Satellite image analysis illustrates why Tioman Island's environment is too fragile to bear an international airport

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

                  New Tioman International Airport / Lapangan Terbang Baharu Di Pulau Tioman

Berjaya Group and its partners have proposed a new, much larger  airport on Tioman Island. The image and animation (see link below image) prepared by The Landscape Ecology and Conservation (LEC) Laboratory details the location, required works, and likely environmental impacts of the project.

The following are satellite images of Tioman Island extracted from the Allen Coral Atlas . As one can see from even the first image below, the global reef extent map, the area around the proposed airport (i.e. around Kampung Genting) is coral reef rich, and connected to the reef surrounding Tioman. Any disruption to the coral reef at any point of what appears to be a chain of reef, is likely to damage the entire reef system surrounding Tioman. 

The geomorphic map suggests similar consequences. 

The benthic map confirms  that there are coral reefs in and around the area of the proposed runway which  LEC and others have warned will be damaged irrevocably. 

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