Malyasia
Malaysia is essentially a maritime country. Spanning more than 19 degrees of longitude, with more than 4600 kilometers of coastline and bordering four major large bodies of water (Straits of Malacca, South China Sea, Sulu Sea, Sulawesi Sea).
Malaysia has more sea area (including the claimed EEZ) than land territory under its control. Malaysians derive more of their protein from fish than any other country in Southeast Asia (World Resources Institute 2006).
Parts of Malaysia’s seas fall within two Global 200 ecoregions (Andaman Sea Ecoregion, Sulu-Sulawesi Sea Ecoregion) and Malaysia is an integral part of the ecological Coral Triangle. With so much sea area, marine conservation and sustainable management of marine resources are important.
Considering that some of Malaysia’s seas lie within one of the most biodiverse regions of the world, marine conservation in Malaysia is globally critical.
Vanuatu
Vanuatu is made up of a group of 80 rugged, volcanic islands that have been pushed up from the edge of the Pacific Rim. These mountainous islands are on the subduction zone of two tectonic plates far below the surface and as such the continuous movement causes persistent tremors with minor earthquakes and permanently active volcanoes.
Shaped in a northwesterly shaped “Y” the combined land mass is calculated to be around 12,189 square kilometres surrounded by a vast ocean area of 450,000 square kilometres.
