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In-Depth

Read our #BLUECARBON Series

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Mangroves are are much better at combatting the climate crisis than rainforests. Yet they are being cut down faster than rainforests. So we need to protect and restore mangroves. But funding is perpetually short.

Enter blue carbon credits, which allows polluters to pay to maintain these natural carbon sinks. For one, the funding can go towards restoring mangroves that have been degraded and destroyed. But before we get into carbon credits, are current restoration efforts working? 

Read our #BLUECARBON investigation in 4 parts. Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

(Image: Indigenous planters head to a planting site; success rates are higher when communities are involved. | Photo by Arieff Zafir)

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Remarks

Why Climate-Friendly Loans Need Legal Backing

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Contracts are not mere commercial transactions but are governance tools that safeguard environmental integrity and protect institutions from compliance risk, writes advocate & solicitor and ESG legal practitioner, Tan Poh Yee.

BANK LOAN decisions are not just financial transactions: they carry environmental consequences, influencing whether projects align with sustainability goals. Malaysia’s Paris Agreement 2015 pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions is supported by domestic laws and regulations that ensure financing decisions contribute to those goals.

(Feature pic: CCPT principles and categories help banks ensure loans meet climate goals for projects across sectors from agriculture to steel.  | Image by YH Law)

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Remarks

When “Getting Close to Nature” Is a Business

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Glamping has come to a Port Dickson forest, giving Brian Khow, a nature-lover concerned with environmental justice, pause to reflect on such enterprises.

I WAS SHOCKED by the recent development in a forest reserve located along the border of Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, and Melaka. A private recreation facility has in the last few months emerged next to a beach in that forest.

Made up of luxury tents, campsites, and a café, this glamping operation now occupies a section of the beach, with fenced boundaries and facilities reserved for paying patrons.

(Feature pic: What does comfort in tents mean for our relationship with nature? | image by Sharon Chin)

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Remarks

To Rehabilitate Rivers, Community Action Matters More than Money

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Money actually does not solve problems in river rehabilitation. Instead, continuity, consistency and persistence matter, writes ecosystem restoration activist Kennedy Michael.

RIVER degradation is a persistent challenge in rapidly urbanising Malaysia. Governance fragmentation, public disengagement, and infrastructural bias keep undermining ecosystem health. But long-term, community-driven, volunteer-led river ecosystem restoration and sustainability education provide a solution.

For over 390 consecutive weeks since 2018, the Taman Melawati, Kuala Lumpur, communities have looked after the 5km stretch of Klang River in their area.

(Feature pic:  Community power matters more than money in river rehabilitation | ART!)

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Only RM13 per Kilogram? Far From the Real Cost of Killing Marlins

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Making catch and release mandatory in fishing competitions is long overdue as iconic apex fish keep getting targeted, writes marine biologist Dr Nicolas Pilcher.

LAST YEAR, a 230kg Black Marlin—majestic, rare, and irreplaceable—was landed and sold for RM3,000 during the 2025 Labuan International Sea Challenge, according to the Daily Express. That’s just RM13 per kilogram. Less than the price of squid. 

For marine conservationists, this wasn’t a win—it was a black day for Malaysia’s efforts to protect the oceans.

(Feature pic:  Saltwater big game fishing is coming under scrutiny for unsustainable practices | Canva)

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Remarks

Islanders Squeezed Out by Mainland Boatmen

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Redang Island is groaning under the weight of day-trippers and both nature and locals are suffering, warns marine advocate Julian Hyde.

IN JUNE, Reef Check Malaysia (RCM) was one of several organisations that raised concerns about a video taken of Teluk Dalam, Redang Island, with so many boats lined up along the beach that it was scarcely possible to move between them.

The community marine conservation group that we support on Redang (Redang Marine Conservation Group (RMCG) led local efforts to raise awareness of this growing problem.

(Feature pic: Some days, the Teluk Dalam beach is neck-deep in day-tripping boats, 90% of which are from the main land | Photo by imanredang)

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Announcement

Change is coming to Macaranga

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After 6 years, we are reviewing what we’ve done and reflecting on how better Macaranga can serve you, our readers. Check out this video where co-founders Siew Lyn and Yao Hua look back at what we have achieved and how thankful we are for the support you have given us.

We will still be active on our socials, so look out for our call to give your feedback. If you can spare some time, please sign up for our focused group discussions which will be held over the next few months.

You can always email us too. And of course read (or re-read) all our stories here!

[Feature image: Sunda Shelves]

Insight

Can Malaysia’s AI data centres go green?

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A wave of AI server farms is turning Malaysia into Southeast Asia’s digital epicentre, but their high energy use could derail the country’s climate goals, writes Genevieve Mallet, Dialogue Earth.

DATA CENTRES are springing up across Southeast Asia as China and the US vie for Artifical Intelligence (AI) supremacy. Tech giants – from ByteDance and Alibaba to Google and Microsoft – are setting their sights on Johor, Malaysia’s manufacturing hub just across the strait from Singapore. A rich agricultural state, Johor is now also home to sprawling data centre parks.

Since 2023, Malaysia has announced RM99 billion in data centre investments, much of it involving AI facilities, with a further RM149 billion in the near future. With cheap electricity, labour and ample land, Malaysia has proven to be a compelling alternative to its land-constrained neighbour and is set to become the fastest-growing data-centre hotspot in Southeast Asia.

(Feature image: Workers at a data centre under construction in Sedenak Tech Park in Johor |  Image © Vincent Thian / Associated Press / Alamy)

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Remarks

Securing Malaysian Skies Against Wildlife Traffickers

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The alarming rise in wildlife smuggled through Kuala Lumpur airports to India calls for more surveillance and joint investigations, writes wildlife trade expert Kanitha Krishnasamy.

IN MARCH, 4 gibbons found nowhere else in the world except Borneo were discovered in the luggage of passengers who flew into Chennai from Kuala Lumpur. For 2 of these Endangered Eastern Grey Gibbons, the rescue came too late – they had died by the time they were found.

This kind of smuggling from both terminals of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to various locations in India has been persistent, frequent, sometimes in large quantities and involving a wide variety of species.

(Feature image: From monkeys to tortoises, smugglers are using Malaysian and Indian airports to smuggle wildlife  | Composite image of posts in TRAFFIC Southeast Asia Facebook)

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