Bajau residents of two islands in the Tun Sakaran Marine Park are battling eviction due to the lack of land titles, forefronting the tension between conservation and indigenous communities. Versions of this story were first published in The Star.

BEFORE dawn breaks over Pulau Sebangkat, Sabah, 36-year-old fisherman Mohd Gadafi Ahmad puts on a security vest, climbs into a boat and heads out to sea. His destination is not a fishing ground.

Instead, he patrols the waters around his island home in the Tun Sakaran Marine Park (TSMP), watching for fish bombers and other activities that could damage the coral reefs he has spent years helping to protect.