Cher Mei Chua

Cher Mei Chua is the Co-founder of Eco-Tourism Malaysia and a conservation leader whose work integrates marine conservation, regenerative tourism, and community development into a single place-based model. Through Tengah Island Conservation and Batu Batu, she has helped build reef and sea turtle protection initiatives alongside a guesthouse and community space that make conservation economically meaningful for local residents.

An Acumen Fellow, Cher Mei demonstrates how thriving ecosystems and thriving communities can reinforce one another. Her work offers a practical model for protecting biodiversity while creating sustainable livelihoods, showing how conservation can become an enduring part of local economies.