Mangrove as frontliners: Sungai Merbok’s green wall for sustainable biodiversity and future generations

Sungai Merbok in Kedah highlights how mangroves, often misunderstood as messy and muddy obstructions, are actually highly orchestrated landscapes that act as resilient frontlines protecting human settlements. Rather than resisting the water, these ecosystems negotiate with it through a complex network of twisting roots and dense canopies that stabilize river edges, trap sediments, channel tidal currents, and absorb storm surges, making them vital to both local biodiversity and coastal communities.