Australian by Degree - Jillian Ooi Lean Sim, Malaysia

Australian Alumni Helps Protect the “Lungs of our Oceans”
Scientists believe that seagrass meadows - dubbed the “lungs of our oceans” - are declining by an estimated seven per cent every year. So, in 2008, when Australia Awards - Endeavour Scholarship Alumni, Jillian Ooi Lean Sim, returned home with her PHD in seagrass geography from the University of Western Australia, she was determined to study the health of Malaysia’s meadows.
“Seagrasses are really important because they produce all the oxygen that marine creatures require, they clean the water, stabilized our shorelines, and are nurseries and feeding grounds for many important species,” Dr. Sim explains. “South-East Asia is a centre for the biodiversity of seagrasses, but we don’t know if they are doing ok or not.”
After many years of advocating for and raising research funds, finally in April 2017, Dr. Sim and her team were ready to begin a long-term monitoring project in some of the country’s largest and most critical seagrass meadows off the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
This area is a popular feeding ground for Dugongs, or sea cows, and today Dr. Sim and her team are on a chartered fishing boat getting ready to dive down to the meadows.
“I am really excited as the day is finally here!” Dr. Sim enthuses as she makes last minute adjustments to her scuba gear and ensures that all their equipment, including metal stakes, hammers, and scientific devices are properly packed in the numerous dive bags.
“We have a very short window of working time,” she explains. “That's very challenging because we have to fight against currents, while dragging all our equipment down there.”
They plunge in and make their way to the sea floor. The sometimes-lush meadows look sparse this time of year and there is little chance of catching a glimpse of a grazing sea cow. But, the conditions are perfect for setting up the monitoring sites. They hammer in the metal stakes and attach the light and temperature loggers before taking photos, collecting seagrass samples and returning to the surface.
Today was the first dive of many to come. Dr. Sim plans to return every three to four months to collect more information, with the aim of building-up an extensive database over at least ten years. She anticipates that this will provide valuable information for marine park authorities and decision-makers as they try to balance environmental protection with increasing development and tourism in this stunningly beautiful part of Malaysia. But, she is also hoping that her research will demonstrate the critical importance of these meadows to the health of the entire area’s environment.
“I'd like to see local communities as well as marine park management consider seagrasses as important eco-systems in their own right,” she says.
Expanding people’s understanding of seagrasses drives Dr. Sim. She is particularly passionate about passing on her knowledge to the next generation using the teaching techniques that she experienced while studying in Australia.
“Being in Australia changed my life and it made me the seagrass geographer that I am today,” she says. “Taking what I learned from Australia, I've tried to be the kind of mentor who encourages her students to ask questions and be brave about suggesting solutions … I believe that passing on all that knowledge to students is what is going to make a change,” she says.
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