Tanjung Manis mangroves are reviving thanks to early community buy-in
Rehabilitating mangroves is slow and failure-prone, but in Tanjung Manis, Sarawak, indigenous communities make headway in close cooperation with an NGO. | Photo: checking growth by Arieff Zafir
Writer: Liani MK | Photographer: Arieff Zafir
Editor: SL Wong
Cartographers: Louis Lugas and Irma Garnesia
Published: 23 September, 2026
This is a #BLUECARBON story, part of the Macaranga Project on Climate Disinformation and Indigenous People.
Tanjung Manis mangroves are reviving thanks to early community buy-in
Rehabilitating mangroves is slow and failure-prone, but in Tanjung Manis, Sarawak, indigenous communities make headway in close cooperation with an NGO. | Photo: planter checking seedling growth by Arieff Zafir
Writer: Liani MK | Photographer: Arieff Zafir
Editor: SL Wong
Cartographers: Louis Lugas and Irma Garnesia
Published: 23 September, 2026
This is a #BLUECARBON story, part of the Macaranga Project on Climate Disinformation and Indigenous People.Rehabilitating
MOHD AZAMMUDIN ABDULLAH reaches into the water and lifts out an elongated mangrove seed. “This looks healthy, right?” he says, as he turns it between his fingers.
He cracks the outer layer open. The seed inside is firm, green-tipped. He nods. “This one is good for planting,” he says. He compares it to another propagule, which seems identical. “It might look fine, but…” He presses it open. “This one is soft. It might not be good inside.”
These are the propagules of a Bakau minyak (Rhizophora apiculata), one of the main species being replanted in a dedicated mangrove replanting site managed by Kampung Stalon. The village is in Tanjung Manis in central Sarawak’s big river country.
Once covered in mangroves, this site has been degraded by illegal logging. However, with local indigenous communities collaborating with WWF-Malaysia, Bakau minyak and other mangroves are regrowing.
The Rehabilitation Programme
AZAMMUDIN, an Iban, and the secretary of THE Stalon Village Development and Security Committee (JKKK) in the Tanjung Manis district of Sarawak, leads one of 2 planting groups which WWF-Malaysia helped set up 2 years ago.
Although he is not a conservationist by training, the role has seen him criss-cross the rich mud of this area for almost 5 years.
The planting sites at Stalon and Paloh sit within the massive Rajang-Belawai-Paloh delta. From the air, the three river systems of Belawai, Paloh and Malaysia’s longest river, the Rajang, forms a web that flows into the South China Sea.
The wetlands also host the largest mangrove complex in Sarawak, at 93,852 ha as of 2020, according to WWF-Malaysia’s calculations based on satellite imagery (Sarawak does not make its forest area public). That is larger than Perlis.
It also accounts for 58% of Sarawak’s total mangrove coverage. In turn, the state’s total mangrove cover of 127,416 ha (FRIM, 2023) makes up the bulk of Malaysia’s mangroves, over half the total coverage.
The delta is an important home to endangered marine mammals in the sea and on land.
For the Melanau, Iban and Malay fishing communities in the Tanjung Manis district, the wetlands are a source of livelihood through fishing and derivative products.
The most famous is arguably Kampung Belawai’s most prized product, the smoked prawns known as sesar unjur. These can sell for between RM120 and RM180 per kg depending on the season.
The firewood that smokes these prawns comes from the mangrove forest. The nursery grounds that sustain the prawn population are also the inundated root systems of the forest itself.
Traditional processing of ‘susur unjun’ by a local community (video: © Amirul Roy)
It was in this landscape that WWF-Malaysia began collaborating with local communities in 2015, said Vivien Yeo, WWF-Malaysia’s programme officer for mangrove and dolphin conservation. The NGO first conducted a rapid assessment in 2015 of animals and mangroves before starting replanting initiatives with local communities in 2022.
Their aim to rehabilitate mangroves was because they were key habitats for Irrawaddy dolphins and other wildlife, as well as the fisheries on which community livelihoods depend. As the initiative progressed, rehabilitation has improved thanks to close learning with the communities, more careful seedling choices, and refined planting practices shaped by earlier experiences.
The project’s first 2 years saw 48,648 seedlings planted in sites spanning 19.4 ha. But the seedlings did not survive because the sites were heavily disturbed and increasingly overrun by aggressive piai or golden leather ferns (Acrostichum aureum).
The required constant, costly maintenance made long-term rehabilitation unviable. In addition, rapid coastal erosion ruled out replanting without added erosion control.
The team are now in the second, successful phase of replanting, which ran from July 2025 to June this year. A total of30,009 seedlings have been planted across an estimated 12 ha.
In Stalon, Yeo and Azammudin walk swiftly through the mud to check the most recent batch of seedlings, planted last October. With each step, their boots sink into the soft, unforgiving mud as they check marked plots and observe the progress of the 2,800 seedlings in that 1 ha. Seven months in, they estimate the success rate at 95–98%.
The NGO together with the community typically monitor new plants 3 months and 6 months after replanting. Thereafter, the community checks the plants every 3 months or even more often since the plots are near their villages.
Data gathering
Each seedling is marked with a bamboo pole to record its data on handphone apps such as ArcGIS Survey123. Besides recording monitoring information, community monitors can also geotag locations and upload photographs. The data is uploaded to a central database, which WWF-Malaysia monitors remotely.
Monitoring survival rates is tricky, says WWF-Malaysia, because rehabilitation areas are huge. So teams assess representative plots and verify survival through field observations and digital tracking, although results can still vary due to tides, erosion and weather.
Logging Makes Rehabilitation Hard
AZAMMUDIN remembers that his parents’ generation had ecological and cultural knowledge about mangroves. But today, communities only look at mangroves as having practical or commercial value. This started after mangrove timber became an important source of construction piling because cement was not widely available.
Decades of illegal logging stripped much of the forest over the years. “It’s not easy for the forest to recover. You can still see the impact of the destruction,” says Azammudin as he trudges onto the muddy Paloh replanting site, past felled trees and old logging tracks.
Today, commercial mangrove harvesting is allowed within mangrove licensed zones. Even so, illegal and unregulated logging continues, an ongoing concern to the locals. Azammudin says those who have reported illegal activities in their area to authorities have received threats.
Azammudin actually came to the rehabilitation project with prior exposure to planting. To obtain a Permit to Enter Coupe (PEC) to log mangrove forests, licensed operators must agree to replant harvested areas. This is how locals were hired.
“Learning the proper way to do it was hard at first,” says Azammudin with a chuckle. Planters used to just pluck the seeds and plant them directly in the muddy soil thinking that they would grow. But they did not.
With WWF-Malaysia, he started honing his skills. One impactful visit was in March 2023 to Penang and Perak, where his group observed the replanting sites of the Penang Inshore Fisherman Welfare Association (PIFWA), a fishermen’s group at the forefront of mangrove seedling production and replanting.
Using science
“[Now] when we plant in a planned area, we look at what species grows there the most first. If the area has plenty of Bakau minyak, that must mean that the area is mainly suitable for Bakau minyak seedlings. Don’t simply go there without examining first.”
They also look at river conditions. “If it is easy for the water to rise, it means there will be no issue for the plants to grow.” Mangroves require consistent tidal exchange, as the rise and fall of water is essential for nutrient delivery, salt flushing and proper root system function.
The Penang Inshore Fisherman Welfare Association (PIFWA) is the go-to CSO for mangrove rehabilitation in Peninsular Malaysia. Read about them in our feature on mangrove planting failures and successes.
And rehabilitating logged areas is tough. Along the riverbanks, WWF-Malaysia’s Yeo points to the invasive piai ferns which have taken over. In the most disturbed areas, she explains, they are very difficult to remove once established.
Among many reasons is hydrology. “Previous harvesting operations bulldoze everything and [that] changes the hydrology of the soil. It becomes compacted,” says Yeo.
Mangroves are naturally resilient and can grow back given time. But when the land has been altered in ways that cannot be easily fixed, “we don’t see regeneration along the tracks.”
Getting Locals in Early
WWF-MALAYSIA’s success in Tanjung Manis was sowed way before a single seedling was planted.
First, WWF-Malaysia invited all the 10 Village Development and Security Committees (JKKK) in the area for a dialogue. They asked villagers what they wanted and what the mangroves meant to them. From there, they looked collectively for suitable planting areas.
To manage the project, the NGO and the villages set up a formal community management structure, the Community Participatory Committee of Mangrove and Marine Mammal Conservation in Rajang-Belawai-Paloh (Jawatankuasa Wakil Komuniti Pemuliharaan Hutan Paya Bakau dan Mamalia Marin Rajang-Belawai-Paloh), known simply as the AJK or replanting group.
Building ownership
Every village has a representative in the AJK who participates voluntarily. The committee designed its own logo and WWF-Malaysia helped refine it to prepare for formal registration as a society.
For the Iban headman of Kampung Stalon, that dialogue made all the difference. “Vivien invited all leaders to come together to find a solution on how to protect our environment,” says Penghulu Maoh Anak Bohom. When Vivien Yeo shared her views on the importance of mangrove conservation, he wanted to be part of it.
Likewise, with Kampung Berangan’s Penghulu Ubi Anak Gudol. “The process of working together began first through discussions where they explained how it works. They had dialogues with us before and then we have a written agreement which also states the payment and other details.” Ubi leads the Paloh replanting group.
Says Yeo, “For WWF-Malaysia, we emphasise Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). Before we start anything, we normally discuss with the communities first, [and] not just one time.
“We communicate for 1–2 years before we [even[ carry out the study, because we want to make sure communities understand that we are not taking their land. We just want to do conservation work together.”
WWF-Malaysia compensates communities for their replanting and monitoring work, with rates that are mutually agreed upon. Payment goes to each replanting group leader, who distributes it to members. All members sign a consent form acknowledging the arrangement.
The Stalon replanting group draws around 10 planters, the oldest of whom is 65 years old. “The people that are in the village are usually .. the elderly between 50 to 70,” says Yeo. The youth have left for Kuching, Sibu and towns where wages are more reliable.
Yeo points out that this community approach contrasts with other replanting efforts. For instance, corporations tend to do one-off planting. “They don’t have any monitoring plans after that and [the public] don’t know how the seedlings are actually doing.”
For rehabilitation to work, returning regularly to the site is part of the process. What Yeo hopes to see is a gradual takeover of the entire rehabilitation. “We want more [suggestions for improvements] to come from them, because they know their place better and what they want for their own area.”
Maoh is proud of the mangrove rehabilitation. “This project benefits the rural communities and future generations who require a sustainable environment. I hope these efforts can be continued for the benefit of all.”
Blue Carbon Credits
IN CONTRAST is a separate mangrove-related initiative, says Penghulu Maoh. In March, Sarawak announced its first blue carbon project. It would be in Tanjung Manis and encompasses between 8,000–10,000 ha of mangrove forests.
WWF-Malaysia told Macaranga that the project area currently does not overlap with their ongoing rehabilitation sites.
The blue carbon project is run by the Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC or PUSAKA) and a private company, Worldview Climate Solutions Sdn Bhd (WCS). Blue carbon projects are carbon off-setting schemes monetising carbon captured by coastal ecosystems such as mangroves.
Meetings held
There have been community dialogues in 2025 and one in 2026, with possibly one more to come. “But they seem to have already made decision[s] before involving the villages. That is what makes the community dissatisfied,” says Maoh.
The communities do not oppose the project in principle. What concerns them is access to areas needed for their livelihood. “Sure, blue carbon might sound good. But there are areas that we don’t want to be under the initiative,” he says.
WCS told Macaranga that benefit-sharing arrangements have not yet been finalised, and that land and resource rights in relation to carbon finance is among the project’s challenges.
“At this stage, priorities include understanding social and ecological baseline, engaging relevant stakeholders and communities, identifying restoration opportunities, and assessing how livelihood considerations can be appropriately incorporated alongside environmental objectives,” says Bridgette Anak Philip, WCS’ Livelihood and Sustainable Development Manager.
“The best way to approach a village is to first discuss before making any decision, just like how WWF-Malaysia did with us,” says Maoh. “They sat down with us to discuss properly, and we created a committee together. It shouldn’t be that an area is gazetted first, then only tell us what has already been decided after that. That is unfair.”
Azammudin is also concerned about the project structure and transparency in terms of benefits. “We don’t know the details of it, like how much the community will get for one seedling, for example.”
He too fears restrictions to community forests. “Sometimes the areas planted for blue carbon does not allow entry. You cannot take wood, walk through, or look for crabs. It is not that we are logging trees commercially. If you cannot enter at all, how are we going to gather what we need?
“Access should not be cut off before preparing another option to replace that.”
Template already exists
Back in the Stalon site, Azammudin pulls another propagule from the water, checking it out of habit rather than need. The mangroves here are still recovering from logging and therefore vulnerable to erosion and invasive ferns.
But a decade in, there is a template for sustainable rehabilitation: community consultation, buy-in and pace-setting.
And in this way, Azammudin and his fellow community mangrove guardians keep returning to the mud, regrowing a forest seedling by seedling for the next generation.
This is a #BLUECARBON story in the Macaranga Project on Climate Disinformation and Indigenous People, supported by International Media Support (under the Digital Democracy Initiative)
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