UK and Malaysia Launch £714,000 REVIVE Mangrove Restoration Research Project

The UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), through its Global Centre on Biodiversity for Climate (GCBC), and Malaysian partners launched the £714,000 REVIVE project — 'Just Restoration and Equitable Value Chains for Inclusive, Viable Mangrove Ecosystems' — on July 13, 2026, running through June 2029. Led by Dr Aarti Krishnan of the University of Manchester's Alliance Manchester Business School alongside Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, the University of Warwick, Cardiff University, the National University of Singapore, and the Penang Inshore Fishermen Welfare Association, the project studies three Malaysian mangrove landscapes: the Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve (Perak), Sungai Acheh and Sungai Chenaam (Penang), and the Setiu Wetlands State Park (Terengganu). Rather than focus solely on ecological restoration, REVIVE aims to ensure coastal communities share equitably in the benefits of mangrove recovery and blue carbon markets, combining governance reform, environmental monitoring, and fairer market access to prevent restoration projects from leaving local communities in low-paid roles while outside investors capture the gains.