KUALA SELANGOR, 7 February 2026 – Today at the Kuala Selangor Nature Park (KSNP),
Chery Corporate Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., together with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS), officially launched “Cherish the Nature”, an 18-month collaborative mangrove restoration project along the North-central Selangor Coast (NCSC) in Malaysia.
This project, part of the Cherish the Nature Partnership, is supported by the global automotive firm Chery, administered by IUCN, and co-implemented by IUCN and MNS.
To mark the launch of the project, MNS, Chery and IUCN welcomed 200 distinguished guests and representatives from the government agencies, academic institutions, local communities,and private corporations to the Kuala Selangor Nature Park to learn more about the unique biodiversity of this area.
The public together with Chery’s vehicle owner group WCWL and OMODA | JAECOO ‘s J-Club also took part in the citizen science and mangrove planting activities designed to raise awareness of the importance of community-led conservation efforts together with representatives from IUCN, Chery Corporate Malaysia and MNS.
Cherish the Nature calls for improved conservation awareness of Malaysia’s unique natural living landscapes, made up of coastal mudflats, marine-mangrove and wetlands habitats situated along the NCSC. In these 130 km-long coastal landscapes, ecosystem services have immensely supported the diverse communities with its rich marine resources, enabling communities to thrive.
This has made Kuala Selangor a prime tourism destination and haven for unique biodiversity attractions such as fireflies, shorebirds, and primates.
However, anthropogenic pressures such as land-use changes and land clearing have contributed to the loss of mangrove forests along the NCSC.
As mangrove forests disappear, various species of fish, crabs, and shellfish will follow suit,threatening the livelihoods of the traditional fishing villages found along the NCSC. Urgent action is needed to protect the ecosystem that thousands depend on for their lives and livelihoods.
This collaborative project will conserve and restore the degraded mangrove ecosystems of NCSC., IUCN’s science-backed tools will be used to identify priority mangrove restoration sites,which will be rehabilitated with mangrove saplings nurtured in nurseries established by local communities.
At least six hectares of degraded mangrove areas will be then restored by trained members of the local community, blending science with traditional ecological knowledge. Following which, monitoring and evaluation post-planting will track ecological gains and ensure the planting mangrove saplings are growing optimally.
Public outreach and environmental education take centre stage to promulgate the importance of our natural ecosystems, and how everyone can contribute to its conservation, viaeducational programmes with the Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, schools,government agencies, and the private sector.
One key component is the Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs),which is vital in safeguarding not just mangrove ecosystems, but it will form a contiguous linkage of natural ecosystems, linking our coastal mangroves to other significant biodiversity-rich landscapes and seascapes.
This will be instrumental for Malaysia to achieve its commitments to the Kunming-MontrealGlobal Biodiversity Framework, specifically the global 30×30 target to protect 30% of the earth’s land and sea by 2030 IUCN, together with Chery Group and MNS, are committed to make this a reality with the “Cherish the Nature” project in Malaysia.
