues and the well-being of the resident population.
Source: Clifton et al (2010) Marine Research and conservation in the coral triangle: the Wakatobi National Park.

The Bajo
The Bajo (nomadic sea people) were the largest and most widely dispersed group of sea nomads in Southeast Asia & were traditionally entirely dependent on the marine environment for food, raw
materials, livelihoods and their homes. A forced shift from traditional nomadic lifestyles to a more sedentary lifestyle meant that Bajo peoples developed semi-permanent settlements in the shallow
intertidal or subtidal areas in coastal regions but they remain predominantly fishermen and intertidal gatherers. Clockwise from left: Bajo lady gleaning by Sampela village at low tide; typical
seagrass 'catch' in dug out canoe; catch monitoring at Sampela village; Bajo houses built over the seagrass meadow."

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