UK partners with Malaysia on mangrove restoration research

UK partners with Malaysia on mangrove restoration research
The UK and Malaysia are working together in the 'Revive' research project for the conservation of mangroves in Malaysia.
‘Revive’ (Just Restoration and Equitable Value Chains for Inclusive, Viable Mangrove Ecosystems), will look beyond tree planting to understand how restored landscapes can support communities as well as ecosystems. Supported by the UK Government, it will explore how restored mangroves can protect ecosystems while creating fairer opportunities for the coastal communities who depend on them.
Announced in conjunction with International Mangrove Day 2026 (26 July), a new international research project led by the University of Manchester supported by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, the University of Warwick, Cardiff University, National University of Singapore, and the Penang Inshore Fishermen Welfare Association, will fundamentally rethink the trade-offs and synergies between mangrove restoration and expansion through commercial value chains.
Led by Dr Aarti Krishnan, Senior Lecturer in Innovation and Sustainability at Alliance Manchester Business School, and supported by Dr Aldrie Amir, Associate Professor at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and other colleagues, the project will work across three Malaysian mangrove landscapes: Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve in Perak, Sungai Acheh and Sungai Chenaam in Penang, and Setiu Wetlands State Park in Terengganu.
Mangroves protect shorelines, store carbon, sustain fisheries and support local livelihoods, but restoration projects can sometimes leave communities in low-paid roles or exclude them from the wider benefits created by healthier ecosystems.
Revive will test a different approach, combining community governance, environmental evidence and fairer routes into higher-value markets. The project is funded by the Global Centre on Biodiversity for Climate (GCBC) of the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), and runs from July 2026 to June 2029.
Dr Aldrie Amir of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia said:
Mangroves are the signature habitat and ecosystem of the tropics, and humans have depended on the resources provided by these coastal forested wetlands since the first memories of many tropical civilisations. Coastal communities are the first to be impacted by the degradation of mangroves, either by natural or anthropogenic forces. They, therefore, should be the primary beneficiaries from the protection of intact mangrove habitats and the rehabilitation of the disturbed ones.
The Malaysian team and I look forward to welcome and host our UK and foreign counterparts in undertaking the review and investigative research work for this GCBC-Defra funded Project Revive.
Dr Aarti Krishnan of Alliance Manchester Business School said:
Revive centres people, livelihoods, power - who captures value from restored landscapes. We want to know how to measure ‘just restoration’ so it can be designed such that communities are recognised as stewards, decision-makers and active participants in fair value chains.
British High Commissioner to Malaysia, His Excellency Ajay Sharma, said:
Mangroves don’t get the recognition they deserve. With climate change, rising sea level, storm surge and coastal erosion, mangroves are important natural infrastructure which help to cut carbon, safeguard biodiversity and underpin sustainable livelihoods. The UK Government is proud to support this new Revive research collaboration between British and Malaysian institutions to advance sustainable restoration and conservation of these critical ecosystems.
The project will bring together a multidisciplinary team from geography, marine ecology, economics, management studies, data and decision sciences. Planned outputs include articles, policy briefs, open data sets and map packs (restoration maps, blue carbon), innovative trade-off forward business models, roundtables, a community-led “Mangrove Memory Archive” capturing local experiences of floods, fish, food, work, loss and restoration.
An advisory board of government, conservation, responsible business and international development specialists will support the project.