A comparison of local community sustainability of livelihood: A case study in Redang and Tioman Islands, Malaysia

In order to conserve and protect marine life, the Government of Malaysia has gazetted a total of 40 islands as marine parks. All activities that disrupt the stability of the marine eco-system are prohibited. This includes fishing which is the main occupation of communities on these islands. This policy had negatively affected the livelihood of the communities. This research analyzes and compares the case of communities of Pulau Tioman (TIMP) and Pulau Redang Marine Parks (PRMP). The analysis on livelihood sustainability is based on the perceptions of locals after the islands have been gazetted as marine parks. The five standard of living indicators which are human, physical, natural/environment, social, finance as well as threats/ uncertainties towards socio-economic changes were analyzed. The results show that in general, both the livelihood of both communities are satisfied in terms of human, physical and social assets. However, they lack satisfaction on the financial and natural/environmental aspects. The education element also needs to be addressed as there are still school dropouts among the children of these island communities. Nonetheless, the locals are still safe from socio-economic threats/uncertainties and disease outbreaks/disasters. In comparing the RIMP and TIMP, it is found that the TIMP community has better sustainable livelihood than that of the RIMP locals.