ISME News

Held at the International Mangrove Botanical Garden Rama IX in Chanthaburi, Thailand, from 10 to 12 May 2026, the mangrove symposium was organized by the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) of Thailand. The symposium was attended by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, the Director-General of the DMCR, as well as representatives from government and administrative bodies, including the Governor of Chanthaburi Province, alongside academics, researchers, and representatives from NPOs and NGOs in Thailand. Presentations and discussions covered topics such as the conservation of mangrove forests and coastal ecosystems, the importance of mangroves as a source of blue carbon, the socio-economic values of mangrove ecosystems, and policies regarding the sustainability of mangrove forest management. Prof. Dr. Sanit Aksornkoae, the President of ISME and former Chairman of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) of Thailand, delivered a special lecture at the opening of the symposium. Prof. Dr. Shigeyuki Baba, the Executive Director of ISME, and Prof. Dr. Toyohiko Miyagi, Senior Principal Researcher of ISME and Professor Emeritus at Tohoku Gakuin University, attended the event. Prof. Miyagi delivered an oral presentation on impacts of the rapid sea-level rise on mangrove ecosystems in the Indo-Pacific region. The symposium provided a valuable opportunity to exchange views and information with mangrove stakeholders from both within and outside Thailand.

At the invitation of His Excellency Shihab Ahmad Alfaheem, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Arab Emirates to Japan, Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Tokyo, and INPEX/JODCO Foundation, five students from Yaeyama High School, Yaeyama Agriculture and Forestry High School, and Yaeyama Commerce and Industry High School, together with an accompanying school teacher, planted mangroves in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in December 2024. The planting activity took place on 17 December 2024 at the Jubail Mangrove Park, Abu Dhabi, organized by INPEX/JODCO Foundation and Abu Dhabi Environment Agency. The activity was also attended by students of Abu Dhabi Japanese School, officials of the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency, local staff and Director of the INPEX/JODCO Foundation, and Executive Director of ISME. Officials from the Yaeyama Lions Club and students’ parents also participated in the activity at their own expense. After the planting activity, the students from Ishigaki visited Sea World Aquarium in the afternoon of the same day, Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital the next day, and the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque the day after. This dream visit became a reality at the invitation by His Excellency Alfaheem, the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Tokyo, and INPEX/JODCO Foundation. The invitation was initiated by Ambassador Alfaheem, following a previous mangrove planting activity held in Nagura Bay, Ishigaki Island in September 2024, co-organized by INPEX/JODCO Foundation, the Yaeyama Lions Club, and ISME, to which a number of high school students in Ishigaki participated.

H.E. Ambassador Alfaheem and his three sons visited Ishigaki Island to plant mangroves at Nagura Bay on Ishigaki Island on 28 September 2024. The event was jointly organized by INPEX/JODOCO Foundation, Yaeyama Lions Club, and ISME. It was participated by about 100 people including students from Yaeyama High School, Yaeyama Agriculture and Forestry High School, Yaeyama Commerce and Industry High School, and Self Defense Force officers stationed on Ishigaki Island. Approximately 600 seedlings of Rhizophora stylosa were planted.

One of ISME's websites, “Mangroves and Their Friends,” which was designed and launched in 2000 for children and the general public, is now being renewed. The renewed website includes pictorial book of mangroves in Japan, through which users can look up mangroves by their names or by the shapes of their roots, leaves, flowers, etc. It also includes pictorial book of fauna that inhabits mangrove forests, and “Mangrove Knowledge Column” that provides easy-to-understand explanations about mangroves. The renewed website will also include photo galleries of mangroves from various parts of the world. The English version of the website is under preparation, but we hope to be able to go online shortly.

In cooperation with the SFD, a study tour was conducted in Sabah from 11 to 15 August 2024 for six graduate/undergraduate students and six high school teachers from Tokyo. The six students were from Hokkaido University, Tohoku University, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, and Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine. All students were graduated from Tokyo Metropolitan Tachikawa High School. Since it was for university students and high school teachers, the study tour was conducted in Kota Kinabalu and Beaufort and was accompanied by ISME Executive Director Prof. Dr. Shigeyuki Baba and the SFD Mangrove Task Force headed by Dr. Joseph Tangah. The study tour included a visit to an ISME/SFD project site in Beaufort, observation of mangrove fireflies and proboscis monkeys, oil palm plantations, and rubber plantations. At the suggestion of a teacher who participated in this tour, a study tour for high school students of a Tokyo metropolitan high school is planned for March 2025.

In today's climate crisis, mangrove forests are attracting more attention than ever as a mitigation measure against global warming as "blue carbon sink" because it is said to have a higher carbon sequestration function than terrestrial forest ecosystems. However, growth rate differs greatly depending on the tree species that make up the mangrove forest and other factors such as salinity. It is desirable to accumulate detailed data on tree growth according to the tree species and growth environment. Therefore, ISME has decided to conduct surveys on environment and a growth rate as well as belowground carbon stock at the mangrove forests of Sepilok Laut and at the project site in the Weston River. With the help of the Mangrove Task Force of SFD and more than 10 other SFD staff members, the surveys were conducted from 14 to 29 July 2024. Surveys were conducted on Pulau ISME (ISME Island) in the Weston River, LTER (Long-Term Ecological Research) in Sepilok Laut, and the former aquaculture pond at Sungai Tokio Marine in Kunak. The LTER Site, a natural mangrove forest with a walkway, was recommended for long-term monitoring by Dr. H. T. Chan (Executive Member of ISME and former Director of the Research Management Division of the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia), and Prof. J. E. Ong (a member of ISME and former Professor of Universiti Sains Malaysia, who passed away in 2021). Forest surveys included an investigation of below-ground carbon sequestration and volume of the prop roots of the genus Rhizophora. Single tree information such as tree height, breast height diameter, and individual location through the 3-D data obtained using a hand-held LiDAR-SLAM was also analyzed. The Forest Research Center (FRC) of the SFD is currently analyzing the carbon content of the forest soil. It will take some time to get all the results, but the data obtained will be shared with ISME and SFD.

The 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), in November 2023. Prior to COP28, His Excellency Mr. Shihab Ahmed Alfaheem, Ambassador of the UAE to Japan, and his son planted mangroves on 12 November 2023 at Nagura Bay on Ishigaki Island, Okinawa, Japan, to pray for the success of COP28. The event was co-hosted by ISME and the Yaeyama Lions Club and was attended by more than 30 people, including H.E. Ambassador Alfaheem and his son, ISME Executive Director Prof. Dr. Shigeyuki Baba and his staff, members of Yaeyama Lions Club, Representative Director of the INPEX/JODCO Foundation Mr. Hiroshi Fujii, Ms. Sayumi Tamaoka of the said Foundation, Mr. Motohiko Kogo and Ms. Kiyomi Kogo of Action for Mangrove Restoration (ACTMANG), students from Yaeyama High School, Yaeyama Agriculture and Forestry High School, and other high schools in Ishigaki Island. Despite the rain, the participants planted 130 seedlings of Rhizophora stylosa.

The International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems (ISME) has been conducting mangrove forest rehabilitation and conservation activities in many countries in Africa and Latin America as well as Asia since its inauguration in 1990.

SUDEESA, a NGO in Sri Lanka, asked us for scientific and technical support of mangrove forest rehabilitation and conservation since 2016. The Postal Ministry of Sri Lanka issued a commemorative postage stamp and first day cover of Prof. Dr. Shigeyuki Baba, the ISME Executive Director, in conjunction with the International Mangrove Day on 26 July 2022. The stamp has been franked with the ISME logo and the envelope carries the national flags of Sri Lanka and Japan, reflecting the close friendship between the two countries. ISME is truly honored and extends its heartfelt gratitude to the Postal Ministry of Sri Lanka and SUDEESA.

The year 2020 marks a decade of collaboration on mangrove rehabilitation in Sabah between Sabah Forestry Department (SFD) and ISME, with funding from Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. (TMNF) and collaboration from the Tropical Biosphere Research Centre (TBRC) of University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, Japan.

A book entitled ‘Rehabilitation of Mangroves in Sabah: The SFD-ISME Project (2014-2019)’ was published in January 2020. The publication features planting activities, research and achievements of Phase Two of the project.

For more information, please click here.

From 27−29 August 2019, staff of Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. (TMNF) visited Kota Kinabalu and nearby areas of Sabah, accompanied by officials from Sabah Forestry Department (SFD) and ISME. Headed by Mr Makoto Okada (Vice-President), the delegation of 41 staff members from TMNF planted mangroves in Sulaman Wetlands in Tuaran on 27 August and in Pulau ISME in Beaufort on 28 August.

On 22 October 2018, HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presided over the Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony in Chanthaburi. The ceremony officially launched the International Mangrove Botanical Garden Rama IX, established in honor of His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The first in Thailand and probably in the world, the garden covers an area of 83 ha and construction will take three years to complete. One of the objectives of the garden is to serve as a network center for mangrove forest conservation, working in partnership with ISME which has members from 93 countries around the world. The ceremony in Chanthaburi was jointly organized by the National Legislative Assembly of Thailand, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR). Present at the event was Prof. Sanit Aksornkoae (Member of the National Legislative Assembly of Thailand and President of ISME), Prof. Shigeyuki Baba (Executive Director of ISME) and Dr. H.T. Chan (Executive Treasurer of ISME). Ambassadors and officials from various embassies in Bangkok were also invited.

The 16th PSC Meeting was held in the Belian Room, SFD Headquarters in Sandakan on 20 August 2018 and chaired by Mahsor Hj. Mohd, the newly appointed Acting Chief Conservator of Forests. ISME was represented by Prof Shigeyuki Baba, Prof J.E. Ong, Dr H.T. Chan, Dr Mami Kainuma and Mr Katsuhiko Sato. Among the agenda discussed were the publication of the coffee-table book on the phase two project (2015−2019) and the visit of staff members from the Tokio Marine Nichido Fire Insurance Co. Ltd. to Sabah in 2019 to plant mangroves.

Prof. Shigeyuki Baba making his presentation at the Ipoh Conference. His paper was entitled 'Community participation: What we have learned from our mangrove projects'.
ISME Newsletter（No.40 PDF) is here