MARINE REHABILITATION AND RESEARCH CENTRE AT PERHENTIAN KECIL ISLAND, TERENGGANU

Abstract

Tourism is one of the biggest industries in Malaysia. Malaysia Marine Park Islands are among the main contributors to the tourism industry, one of Malaysia's biggest industries. Perhentian Island, famous for its coral reef beauty, has unfortunately deteriorated over the past years due to climate change and irresponsible tourism activities. Therefore, this study aim is to design a comprehensive rehabilitation coral reef centre at Perhentian Island. The centre aims to rehabilitate the damaged corals, provide appropriate
research facilities, and increase awareness and education about coral reefs for tourists visiting Perhentian Island. The study was conducted at the Perhentian Kecil Island in Terengganu. The centre is proposed to be located at the sea, 50 km from the island shore. This study had adopted a qualitative method. With several site analyses, indepth interviews, case studies and observations, the findings identified several appropriate spaces for rehabilitation, research and education purposes. The spaces for rehabilitation area is coral husbandry and coral propagation. Spaces for research are coral labs, and education is a coral gallery, coral book store and, coral adoption area