Mr. Affendi Yang Amri, Universiti Malaya

Affendi Yang Amri is a Research Officer at Universiti Malaya’s Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences (IOES) and a leading expert in coral reef ecology, conservation, and rehabilitation. His research focuses on the biology of Scleractinian corals, particularly along Johor’s east coast.

Affendi began his marine science career in the 1990s at Universiti Malaya, studying mangrove ecology with Dr. A. Sasekumar. He later trained in coral ecophysiology and thermal bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia with Professor Ove Hoegh Guldberg.

In the late 1990s, Affendi helped establish the Reef Check Initiative in Peninsular Malaysia, which later evolved into Reef Check Malaysia. He is the elected President of the Malaysian Society of Marine Sciences (MSMS) and Malaysia’s co-coordinator for the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) East Asia.

Affendi is dedicated to addressing the impacts of climate change on coral reefs, with a focus on ecosystem connectivity, coral rehabilitation through Project PULIH, and the MyIMCA report.