Coastal Oasis Showcased at Malaysia’s Climate Finance Innovation Lab as Model for Integrated Conservation

KUALA LUMPUR, 5 November 2025 — The Climate Finance Innovation Lab (CFIL), a flagship initiative of the Joint Committee on Climate Change (JC3) co-chaired by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), marked a milestone with its inaugural Capital Solutioning Workshop, linking high-impact climate projects with institutional investors to shape new sustainable-finance pathways.

At the centre was Planters International Berhad’s Coastal Oasis: Sungai Klang Initiative — a RM 2.527 billion large-scale conservation and ecosystem-restoration programme undertaken in partnership with Landasan Lumayan Sdn Bhd (LLSB), the master developer of the Selangor Maritime Gateway (SMG). The initiative integrates riverine and coastal rehabilitation, community engagement, and circular-economy innovation under a unified conservation framework.

Restoring the Klang River and Its Living Ecosystems

The Coastal Oasis Initiative is fundamentally a conservation-driven undertaking spanning the 56 km Klang River corridor and its mangrove-rich coastal isles. Its core mission is to revive degraded habitats, strengthen biodiversity, and enhance water quality through science-based reforestation, mangrove rehabilitation, and long-term ecosystem protection.

Supporting components — such as biochar valorisation, plastic interception, and renewable-energy integration — are designed to complement, not replace, restoration goals. Together they create a closed-loop conservation economy, ensuring that recovered natural resources are repurposed sustainably to fund ongoing restoration.

Datuk Wira Dr. Mohammad Hardee Ibrahim, Group Chief Corporate Development Officer of Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Berhad (BPMB)

“This milestone reflects Malaysia’s growing ability to turn bold climate ambitions into tangible investments that deliver real impact for national development,” said Datuk Wira Dr. Mohammad Hardee Ibrahim, Group Chief Corporate Development Officer of Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Berhad (BPMB), the CFIL administrator. “Through CFIL, we are charting new pathways for financing sustainability at scale, where environmental restoration, community resilience, and economic progress advance together.”

Closing the Loop: Biochar for Soil and Water Regeneration

Within the Coastal Oasis framework, biochar plays a vital circular-loop role. Organic biomass and riverine debris intercepted through the project’s log-boom systems are converted into biochar, which is re-applied on-site to support soil and water restoration.

This biochar improves soil nutrient stabilisation, enhances water filtration, and facilitates dissolved-pollutant removal, functioning as a natural filtration and regeneration medium. Scientific reviews confirm that biochar increases soil cation-exchange capacity and nutrient retention, improves water-holding capacity, and removes heavy metals and organic contaminants through adsorption and ion exchange (Frontiers in Environmental Science, 2023; Springer Environmental Chemistry Letters, 2022). Its use closes the resource loop — transforming intercepted biomass into a restorative input that enhances soil health, water quality, and ecosystem resilience.

Planters’ Perspective: Conservation First, Innovation as an Enabler

“The Coastal Oasis is fundamentally a conservation project,” said Jay Padasian, Director of Corporate Affairs at Planters International Berhad.

“Working alongside Landasan Lumayan Sdn Bhd under the Selangor Maritime Gateway, our focus is on restoring living ecosystems — mangroves, riparian forests, and wetlands that are vital to Selangor’s coastal resilience. The circular-economy components such as biochar and waste recovery are supportive tools that make conservation financially sustainable, but the heart of Coastal Oasis lies in protecting biodiversity, empowering local communities, and ensuring nature remains the primary beneficiary of every investment.”

Through the AFAM (Active Forest Asset Management) platform, Planters deploys IoT, AI, and remote-sensing technologies to monitor forest growth, mangrove health, and water quality — providing transparent, measurable data that strengthen accountability under the Forest Conservation Certificate (FCC) and global standards.

Aligning Conservation with Climate-Finance Innovation

Martijn Regelink, senior financial sector specialist in the Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation Global Practice of the World Bank Group

The CFIL workshop brought together partners including the World Bank Group, International Finance Corporation (IFC), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES) — underscoring Malaysia’s role in developing blended-finance mechanisms that link environmental integrity with investor confidence.

By combining nature-based solutions, community stewardship, and technology-driven monitoring, the Coastal Oasis Initiative exemplifies how conservation can evolve into a scalable national model for sustainable financing — turning rivers and coastal ecosystems into assets that continually regenerate ecological and social value.

About Planters International Berhad
Planters International Berhad is a Malaysian-based environmental company leading forest-landscape restoration, biodiversity protection, and circular-economy innovation. Its flagship programmes — including Coastal Oasis: Sungai Klang (marine swamp forest, riparian, mangrove) and the Planters Enrichment & Reforestation Programme (land forest, poor forest) — integrate technology, science, and community participation under the AFAM framework to deliver measurable conservation impact.