3 Feb (Sat): Talk by Ben Brown, pioneer of Ecological Mangrove Restoration in Asia

Mr Ben Brown (Co-founder of Blue Forests) is the pioneer of Ecological Mangrove Restoration (EMR) in Asia. We are lucky to have him share his experience at this FREE public talk at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

The talk is free but registration required. Limited to 35 people.


Ben Brown will also be guiding the Restore Ubin Mangrove (R.U.M.) Initiative design mangrove restoration at Pulau Ubin based on feedback by the community including Ubin villagers, stakeholders and the general public.

Do you have ideas for mangrove restoration? Just share them ideas on the R.U.M. online survey! https://tinyurl.com/restoremangroves

Mangrove rehabilitation in South East Asia - the state of practice

The talk will begin with a discussion on recent trends and current needs with regards to mangrove degradation. Then, it will move into two major issues which have resulted in significant mangrove rehabilitation failure before focusing on successful case studies in the region. The talk will end with recommendations for improved assessment of mangrove rehabilitation opportunity; from social, economic, policy and biophysical perspectives, in order to inform national and regional planning and implementation.

Date: 3 Feb (Sat)
Time: 11am-12noon
Venue: Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Visitor Centre. Please meet at Bakau Lab, Visitor Centre (Kranji Way entrance)
Website: https://www.nparks.gov.sg/
Contact: nparks_sbwr@nparks.gov.sg

About the speaker

Benjamin Brown has been living and working in Indonesia since 1995. After graduating with a B.Sc. from the Univeristy of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources, yet before coming to Indonesia, Ben Brown worked in the fields of environmental education and habitat restoration, throughout the United States and Canada. Upon moving to Indonesia, Ben volunteered for three years; at an environmental education center in the mountains of East Java and at a community based coastal resource management NGO in North Sulawesi.

In 2000, Ben founded a small grassroots NGO called Yayasan Akar Rumput Laut (YARL), based in Yogyakarta, Java. YARL implemented programs in Indonesia on behalf of Mangrove Action Project, an international NGO with its Asian base in Trang, Southern Thailand. Ben also worked during this time for Mangrove Action Project in a regional capacity, leading trainings and small projects in Cambodia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Timor Leste. YARL officially became MAP-Indonesia in 2007, at the time implementing programs in 7 provinces in Indonesia.

Most recently, MAP-Indonesia was engaged in the 5 year Restoring Coastal Livelihood Project in South Sulawesi, which included 500 hectares of Ecological Mangrove Rehabilitation, 2000 hectares of improved Coastal Management area and the implementation of 72 Coastal Field Schools leading to livelihoods development. MAP-Indonesia was also engaged in Papua with the USAID IFACS project, responsible for forming a multi-stakeholder mangrove management working group and developing an integrated management plan for the world- class 750,000 hectares Mimika mangroves and lowland swamp forest.

In 2013, Ben co-founded Blue Forests, which has undertaken projects in Aceh and Sulawesi. Ben is co- author of several peer-reviewed papers, a peer-reviewed mangrove rehabilitation manual and a recent UNEP guidelines for coastal carbon projects. Ben is currently a member of the IUCN Mangrove Specialist Group, and a PhD Candidate at Charles Darwin University – Research Institute for Environment and Livelihoods.

More about Blue Forest on their website and facebook page.