Tag Archives: blue carbon

Tanjung Manis mangroves reviving thanks to community buy-in

October 5, 2026 Liani MK Leave a comment

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.

(more...)

In-Depth

How Pitas communities replant mangroves to reclaim their heritage

October 6, 2026 Liani MK Leave a comment

How Pitas communities replant mangroves to reclaim their heritage

Mangroves are haltingly returning to land devastated by a giant shrimp farm, but for locals, recovering the forest is about more than planting trees; it’s a matter of heritage. | Photo: a hurt land by Arieff Zafir

Writer: Liani MK | Photographer: Arieff Zafir
Editor: SL Wong
Cartographers: Louis Lugas and Irma Garnesia
File photos: Chen Yih Wen

Published: 23 September, 2026

This is a #BLUECARBON story, part of the Macaranga Project on Climate Disinformation and Indigenous People.

(more...)

In-Depth

Seletar aquaculture co-exists with, not harms mangroves

September 25, 2026 Aidila Razak Leave a comment

Seletar Aquaculture Co-exists with, not Harms Mangrove

Aquaculture is synonymous with mangrove destruction, but the Seletar Orang Asli not only need the mangroves for their mussel farming, they developed tech based on how mussels lived in the wetlands | Photo: harvesting mussels by Aidila Razak

Writer: Aidila Razak | Editor: SL Wong
Data visualisation & Cartographers: Irma Garnesia and Louis Lugas

Published: 21 September, 2026

This is a #BLUECARBON story, part of the Macaranga Project on Climate Disinformation and Indigenous People.

(more...)

In-Depth

RM71 million spent to replant mangroves; at least half have died

October 6, 2026 Aidila Razak 2 Comments

RM71 million spent on planting mangroves; at least half have died

Planting mangroves to save coasts and counter climate change is deeply flawed in practice, say scientists, though success increases when local communities are involved. | Photo of mangrove seedlings by Arieff Zafir

Writer: Aidila Razak | Editor: SL Wong
Cartographers: Irma Garnesia and Louis Lugas

Published: 21 September, 2026

(more...)

In-Depth

Read our #BLUECARBON Series

September 21, 2026 Macaranga Leave a comment

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)

(more...)

Insight

Adopting Seahorses to Save Seagrass Meadows

May 19, 2026 Vincent Tan Leave a comment

Finding seahorses and naming them gets people excited about conservation, even if they get stuck in silt.

WADING THROUGH a seagrass meadow at low tide, at 6.50am, is anything but graceful for a newbie. Each step in the waterlogged mud forms an air-tight seal around our feet, threatening to swallow our boots and shoes.

Earlier, the Save Our Seahorses (SOS) Malaysia survey team, and a small group of public participants had boarded a small fishing boat, scooting for approximately 20 minutes from the fishing jetty at Pendas, to the Merambong seagrass bed, less than 500m off Johor’s Forest City.

This morning’s search for seahorses goes slow at first, although we see black sea slugs, shrimp, and the occasional crab or fish darting around the centimetres-deep water. Then, our guide Wong Jieyi sights one male seahorse.