Research on marine sustainability is at the forefront of our focus at the Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies (CEMACS) at Universiti Sains Malaysia. Finding sustainable solutions to the issues arising from ocean acidification (OA) and its impact on food security such as coastal aquaculture and on the coastal habitats such as coral reefs figure prominently in our research agenda.

Working on the Straits of Malacca and in the South China Sea with its high coastal human populations underlines the urgency for a more sustainable use of the oceans under pressure from both climactic and anthropogenic drivers. Already the highly diverse habitats of coral reefs found here in the Coral Triangle are recently subjected to increasingly frequent coral bleaching events with many reefs showing signs of degradation reflected in their loss in diversity and total coverage.

We understand that there is a need to translate the aspirations of the Sustainable Development Goal 14 of the UN to the regional and local scale. It is also our goal to translate the science supporting sustainability to policy makers and the community whose support and commitment matters greatly. In a developing country where many issues compete for attention and priorities - long term solutions are sometimes sacrificed for short term, non-sustainable expediency. Education, engagement and awareness is the key to acceptance of the need for sustainable solutions and is the foundation of our pledge.

We pledge to continue research on the impact of OA and climate change on tropical ocean habitats. We pledge to continuously engage the policy makers and the targeted communities and to create awareness on the importance of the sustainable and wise-use of the oceans.

In 2017 the Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia will start her awareness action-oriented programmes engaging young professionals, students and management cohorts on specific issues of marine sustainable development affecting the nation and the region.