Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 36 in total

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  1. Fulltext Enhancing animal protein supplies in Malaysia: opportunities and challenges
    Devendra, C.
    ASM Science Journal, 2007;1(1):63-73.
    MyJurnal
    The increased human demand for animal proteins in Malaysia is led by several factors: population growth, urbanisation, income growth and changing consumer preferences. Meeting the projected increased demand in the future is an awesome and challenging task. Presently, the non-ruminant poultry and pig industries, mainly private sector led, make the most significant contribution to total animal protein supplies, and inefficient ruminant production systems lag well behind. The strategy for promoting productivity growth to increase animal protein supplies from ruminants requires concerted efficient natural resource management that can target specific production systems. Two distinct economic opportunities are the development of oil palm-based cattle and goat production. The value addition to oil palm cultivation due to the beneficial crop-animal-soil interactions are enormous. The prerequisites are inter-disciplinary efforts, holistic systems, participatory community-based research and development that are needs-based and address constraints, increased research investments, institutional commitment and a policy environment that can enhance total factor productivity in the future.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Policy
  2. The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: challenges for Australian health and medicine policies
    Faunce TA, Townsend R
    Med J Aust, 2011 Jan 17;194(2):83-6.
    PMID: 21241222
    Four formal rounds of Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) negotiations took place in 2010. They involved over 200 officials from Australia, the United States, New Zealand, Chile, Singapore, Brunei, Peru, Vietnam and Malaysia. Future negotiations officially are set to include three issues with public health and medicines policy implications for Australia and our region: ways to approach regulatory coherence and transparency; how to benefit multinational and small-medium enterprises; and multilateral investor-state dispute settlement. US-based multinational pharmaceutical companies are lobbying for TPPA provisions like those in the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement, which reduce government cost-effectiveness regulatory control of pharmaceuticals, threatening equitable access to medicines. They also advocate increased TPPA intellectual monopoly privilege protection, which will further limit the development of Australian generic medicine enterprises and restrict patient access to cheap, bioequivalent prescription drugs. Of particular concern is that proposed TPPA multilateral investor-state dispute settlement procedures would allow US corporations (as well as those of other TPPA nations) to obtain damages against Australian governments through international arbitral proceedings if their investments are impeded by Australian public health and environment protection legislation.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Policy/legislation & jurisprudence
  3. Policy trends of extended producer responsibility in Malaysia
    Agamuthu P, Victor D
    Waste Manag Res, 2011 Sep;29(9):945-53.
    PMID: 21771873 DOI: 10.1177/0734242X11413332
    This paper seeks to examine the provisions for extended producer responsibility (EPR) within the Malaysian environmental and waste management policies and to determine its existing practice and future prospects in Malaysia. Malaysian waste generation has been increasing drastically where solid waste generation was estimated to increase from about 9.0 million tonnes in 2000 to about 10.9 million tonnes in 2010, to about 12.8 million tonnes in 2015 and finally to about 15.6 million tonnes in 2020. Malaysian e-waste was estimated to be about 652 909 tonnes in 2006 and was estimated to increase to about 706 000 tonnes in 2010 and finally to about 1.2 million tonnes in 2020. The projected increasing generation of both solid waste and scheduled wastes is expected to burden the country's resources and environment in managing these wastes in a sustainable manner. The concept of EPR is provided for in the Malaysia waste management system via the Environmental Quality Act 1974 and the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007. However, these provisions in the policy are generic in nature without relevant regulations to enable its enforcement and as such the concept of EPR still remains on paper whereas the existing practice of EPR in Malaysia is limited through voluntary participation. In conclusion, policy trends of EPR in Malaysia seem to indicate that Malaysia may be embarking on the path towards EPR through the enactment of an EPR regulation.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Policy/economics*
  4. Estimating the demand for drop-off recycling sites: a random utility travel cost approach
    Sidique SF, Lupi F, Joshi SV
    J Environ Manage, 2013 Sep 30;127:339-46.
    PMID: 23810167 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2013.05.001
    Drop-off recycling is one of the most widely adopted recycling programs in the United States. Despite its wide implementation, relatively little literature addresses the demand for drop-off recycling. This study examines the demand for drop-off recycling sites as a function of travel costs and various site characteristics using the random utility model (RUM). The findings of this study indicate that increased travel costs significantly reduce the frequency of visits to drop-off sites implying that the usage pattern of a site is influenced by its location relative to where people live. This study also demonstrates that site specific characteristics such as hours of operation, the number of recyclables accepted, acceptance of commingled recyclables, and acceptance of yard-waste affect the frequency of visits to drop-off sites.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Policy
  5. A global strategy for road building
    Laurance WF, Clements GR, Sloan S, O'Connell CS, Mueller ND, Goosem M, et al.
    Nature, 2014 Sep 11;513(7517):229-32.
    PMID: 25162528 DOI: 10.1038/nature13717
    The number and extent of roads will expand dramatically this century. Globally, at least 25 million kilometres of new roads are anticipated by 2050; a 60% increase in the total length of roads over that in 2010. Nine-tenths of all road construction is expected to occur in developing nations, including many regions that sustain exceptional biodiversity and vital ecosystem services. Roads penetrating into wilderness or frontier areas are a major proximate driver of habitat loss and fragmentation, wildfires, overhunting and other environmental degradation, often with irreversible impacts on ecosystems. Unfortunately, much road proliferation is chaotic or poorly planned, and the rate of expansion is so great that it often overwhelms the capacity of environmental planners and managers. Here we present a global scheme for prioritizing road building. This large-scale zoning plan seeks to limit the environmental costs of road expansion while maximizing its benefits for human development, by helping to increase agricultural production, which is an urgent priority given that global food demand could double by mid-century. Our analysis identifies areas with high environmental values where future road building should be avoided if possible, areas where strategic road improvements could promote agricultural development with relatively modest environmental costs, and 'conflict areas' where road building could have sizeable benefits for agriculture but with serious environmental damage. Our plan provides a template for proactively zoning and prioritizing roads during the most explosive era of road expansion in human history.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Policy*
  6. Environmental management for dredging sediments - the requirement of developing nations
    Manap N, Voulvoulis N
    J Environ Manage, 2015 Jan 1;147:338-48.
    PMID: 25304520 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.09.024
    Scientific research has characterized the effects of dredging, an underwater excavation process for navigational purposes or material extraction, and has shown its association with a number of chemical, physical and biological impacts. Due to this, much environmental management has been applied in the dredging industry in order to manage its detrimental effects. However, developing nations may have different approaches towards their dredging environmental management to compare to their companions with higher economic strength. Moreover, scientific evidence to make an informed decision is often lacking, hence affecting the number of research executed at these nations, limiting their efforts to preserve the environment. This paper reviews the dredging environmental impacts and its two important factors, dredging technology and sediment characteristic, that determine the magnitude of impacts through literature review, and discusses the need for a more integrated dredging environmental management to be developed for developing nations.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Policy*
  7. Estimating farmers' willingness to pay for climate change adaptation: the case of the Malaysian agricultural sector
    Masud MM, Junsheng H, Akhtar R, Al-Amin AQ, Kari FB
    Environ Monit Assess, 2015 Feb;187(2):38.
    PMID: 25632900 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-014-4254-z
    This paper estimates Malaysian farmers' willingness to pay (WTP) for a planned adaptation programme for addressing climate issues in the Malaysian agricultural sector. We used the contingent valuation method (CVM) for a monetary valuation of farmers' preferences for a planned adaptation programme by ascertaining the value attached to address climatic issues in the Malaysian agricultural sector. Structured questionnaires were distributed among the sampled farmers. The study found that 74 % of respondents were willing to pay for a planned adaptation programme and that several socioeconomic and motivation factors have greater influence on their WTP. This paper clearly specifies the steps needed for all institutional bodies to better address issues in climate change. The outcomes of this paper will support policy makers to better design an efficient adaptation framework for adapting to the adverse impacts of climate change.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Policy/economics*
  8. Trade treaties centre on science
    Cressey D
    Nature, 2015 May 28;521(7553):401-2.
    PMID: 26017420 DOI: 10.1038/521401a
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Policy/legislation & jurisprudence
  9. Streamlined life cycle CO2 emission assessment of sewage treatment in Taiwan
    Chang Ys
    Sains Malaysiana, 2015;44:1715-1720.
    Sewage treatment is an important issue in a country for public health and environmental protection. The treatment
    process not only consumes energy but also emits CO2
    . In this research, the idea of streamlined life cycle assessment was
    applied. The CO2
    emission from sewage treatment was assessed from direct energy consumption of four major sewage
    treatment plants in Taiwan. The results showed that the CO2
    emission at in-plant sewage treatment stage takes more
    than 95% of total CO2
    emission for most plants. The results suggested that CO2
    emission of sewage treatment can be
    calculated from energy consumption at in-plant sewage treatment stage to simplify the calculation. The CO2
    emission
    of sewage treatment was then assessed from sewage plants in Taiwan using in-plant electricity consumption. The unit
    CO2
    emission of sewage treatment in Taiwan is 0.216 kg-CO2
    /m3
    . This database will be an important reference for water
    resource research and future government environmental policies.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Policy
  10. Plant-driven removal of heavy metals from soil: uptake, translocation, tolerance mechanism, challenges, and future perspectives
    Thakur S, Singh L, Wahid ZA, Siddiqui MF, Atnaw SM, Din MF
    Environ Monit Assess, 2016 Apr;188(4):206.
    PMID: 26940329 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-016-5211-9
    Increasing heavy metal (HM) concentrations in the soil have become a significant problem in the modern industrialized world due to several anthropogenic activities. Heavy metals (HMs) are non-biodegradable and have long biological half lives; thus, once entered in food chain, their concentrations keep on increasing through biomagnification. The increased concentrations of heavy metals ultimately pose threat on human life also. The one captivating solution for this problem is to use green plants for HM removal from soil and render it harmless and reusable. Although this green technology called phytoremediation has many advantages over conventional methods of HM removal from soils, there are also many challenges that need to be addressed before making this technique practically feasible and useful on a large scale. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms of HM uptake, transport, and plant tolerance mechanisms to cope with increased HM concentrations. This review article also comprehensively discusses the advantages, major challenges, and future perspectives of phytoremediation of heavy metals from the soil.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Policy
  11. Policy challenges and approaches for the conservation of mangrove forests in Southeast Asia
    Friess DA, Thompson BS, Brown B, Amir AA, Cameron C, Koldewey HJ, et al.
    Conserv Biol, 2016 10;30(5):933-49.
    PMID: 27341487 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12784
    Many drivers of mangrove forest loss operate over large scales and are most effectively addressed by policy interventions. However, conflicting or unclear policy objectives exist at multiple tiers of government, resulting in contradictory management decisions. To address this, we considered four approaches that are being used increasingly or could be deployed in Southeast Asia to ensure sustainable livelihoods and biodiversity conservation. First, a stronger incorporation of mangroves into marine protected areas (that currently focus largely on reefs and fisheries) could resolve some policy conflicts and ensure that mangroves do not fall through a policy gap. Second, examples of community and government comanagement exist, but achieving comanagement at scale will be important in reconciling stakeholders and addressing conflicting policy objectives. Third, private-sector initiatives could protect mangroves through existing and novel mechanisms in degraded areas and areas under future threat. Finally, payments for ecosystem services (PES) hold great promise for mangrove conservation, with carbon PES schemes (known as blue carbon) attracting attention. Although barriers remain to the implementation of PES, the potential to implement them at multiple scales exists. Closing the gap between mangrove conservation policies and action is crucial to the improved protection and management of this imperiled coastal ecosystem and to the livelihoods that depend on them.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Policy*
  12. Connecting science, policy, and implementation for landscape-scale habitat connectivity
    Brodie JF, Paxton M, Nagulendran K, Balamurugan G, Clements GR, Reynolds G, et al.
    Conserv Biol, 2016 10;30(5):950-61.
    PMID: 26648510 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12667
    We examined the links between the science and policy of habitat corridors to better understand how corridors can be implemented effectively. As a case study, we focused on a suite of landscape-scale connectivity plans in tropical and subtropical Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, and Bhutan). The process of corridor designation may be more efficient if the scientific determination of optimal corridor locations and arrangement is synchronized in time with political buy-in and establishment of policies to create corridors. Land tenure and the intactness of existing habitat in the region are also important to consider because optimal connectivity strategies may be very different if there are few, versus many, political jurisdictions (including commercial and traditional land tenures) and intact versus degraded habitat between patches. Novel financing mechanisms for corridors include bed taxes, payments for ecosystem services, and strategic forest certifications. Gaps in knowledge of effective corridor design include an understanding of how corridors, particularly those managed by local communities, can be protected from degradation and unsustainable hunting. There is a critical need for quantitative, data-driven models that can be used to prioritize potential corridors or multicorridor networks based on their relative contributions to long-term metacommunity persistence.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Policy
  13. Mapping discourses using Q methodology in Matang Mangrove Forest, Malaysia
    Hugé J, Vande Velde K, Benitez-Capistros F, Japay JH, Satyanarayana B, Nazrin Ishak M, et al.
    J Environ Manage, 2016 Dec 01;183(Pt 3):988-997.
    PMID: 27692515 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.09.046
    The sustainable management of natural resources requires the consideration of multiple stakeholders' perspectives and knowledge claims, in order to inform complex and possibly contentious decision-making dilemmas. Hence, a better understanding of why people in particular contexts do manage natural resources in a particular way is needed. Focusing on mangroves, highly productive tropical intertidal forests, this study's first aim is to map the diversity of subjective viewpoints among a range of stakeholders on the management of Matang Mangrove Forest in peninsular Malaysia. Secondly, this study aims to feed the reflection on the possible consequences of the diversity of perspectives for the future management of mangroves in Malaysia and beyond. The use of the semi-quantitative Q methodology allowed us to identify three main discourses on mangrove management: i. the optimization discourse, stressing the need to improve the current overall satisfactory management regime; ii. the 'change for the better' discourse, which focuses on increasingly participatory management and on ecotourism; and iii. the conservative 'business as usual' discourse. The existence of common points of connection between the discourses and their respective supporters provides opportunities for modifications of mangrove management regimes. Acknowledging this diversity of viewpoints, reflecting how different stakeholders see and talk about mangrove management, highlights the need to develop pro-active and resilient natural resource management approaches.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Policy
  14. Employing a CGE model in analysing the environmental and economy-wide impacts of CO2emission abatement policies in Malaysia
    Yahoo M, Othman J
    Sci Total Environ, 2017 Apr 15;584-585:234-243.
    PMID: 28152460 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.01.164
    The impact of global warming has received much international attention in recent decades. To meet climate-change mitigation targets, environmental policy instruments have been designed to transform the way goods and services are produced as well as alter consumption patterns. The government of Malaysia is strongly committed to reducing CO2gas emissions as a proportion of GDP by 40% from 2005 levels by the year 2020. This study evaluates the economy-wide impacts of implementing two different types of CO2emission abatement policies in Malaysia using market-based (imposing a carbon tax) and command-and-control mechanism (sectoral emission standards). The policy simulations conducted involve the removal of the subsidy on petroleum products by the government. A carbon emission tax in conjunction with the revenue neutrality assumption is seen to be more effective than a command-and-control policy as it provides a double dividend. This is apparent as changes in consumption patterns lead to welfare enhancements while contributing to reductions in CO2emissions. The simulation results show that the production of renewable energies is stepped up when the imposition of carbon tax and removal of the subsidy is augmented by revenue recycling. This study provides an economy-wide assessment that compares two important tools for assisting environment policy makers evaluate carbon emission abatement initiatives in Malaysia.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Policy
  15. Fulltext Empirically derived guidance for social scientists to influence environmental policy
    Marshall N, Adger N, Attwood S, Brown K, Crissman C, Cvitanovic C, et al.
    PLoS One, 2017;12(3):e0171950.
    PMID: 28278238 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0171950
    Failure to stem trends of ecological disruption and associated loss of ecosystem services worldwide is partly due to the inadequate integration of the human dimension into environmental decision-making. Decision-makers need knowledge of the human dimension of resource systems and of the social consequences of decision-making if environmental management is to be effective and adaptive. Social scientists have a central role to play, but little guidance exists to help them influence decision-making processes. We distil 348 years of cumulative experience shared by 31 environmental experts across three continents into advice for social scientists seeking to increase their influence in the environmental policy arena. Results focus on the importance of process, engagement, empathy and acumen and reveal the importance of understanding and actively participating in policy processes through co-producing knowledge and building trust. The insights gained during this research might empower a science-driven cultural change in science-policy relations for the routine integration of the human dimension in environmental decision making; ultimately for an improved outlook for earth's ecosystems and the billions of people that depend on them.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Policy*
  16. Fulltext An integrated methodology for establishing industrial effluent limits in developing countries: Iran as a case study
    Mahjouri M, Ishak MB, Torabian A, Manaf LA, Halimoon N
    J Environ Health Sci Eng, 2018 Dec;16(2):181-192.
    PMID: 30728990 DOI: 10.1007/s40201-018-0306-6
    Background: Environmental policies should be developed in a contextual decision-making process regarding local environmental concerns emphasizing the economic, technical, social and institutional considerations. Establishing emission limit levels, especially in the industrial sector, is one of the most problematic environmental issues in developing countries, for which it is essential to include several criteria that reflect their country-specific constraints and capacities. Since Best Available Technology (BAT) is acknowledged to be the reference element for sustainable development and a basis for Emissions Limit Values (ELVs), the objective of this study is to present a reliable methodology for establishing ELVs thresholds with an emphasis on the BAT concept for national regulation at the sector level.

    Methods: A hybrid fuzzy multiple-criteria decision-making (FMCDM) process, consisting of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and fuzzy Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (fuzzy TOPSIS) method, is structured to aggregate the different criteria and rank different ELV alternatives in this complicated evaluation. In order to use the most profound knowledge and judgment of a professional expert team, this qualitative assessment highlights the importance of supportive information.

    Results: The results obtained indicate that experts have considered the country-specific information as a reliable reference in their decisions. Among different key evaluation criteria in effluent standard setting, the highest experts' priority is "Environmental protection". For both the conventional and toxic pollutants, the influence of all other criteria namely "Economic feasibility", "Technology viability" and "Institutional capacity", as constraining criteria in developing countries, have not reduced the responsibility towards the environmental objectives. In ELVs ranking, experts have made their decisions with respect to the specific characteristics of each pollutant and the existing capacities and constraints of the country, without emphasizing on any specific reference.

    Conclusions: This systematic and transparent approach has resulted in defensible country-specific ELVs for the Iron and Steel industry, which can be developed for other sectors. As the main conclusion, this paper demonstrates that FMCDM is a robust tool for this comprehensive assessment especially regarding the data availability limitations in developing countries.

    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Policy
  17. Innovative autocrats? Environmental innovation in public participation in China and Malaysia
    Yew WL, Zhu Z
    J Environ Manage, 2019 Mar 15;234:28-35.
    PMID: 30599327 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.12.081
    Much of the environmental policy literature tends to focus on democratic contexts where environmental innovation is a product of pluralistic interactions among state and non-state actors. By bringing the (authoritarian) politics into the analysis, this article seeks to discover the processes leading to environmental innovation under nondemocratic conditions. We utilise case studies in China and then-nondemocratic Malaysia, both grappling with the twin imperatives of rapid development and social control, where the governments initiated environmental innovations to expand space for public participation and monitoring against noxious plants. We adapt the conceptual framework of "environmental innovation strategies" to illustrate the mechanisms underpinning innovative practices that address environmental issues by going beyond pre-existing public regulatory provisions. We highlight aspects distinguishing the interactive processes under authoritarianism. First, the drivers of environmental innovation are contingent on the government's role and concerns over social control and state legitimacy. Second, due to limits over political space, environmental nongovernmental organisations (ENGOs) act as issue entrepreneurs-instead of policy entrepreneurs-who turn conditions into problems deserving government attention and solution, as they engage in conflictual interactions with state authorities. Third, such innovations can strengthen nondemocratic governance while not fully plugging the gaps in existing environmental regulations. This contributes to illuminating the behaviours of state-based environmental innovators under illiberal political regimes, potentially offering lessons to activists on how to stimulate further innovations in such contexts.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Policy*
  18. Idolization and ramification between globalization and ecological footprints: evidence from quantile-on-quantile approach
    Sharif A, Afshan S, Qureshi MA
    Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2019 Apr;26(11):11191-11211.
    PMID: 30796670 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-019-04351-7
    Globalization persists the tendency to alter numerous aspects of today's world including religion, transport, language, living styles, and international relations; however, its potential to influence quality of environment is the prime concern for trade and environmental policies guidelines (Audi and Ali 2018). In response to the growing interest for identifying the dynamic relationship between globalization and environmental performance, the present study seeks to investigate the critical link between globalization and ecological footprints in top 15 globalized countries between 1970 and 2016. Applying the novel methods of quantile-on-quantile regression (QQ) and Granger causality in quantiles, the findings examine the manners in which quantiles of globalization affect the quantiles of ecological footprints and vice versa. The empirical results suggest that globalization has a long-term positive effect on ecological footprint and vice versa in case of Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Canada, and Portugal. On the other hand, the estimated results indicate a negative effect between globalization and ecological footprint in the case of France, Germany, the UK, and Hungary. These results extend the recent findings on the globalization-environment nexus implying that the magnitude of relationship among both variables varies with countries demanding individual focus and cautions for postulating environmental and trade policies.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Policy
  19. The paradox in implementing Ballast Water Management Convention 2004 (BWMC) in Malaysian water
    Mohd Zaideen IM
    Mar Pollut Bull, 2019 Nov;148:3-4.
    PMID: 31422300 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.07.041
    The strategic location of Malaysia along the world's busiest trade waterways underscores the need to cope ballast water issues for both domestic and international shipping. The adoption of Ballast Water Management Convention 2004 (BWMC) by the International Maritime Organization is suitable for management plans intended to prevent the introduction of invasive species through ballast water discharge. Malaysia has ratified the BWMC in September 2010 and the Convention has come into force in September 2017. However up to now, the BWMC has not been fully implemented by Malaysia for ships operating in its waters. This paper analyse the headway in implementing the provisions of the BWMC in Malaysia as well as the issues and challenges encountered for the implementation. The paper concludes that Malaysian government should promulgate laws and policies to clearly communicate on ballast water issues to the shipping industry communities.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Policy/legislation & jurisprudence
  20. Fulltext Borneo coral reefs subject to high sediment loads show evidence of resilience to various environmental stressors
    Browne N, Braoun C, McIlwain J, Nagarajan R, Zinke J
    PeerJ, 2019;7:e7382.
    PMID: 31428541 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.7382
    For reefs in South East Asia the synergistic effects of rapid land development, insufficient environmental policies and a lack of enforcement has led to poor water quality and compromised coral health from increased sediment and pollution. Those inshore turbid coral reefs, subject to significant sediment inputs, may also inherit some resilience to the effects of thermal stress and coral bleaching. We studied the inshore turbid reefs near Miri, in northwest Borneo through a comprehensive assessment of coral cover and health in addition to quantifying sediment-related parameters. Although Miri's Reefs had comparatively low coral species diversity, dominated by massive and encrusting forms of Diploastrea, Porites, Montipora, Favites, Dipsastrea and Pachyseris, they were characterized by a healthy cover ranging from 22 to 39%. We found a strong inshore to offshore gradient in hard coral cover, diversity and community composition as a direct result of spatial differences in sediment at distances <10 km. As well as distance to shore, we included other environmental variables like reef depth and sediment trap accumulation and particle size that explained 62.5% of variation in benthic composition among sites. Miri's reefs showed little evidence of coral disease and relatively low prevalence of compromised health signs including bleaching (6.7%), bioerosion (6.6%), pigmentation response (2.2%), scars (1.1%) and excessive mucus production (0.5%). Tagged colonies of Diploastrea and Pachyseris suffering partial bleaching in 2016 had fully (90-100%) recovered the following year. There were, however, seasonal differences in bioerosion rates, which increased five-fold after the 2017 wet season. Differences in measures of coral physiology, like that of symbiont density and chlorophyll a for Montipora, Pachyseris and Acropora, were not detected among sites. We conclude that Miri's reefs may be in a temporally stable state given minimal recently dead coral and a limited decline in coral cover over the last two decades. This study provides further evidence that turbid coral reefs exposed to seasonally elevated sediment loads can exhibit relatively high coral cover and be resilient to disease and elevated sea surface temperatures.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Policy
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