Johor's Social Hero Foundation gets muddy with mangrove replanting.

On 19 May 2024, at Kampung Pendas Laut, Johor's Social Hero Foundation (SHF) organised a mangrove tree planting event today at Kampung Pendas Laut in Gelang Patah.

Forty participants got into their wellies to plant saplings from two types of local mangrove trees: the 'Api Api' and Minyak varieties.

The participants included students from the local school, SK Pendas Laut, the State's Forestry department, the local youth club, representatives from the Tenaga Nasional Berhad association called Pelitawanis, students from the University of Reading, and other volunteers.

Staff from the Forestry Department were on hand to demonstrate the correct way of digging into the soggy marsh to safely plant the saplings without damaging them. 

Quizzes for kids

Before getting into the mud, Social Hero Foundation Programme Director Ms Farrah Baptist quizzed the 10—to 12-year-old students about the importance of mangrove forests to determine whether they understood the significance of preserving the mangrove forests in their area. 

Many were aware because their parents are coastal fishers who have imparted their knowledge of mangrove forests to them. 

"Apart from the fact that the mangrove is where fish spawn, the trees are vital to capture carbon in the air, and this will help alleviate the effects of global warming affecting us all," Farrah explained to them.

 

"These trees you are planting today will take ten, 20 years to mature, and they will play their part in the fight against global warming. Even though you won't feel the effects, your children will; you are planting these trees for your children," she reiterated.

Farrah said in the briefing to the students, " Global warming is being felt all around. There are floods in areas of Johor that have never experienced flooding before, and your parents are returning with fewer fish and prawns.

"And you feel the heat every day, right?" she asked, receiving a raucous response. 

When asked what they should do to help against global warming, with some hesitation and coaxing from Farrah,  they listed proper rubbish disposal, conserving water and electricity usage, carpooling with parents, and cycling to school.

They have been briefed about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in school, and it took a little encouragement for them to voice what they know of it.

Artisanal Fishers Hard Hit by Global Warming

Kampung Pendas and the other villages along the rural stretch of Jalan Tanjung Kupang are traditionally fishing communities. Despite the monstrosity of Forest City, the development of which had disrupted the ecology of that part of the Straits, and the dangers of laying their nets at the mouth of Sungai Pulai, once a rich fishing spot for fishers but now denied them because of the ships that use the Port of Tanjung Pelepas, coastal fishing continues to be the livelihood of the people in the 10 villages of Tanjung Kupang.  

These coastal fishers have felt the effects of climate change to the extent that they admit they can no longer predict tidal flows, which affects their ability to bring in the daily catch. 

Coupled with coastal developments along the coastline of the Straits of Johor, such as Forest City, the livelihood of fishers has depreciated to an alarming level. 

A quick look at the fish mongers operated by fisher families of the village met with a diverse quantity of fish; some had plenty while others had not so many to sell.

The claim is that those who had little to sell relied solely on what their family members brought from the waters and rivers of the Straits, while those who had plenty brought items from other markets and grouped them together with their catch. 

Seventy-Four saplings for Kampung Pendas Laut

Seventy-four saplings from the Bakau Minyak and Bakau Api-Api varieties were planted in the village, which was procured from Kelab Alami, a social enterprise initiative made up of local young people that monitors the health of the Tanjung Kupang coastline.  (Read about Kelab Alami here: https://bit.ly/4dJSXWh).

This is the inaugural tree-planting event by SHF, a non-profit organisation based in Johor, "established to sustainably carry out charitable activities, promote national unity, and implement racially integrated programmes." 

The Foundation also raises funds to ensure the initiative's sustainability and continuity and fully subscribes to and promotes the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).