How Malaysia is Fighting Climate Change With Mangroves
- The STEM Bulletin
- 17 hours ago
- 5 min read
Written by Tan Sebastian
Edited by Ashley Ong
Trees are the superstars of any discussion related to natural carbon capture. In Malaysia, our rainforests typically get the credit not just for their excellent oxygen producing capabilities, but also for their natural biodiversity. However in recent years, scientists around the world have found that another group of plants can capture over 4 times more carbon compared to conventional rainforests! You might have guessed from the title of this article that the answer is mangroves.
Mangroves are trees that mostly grow near salt water, across beaches and river deltas. They typically grow around tropical and subtropical coastal areas. Coasts, wetlands and beaches are protected by mangroves from being destroyed by ocean waves, tsunamis and storms. Acting as an extremely strong barrier from sea impacts, they shield the land, thereby safeguarding coastal communities and infrastructure. In addition to supporting a healthy food chain, they benefit both land and marine species, therefore contributing to biodiversity by providing habitats for various organisms.
Coral reefs also benefit from this. These reefs begin to die when sea water becomes too acidic, as production of calcium carbonate is stumped. When mangrove roots metabolise organic matter from the oxygen-poor soil, they release alkalinity, in turn raising the pH of the seawater. These mangrove fields can also enhance the cycling of nutrients, which are essential for coral reef growth.
Figure 1: Infographic on how mangroves capture and lock away carbon.
Take a wild guess - which country is ranked 6th in the world in terms of mangrove coverage? That’s right. Malaysia! Since 1992, Malaysia has pledged and successfully delivered the promise to keep 50% of the country’s land cover as forests (including mangrove forests).
Figure 2: Distribution of mangroves in Malaysia in 2023.
Over a decade ago, Malaysia was devastated by the worst onslaught of natural disasters that cost the country RM 2.8 billion in damages and directly affected over 300,000 lives. What has this got to do with mangroves, you might ask? The aftermath of this was that the government of Malaysia allocated RM 100 million to implement the Restoration, Reclamation and Rehabilitation of Degraded Forest Areas in Peninsular Malaysia (3RSM). Under 3RSM, many restoration projects were successfully launched.
Here are some examples of high impact flagship forest restoration projects that were implemented throughout the years: (government, private companies, and NGOs)
2005: Planting Program with Mangrove and Other Suitable Tree Species Along National Coastline.
An example of a successful initiative under this program is the usage of 3 innovative planting methods to restore mangroves, namely Comp-mat, Comp-pillow, and Bamboo Encasement Method, where they successfully planted 4 mangrove species in Selangor.
Figure 3: Photographs of mangrove restoration in Sungai Haji Dorani, Selangor.
2016: The Restoration, Reclamation and Rehabilitation of Degraded Forest Areas Program in Peninsular Malaysia (3RSM) and Peat Swamp Forest Rehabilitation and Conservation Project.
In the 11th Malaysia Plan, 810 hectares of degraded forest land were successfully replanted with 462,256 trees. With the continuation of the 3RSM Project under the 12th Malaysian Plan, until September 2024, an area of 1,235 hectares of forest degraded lands were restored with 731,176 trees of various species.
2022: Mangrove Rehabilitation Project in Tebuk Mendeleng, Sabak Bernam, Peninsular Malaysia.
This project is an example of a successful collaboration between a local community group and a private company. Intercontinental Specialty Fats Sdn. Bhd., together with Global Environment Centre, partnered with a local community group known as Sahabat Hutan Bakau Kampung Dato’ Hormat, and with support from local authorities successfully planted 8,500 mangroves trees across four hectares of degraded coastal areas. The planted trees achieved an impressive survival rate of more than 85% and sequestered more than 36 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Figure 4: Image of degraded mangrove forest and successful restoration.
So, did they work? In Peninsular Malaysia, the mangrove coverage did show improvements, which is a great testament to the success of these projects. However, in total between 2017 and 2023, Malaysia lost 42,490 hectares, or 6.8%, of mangrove coverage. Unfortunately, this is because in East Malaysia the number of mangroves are declining rapidly. The decline in mangroves in Sabah is attributed to legal and illegal land developments for housing, agricultural, and industrial activities.
Published in 2024, a seven years analysis on the status of mangroves in Malaysia is as follows.
Figure 5: Trend analysis of mangrove changes in Malaysia.
If you’re feeling sad for the state of mangroves in East Malaysia, I have great news to cheer you up.
In August 2025, the Malaysian Economics Minister promised that Sabah's mangrove forest, which covers 59% of Malaysia’s mangrove coverage, will be developed, restored, and preserved as part of the latest initiative to develop and utilise the Blue Carbon ecosystem. (Blue Carbon ecosystems are the coastal and marine ecosystems that sequestrate carbon, including mangrove forests, salt marshes, and seagrass meadows)
This is part of a wider plan to make Sabah the Blue Carbon economic hub of Malaysia, where financial goals are balanced with sustainable use of environmental resources and equitable social improvements.
According to the latest research done by international researchers from National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and James Cook University on the science behind the carbon capturing potential of mangrove forests, it seems that by just conserving or restoring our existing mangrove forests in Southeast Asia, we can already mitigate 50% of Southeast Asian land-use carbon emissions.
The eleven Southeast Asian countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Timor Leste, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) cover just 4–5% of the world’s land area, but host around one third of the global mangrove coverage. That means, just the preservation of mangroves here in Southeast Asia could have significant impacts globally!
Overall, the conservation and restoration of mangroves sounds like the perfect solution to mitigate the impacts of global warming, especially for a country that is blessed with an abundance of these trees like Malaysia. Could mangroves be the solution to fight climate change that we are all looking for?
Figure 6: Image of mangrove trees in Kuala Selangor. Photograph by the author.
Bibliography
Endot, M. R., Muhamad Nor @ Fakru, N. L., & Rahim, M. K. A. (2024). Restoration, reclamation and rehabilitation of degraded forest areas in Peninsular Malaysia: Issues, challenges and way forward [Paper presentation]. 20th Malaysian Forestry Conference (MFC-20), Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia. https://www.forestry.gov.my/images/pengumuman/2022/MFC/MFC2024/paperwork/Paper_10_Restoration_Reclamation_and_Rehabilitation_of_Degraded_Forest_Areas_in_Peninsular_Malaysia_National_Agenda_and_Commitment.pdf
Global Environment Centre. (2025, August 27). ISF restores mangrove ecosystems and transforms local livelihoods through community-centred conservation [Press release].
Islam, M. A., Billah, M. M., Idris, M. H., Bhuiyan, M. K. A., & Kamal, A. H. M. (2024). Mangroves of Malaysia: A comprehensive review on ecosystem functions, services, restorations, and potential threats of climate change. Hydrobiologia, 851(8), 1841–1871.
Ministry of Finance. (2024, May 29). Federal govt to develop policy guidelines and explore creation of blue carbon credit trading platform. https://www.mof.gov.my/portal/en/news/press-citations/federal-govt-to-develop-policy-guidelines-and-explore-creation-of-blue-carbon-credit-trading-platform
Najamuddin, Tahir, I., Pujiati, M. I., & Harahap, Z. A. (2023). Estimation of carbon storage of tropical mangroves in the North Maluku Islands region. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 1289(1), 012008. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1289/1/012008
Omar, H. (2024). Status of mangroves in Malaysia (FRIM Special Publication No. 60). Forest Research Institute Malaysia.
Sasmito, S. D., Taillardat, P., Adinugroho, W. C., Krisnawati, H., Novita, N., Fatoyinbo, L., Friess, D. A., Page, S. E., Lovelock, C. E., Murdiyarso, D., Taylor, D., & Lupascu, M. (2025). Half of land use carbon emissions in Southeast Asia can be mitigated through peat swamp forest and mangrove conservation and restoration. Nature Communications, 16(1), Article 740.
Figure 1:
Brajcich, K. (2026, February 3). Mangroves: Coastal forest guardians [Infographic]. Sustainable Travel International. https://sustainabletravel.org/mangrove-forests/
Figure 2, 3, and 5:
Omar, H. (2024). Status of mangroves in Malaysia (FRIM Special Publication No. 60). Forest Research Institute Malaysia.
Figure 4:
Global Environment Centre. (2025, August 27). ISF restores mangrove ecosystems and transforms local livelihoods through community-centred conservation [Press release].
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