During the Sept 11, 2025 expedition the students, who formed 38 teams of five or six members each, were given a first-hand look at the intricacies of how the robust water-management system, complete with its bunds and surface water monitoring as well as mangroves system, work in harmony to ease pressure on the environment.
The visit, which is part of the ongoing Coastal Flooding Adaptation and Resilience (COFAR) Challenge, will serve as a living case study in the urgent challenges and opportunities of coastal adaptation.
The COFAR Challenge is organised by the Securities Commission Malaysia in collaboration with ICAEW Malaysia (the Malaysian chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales) and the Southeast Asia Disaster Prevention Research Institute of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (SEADPRI-UKM).
SD Guthrie Bhd (Guthrie), which has plantations on Carey Island, serves as the technical partner for the challenge.
The students had their first look at Malaysia’s climate adaptation needs at the COFAR Challenge webinar in August where they learned how finance and innovation could be mobilised.
This was followed by the Sept 11 visit to Carey Island. The teams will submit a detailed proposal and video pitch in October.
The challenge will culminate in November when teams that have been shortlisted will present their proposals at the ICAEW-Asean Sustainability Summit.
The final results will be announced at the Asean Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) International Conference 2025 in November.
The team with the best proposal to manage the growing threat of coastal flooding in Malaysia will be awarded a RM25,000 cash prize. Teams in the second and third places will be awarded cash prizes of RM15,000 and RM10,000.
Guthrie said the objective of the challenge is to engage undergraduates in designing real-world solutions to the problem of coastal flooding, such as adapting to new conditions and resilience against environmental threats.
Guthrie’s chief innovation and research officer David Ross Appleton described Carey Island as an example of how nature, engineering and community stewardship can work together to protect the environment from climate risks.
“For Guthrie, the COFAR Challenge is more than just a competition. It reaffirms Carey Island’s role as a living laboratory for climate adaptation, where nature, innovation, and collaboration converge to shape solutions for one of the most critical challenges we face today,” he said.
He said it underscored Guthrie’s commitment to sustainable development and climate resilience. “The company’s experience in water management, biodiversity conservation, and stewardship over Carey Island’s ecosystems aligns closely with COFAR’s aspirations,” he added.
“As the competition advances to the next stage, one message is clear: confronting climate change demands bold ideas, cross-sector collaboration, and solutions grounded in real-world environments like Carey Island,” Appleton, who will also be among the panel of judges, added.
The eventual winners will not only celebrate their success but, more importantly, help shape Malaysia’s coastal adaptation roadmap at a time when rising seas and shifting weather patterns call for urgent action.