To Rehabilitate Rivers, Community Action Matters More Than Money

Community power matters more than money in river rehabilitation | Photo by ART!

In an article by Macaranga, ecosystem restoration activist Kennedy Michael asserts the importance of continuity, consistency and persistence matter in solving problems in river rehabilitation.

River degradation is a persistent challenge in rapidly urbanising Malaysia. Governance fragmentation, public disengagement, and infrastructural bias keep undermining ecosystem health. But long-term, community-driven, volunteer-led river ecosystem restoration and sustainability education provide a solution.

For over 390 consecutive weeks since 2018, the Taman Melawati, Kuala Lumpur, communities have looked after the 5km stretch of Klang River in their area.

Anchored by the Alliance of River Three (ART!) and operated by Community Action Nexus Berhad (CANB), these regular rather than episodic interventions, saw biodiversity return and governance start to be enacted through presence, repetition, and trust.

This approach recognises rivers as socio-ecological systems requiring not only technical intervention but also cultural, educational and behavioural transformation.

It also reduces, if not eliminates the potential for corruption to affect and influence the outcomes of the effort. We observe that corruption or the suspicion of corruption in governance has a substantial impact on the destruction of river ecosystems and their remediation.