When the tides rise in Malaysia, they do more than swallow shorelines. They erase livelihoods, sweep away childhood memories, and dismantle the only homes some families have ever known.
For generations, mangroves were our natural shield. Their thick roots calmed the waves, nurtured marine life, and supported fishing communities. Malaysia once had about 650,000 hectares of mangrove forests in 1990. By 2023, the area had declined to 586,548 hectares[1].
Mangroves are more than just trees. They act like living seawalls, absorbing up to 70% of wave energy. They store up to five times more carbon than inland rainforests and serve as nurseries for fish, crabs, and prawns[2,3].
When the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami struck, villages protected by mangroves suffered significantly less destruction than those without them. That was proof, not theory.
Yet, the destruction continues – bulldozers still clear mangroves for development. Polluted rivers poison their roots. And every time a patch is lost, we lose a crucial line of defence.
Across Malaysia’s mudflats and estuaries, a new tide of action is taking shape, driven not by policies or boardrooms but by young Malaysians who are restoring mangroves and protecting their coastlines through community projects and environmental movements.
From National Goals To Local Roots
In 2021, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES) launched the 100 Million Tree Planting Campaign (2021–2025) under the “Greening Malaysia” agenda. The goal was to plant at least 100 million trees by 2025, including rainforests, peat swamps, and mangroves.
Restoring our forests, including mangroves, is central to Malaysia’s climate and biodiversity goals. Every tree planted represents a step forward in securing the health of our ecosystems, and we welcome the role of youth in turning this vision into reality. – Datuk Dr. Ching Thoo Kim, Secretary General, NRES
By September 2025, Malaysia had planted over 127 million trees nationwide, surpassing the 100 million target by 27%. These efforts reflect NRES’s broader “Greening Malaysia” agenda, which integrates youth engagement through partnerships with schools, NGOs, and corporate entities. The challenge now is to ensure these trees, especially mangroves, continue to thrive through sustained community and youth-led stewardship.
That is why Amanah Lestari Alam (ALAM) turned to youth voices directly. In a nationwide survey by NRES, 96% of Malaysian youth said more must be done for the environment. This clear call to action became the root of what is now ALAM Be-Leaf.
ALAM Be-Leaf: Where Youth Take Root in Nature
The ALAM Be-Leaf initiative began not with a sapling, but with a question: How do we inspire young Malaysians to move from knowing nature to loving it, and from loving it to protecting it?
For ALAM, a national movement dedicated to environmental education and youth empowerment, the answer was clear. Awareness must be felt, not just taught; learning must be hands-on, and action must take place where young people live.
Instead of lectures, ALAM brought youth into the mangroves themselves. They waded into estuaries, mud up to their knees, planting seedlings where bulldozers once cleared. There, they discovered that mangrove restoration isn’t just about trees, it’s about climate action, disaster prevention, community resilience and its impact on marine life and food security.
Since its launch, ALAM Be-Leaf has planted more than 3,000 mangrove trees directly, and through partnerships, over 20,000 trees in total. More than 3,700 young people have been involved, from Terengganu to Penang.
From Volunteers To Changemakers
One of the organisations seeded by ALAM is Kelab Belia Prihatin (KBP), a youth-led organisation that grew from a group of eager volunteers into a team of changemakers.
In 2022, ALAM challenged KBP to plant 7,000 mangrove trees through their WeBeLeaf campaign, providing seed funding for the first 2,000. That small step sparked something bigger.
The mindset shift was extraordinary.These were not just student volunteers anymore. They became strategic planners, citizen scientists, and movement builders. – Dr. K. Harikrishna, Board of Trustee, ALAM
Since then, KBP has:
- Mobilised thousands of youth for tree planting and clean-ups.
- Trained over 150 young citizen scientists.
- Co-authored the ASEAN–Johor Youth Aspiration Statement on Sustainability.
- Produced a documentary, Sampah Melata, Alam Merana, highlighting plastic waste’s impact on mangroves.
- Published The First Step, a guide for youth environmental leadership.
They have even won over sceptics, like a Selangor fisherman who once dismissed their work. After seeing their consistency and scientific approach, he now offers his boat to support their restoration activities and helps spread awareness in his village.
Young people are not just tomorrow’s leaders. We are today’s changemakers. Our generation will inherit the consequences of climate inaction, so we must be part of the solution now. – Luqman Hakim Md Zim, President, Kelab Belia Prihatin
When Science Serves People And Planet
Another key partner in this movement is EcoSWeD (Ecological Society for Wetland Development), a youth-driven group that blends science, education, and community work.
Their approach is simple: knowledge means little if it stays in books. Science must be translated into action that protects ecosystems and helps local people.
In Setiu, Terengganu, one of Malaysia’s most vulnerable coastal wetland areas, ALAM and EcoSWeD have worked together on youth-led biodiversity monitoring, community workshops, and tree planting that integrates local traditional knowledge. This includes projects under the Setiu Ablation Programme, supported by a Youth Environment Living Lab (YELL) grant, the UNDP Sustainable Tourism Programme, and Rumah ALAM Setiu, which serves as a living classroom and eco-education hub for local youth and communities.
Our work in Setiu shows that when science is translated into community practice, the benefits multiply. Youth here are not just planting trees; they are learning to read ecosystems, engage communities, and design solutions that last.– Mohd Alim, EcoSWeD, Setiu
Young Malaysians are stepping into roles as researchers, educators, and protectors of their coastlines.
Connecting Youth Action To National Impact
The momentum built by ALAM Be-Leaf, KBP, and EcoSWeD is amplified through RakanBumi, a programme under the Ministry of Youth and Sports’ revitalised Rakan Muda framework.
Rakan Bumi focuses on:
- Environmental awareness
- Leadership skills
- Meaningful volunteerism
It connects local efforts like mangrove planting, river clean-ups, and biodiversity monitoring to national campaigns and policy discussions.
Among its recent initiatives are the Rakan Bumi Eco-Leaders Training Series, community-based reforestation projects across 12 states, and partnerships with educational institutions to integrate climate literacy and sustainability leadership into youth programmes. Since 2023, Rakan Bumi has engaged more than 15,000 young Malaysians nationwide.
Youth are not only the inheritors of the future; they are its architects. Through programmes like Rakan Bumi, we are investing in young Malaysians who will lead our country toward a greener, more resilient tomorrow. – Dato’ Ts. Dr. Nagulendran Kangayatkarasu, Secretary General, Ministry of Youth and Sports
Many young people who first got their hands muddy with ALAM Be-Leaf, KBP, or EcoSWeD have since become Rakan Bumi ambassadors, scaling their local knowledge into national leadership.
A Call To Nurturing Nature, Together
These stories highlight a simple truth: when young people are trusted and supported, they rise to the challenge. They restore ecosystems, revive biodiversity, and inspire communities to protect the coasts they depend on.
Every empowered young leader is a safeguard for our shared future.
Through SinarALAM, a national platform, ALAM is connecting youth-led environmental projects with partners from both the public and private sectors. This is a call for more corporations, ministries, schools and communities to join hands as active partners in nurturing both the natural world and the next generation of environmental stewards.
Perhaps the most powerful reminder comes not from policies or programmes, but from the words of the young.
At Suara ALAM 2023, 15-year-old Livvashini Visnutharan shared her poem “Crumbling Into Pieces”. Her words echo the hopes and determination of a generation rising to meet the challenges left behind.
Can we start now?
To rebuild, recline, rewind, to mend all mistakes made through time?
Let youth be the hope.
Let youth be the light.
For powerless is a word I never want to say.
For omnipotent, a word I’ll bring to my grave.
We have the competence.
We have the potential.
Though we are adolescents, we never back down from challenges.
We will bring change.
We will empower.
This is our promise for all coming generations.
