Malaysia’s coral reefs are shrinking at a pace that is hard to ignore. According to the latest national survey by Reef Check Malaysia, about one-fifth of the country’s coral cover has been lost since 2022, a decline compressed into just three years. What had been gradual erosion now looks more like a slide. The 2025 survey assessed 297 reef sites across Malaysia, from the tourist-heavy islands off the peninsula to the more remote waters of Sabah. Average live coral cover fell to just under 40%, down from nearly 45% a year earlier. In 2022, it stood close to 50%. Put another way, the loss since 2022 would be equivalent, on a percentage basis, to Malaysia losing around 4 million hectares of forest over the same period. The causes are familiar, but their overlap is proving especially damaging. The global coral bleaching event of 2024 exposed reefs already weakened by pollution, coastal development, and heavy tourism. Physical damage is widespread. More than four-fifths of surveyed sites showed signs of trash or abandoned fishing gear, while over half had been scarred by anchors. Bleaching was recorded at two-thirds of locations. In parts of Sabah, damage linked to dynamite fishing, long outlawed, was recorded at a third of sites. Map showing the reef health composition of each survey location in Sabah based on Live Coral Cover. Graphic courtesy of Reef Check Malaysia Map showing the reef health composition of each survey location in Peninsular Malaysia based on LiveCoral Cover. Reef Health in Malaysia…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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