Sipadan – Paradise Lost

Lying 22miles (35kms) of the coast of Borneo in the Sulawesi sea is the coral-encrusted, jungle-covered tiny island of Sipadan. The Malaysian-owned island is the crest of an extinct volcano, 0.5km wide and 200metres long and rises 2000ft (600metres) straight up from the sea bed. Its geographical location in the indo-pacific basin puts Sipadan in the richest marine bio-diversity area in the world.

The island is a haven for over 3000 species of marine wildlife with loggerhead, hawksbill and green turtles making the reefs and beaches their home. Barracuda amass in their thousands like a shimmering silver curtain. Massive whale sharks and mantas rays frequently visit the island on their yearly migrations. White, black and silver tipped reef sharks cruise the reefs. Various species of trigger, angel, damsel and butterfly fish live on the reef, all brightly-coloured and vibrant. Sponges, anemones and sea squirts contribute to this alien landscape. The coral reef itself is a living organism, breathing life into everything around it. It is the beating heart of the island, concrete and seemingly dead. The tiny polyps give the reef life, building on the remains of creatures past, taking centuries to create a home for all.

Sipadan was once in the top five scuba diving destinations in the world and rightly so, appearing on the same page with the likes of the massive Great Barrier Reef and The Galapagos Islands. The documentary maker and diver Jacques Cousteau once talked about the island “I have seen other places like Sipadan 45 years ago but now no more. Now we have an untouched piece of art”.

Sipadan became popular after that and it wasn’t long before resorts started springing up. At that time the islands ownership was in dispute, Indonesia and The Philippines both laid claim. In 1985 the first dive operator arrived and it wasn’t long before others followed suit. The dive operators had a free reign, knowing full well they were squatters and could be evicted at any time. They didn’t bother to install proper sewage facilities and this led to the polluting of the ground water. Rubbish piled up and the numbers of nesting turtles reduced, disturbed by the lights and noise on the island. The coral itself started to die; huge areas that were once thriving became deathly white. The number of dive boats were stirring up the sea bed and choking the tiny polyps with sand making them unable to feed. Once ownership was finalised in 2002 the Malaysian government ordered the dive operators to leave by the end of 2004 to stem the flow of disintegration. They left but most were unhappy with the decision. The lucky ones had similar resorts on Mabul and Kapalai a mere fifteen minutes away by boat.