Seafar in Southeast Asia: Nomads forced to live in the country

Seafar in Southeast Asia: Nomads forced to live in the country

Note from the publisher: "Call to Earth" is an editorial series of CNN that is dedicated to the environmental problems of our planet and possible solutions. rolex’s perpetual planet initiative works with CNN to sharpen awareness of important sustainability issues and to inspire positive actions.

connection between cultures and the environment

The "Call to Earth Day - Connected Generations" celebrates the connections between humans and cultures and examines how they can play an important role in maintaining our planet.

the Bajau loud and its connection to the ocean

bilkuin Jimi Salih cannot remember how old he was when he learned to dive. "All men in my family can dive," he says of a translator. He remembers how he gathered dozens of foot under water between the coral reefs and snails and snails, abalons and sea cucumbers to sell them on the local fish market.

"One of our specialties is that we are very comfortable in the water," adds Salih. The 20-year-old was born on a Lepa, a kind of houseboat, on the coast of the Omadal Island, which is located off the coast of Semporna in Malaysia. The Bajau loud are an indigenous seafaring community in Southeast Asia, which has been running a semi-nomadic lifestyle on the ocean for centuries. They live on boats and catch fish for their livelihood and their diet.

changes in the way of life of the Bajau according to

But things change. Salih and his family were dependent on the sea for generations, lived in harmony with the tides and asked water residents to travel, fish and dive. Her traditional lifestyle was always environmentally friendly; They only took what they needed to survive and moved from reef to reef, while fish swarms were moving, which gave the ecosystem time to regeneration.

"We used to easily catch a bucket of Abra and sea cucumbers, but now there are hardly any more," explains Salih. "Other valuable fish have become less common. It is very difficult to rely on the sea as a source of life."

The influence of climate change

Like many other Bajau loud in the region, Salih and his family have given up their houseboat and now live in a stilts' house over flat water. Lepas are expensive and difficult to build, he says, and with the low incomes from fishing, many families often cannot afford to maintain them.

more and more Bajau loudly give up their traditional lifestyle, making them increasingly susceptible to environmental changes. In the past, they simply moved on when the fish stock fluctuated. However, life in mainland communities reduces their adaptability and makes them more dependent on a certain island or a certain reef.

a paradise hidden under water

Semporna should be an aquatic paradise. The coastal city is located at the upper end of the coral triangle, a (2.2 million square miles) large area of exceptional Marine biodiversity, which includes the waters of six nations. In the 1980s, the filmmaker and oceanographer Jacques Cousteau visited the island of Sipadan off the coast of Semporna and described the reefs as "an untouched work of art", which made the region one of the most sought -after diving spots in the world.

However, reality looks different. The overfishing Southeast Asia is reinforced by increasing surface temperatures and the acidification of the oceans, which leads to a loss of fish habitats. In Malaysia there are stocks of soil-resistant Demersal-Fischen in some regions by up to sunk.

The challenges for coastal communities

coastal communities are "highly susceptible" for other phenomena of climate change, including coral bleach, rising sea level, coastal erosion and extreme weather events, says Adzmin Fatta, program manager at Reef Check Malaysia and co -founder of Green Semporna, both environmental organizations.

The deteriorating marine environment and the decline in fish stocks have desperately desperately. To assert yourself against a growing number of commercial fisheries , many have on Illegale and often used harmful methods to increase your catch, such as: B. explosives or cyanism.

The preservation of traditions

Despite their decades, sometimes centuries -long presence in the region, many of the Bajau are considered “stateless” in Semporna and not as Malaysian citizens. This leads to a legal dilemma without access to state education, health care or basic care services such as electricity, water and waste management.

The social stigma of statelessness often means that they are excluded from efforts to protect the ocean and its traditional knowledge is not valued. Adzmin Fatta describes the "unequal opportunities" for coastal communities as one of the major challenges for nature conservation in the region. Without formal citizenship, they often do not feel any responsibility to take part in nature conservation efforts and tackle environmentally related questions.

new perspectives for the young generation

Despite the challenges of poverty, statelessness and climate change, some young people find new ways in the community to connect with the marine environment. Imran Abbisi and Haikal Nukiman, both stateless and resident in Kampung Bangau Bangau, do not want to step into the footsteps of their ancestors and spend their lives with fish.

"It used to be much nicer to spend time in the ocean, but now there is more garbage in the water, so it is no longer fun," says Nukiman. Plastic pollution is particularly bad in your village because there is no real waste management.

commitment to environmental protection

Although Abbisi and Nukiman have not learned to dive, try to dive with a Padi Open Water diving certificate via Tracc. This certificate enables you to monitor the reef, collect data and install artificial reefs. Abbisi describes his first diving experience as "fantastic" and expresses the desire to protect the Ocean "for a better world that is greener". However, the two students do not know whether they can stay in environmental work.

The future of Bajau according to Culture

in Omadal, Salih tries to educate the next generation about the environment. In addition to studying part -time at the alternative university of Borneo Komrad, he is a teacher at the Iskul, a school in Omadal for stateless Bajau, where he teaches navy nature conservation, pollution and coral restoration.

"We have to learn these skills to ensure our livelihood," says Salih, while he is trying to maintain traditions. "I will encourage my children to learn from myself how to build a boat and make sure that they also teach them to their children so that tradition does not end."