Proposals to build an international airport on the Malaysian island of Tioman have reignited opposition from conservationists and local communities who say they’re “shocked” the project that environmental studies had previously revealed could destroy sensitive coral reefs has been allowed to resurface. Plans for the airport were rejected by authorities in 2018 due to the scale of the environmental impacts it would cause. But the Department of Environment is now considering a new environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the project, which observers say closely resembles the development proposal rebuffed five years ago. Lying roughly 30 kilometers (19 miles) off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia in the South China Sea, the 19-kilometer-long (12-mile) Tioman Island is the largest of several islands that make up the Pulau Tioman Marine Park. It’s home to pristine sandy beaches, rugged and untouched rainforest, and biodiverse underwater ecosystems that sustain a tourism sector that underpins the livelihoods of the island’s roughly 3,000 residents. In addition to a wealth of marine life, from coral reefs to nesting turtles and reef sharks, much of the interior of the island is steep and cloaked in intact rainforest. The Tioman Island Wildlife Reserve, designated in 1972, is home to 45 species of mammals, including binturong, mouse-deer and pig-tailed macaques, 138 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 48 species of freshwater fish. Aerial view of the proposed development site, the coral reefs and villages that would be affected. Image courtesy of Reef Check Malaysia The new airport’s footprint would cover…This article was originally published on Mongabay
