Meet our Team: 
Dr Siti Maryam Yaakub

Meet our team: Dr Siti Maryam Yaakub. She leads the International Blue Carbon Institute as the Director.

Dr. Siti Maryam Yaakub is a marine ecologist and works across tropical marine and coastal habitats. Her work and research interests broadly lie in the areas of ecosystem restoration and nature-based solutions for adaptation and mitigation in marine environments. Within this, she is specifically interested in using seagrass habitats as a model system for understanding ecological thresholds to stress, ecosystem resilience, and the effects of human activities and climate change on the marine environment.

In her new role, Siti will lead the newly-formed Singapore-based institute that is helping mitigate climate change through the restoration and protection of coastal blue carbon ecosystems. With support from partners like the Singapore Economic Development Board and Amazon, the Institute aims to play a vital role in developing projects and policies that protect and restore coastal blue carbon ecosystems to mitigate climate change. By collaborating with governments in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, the Institute will support the integration of blue carbon into climate strategies at different levels.

Siti's passion for the ocean began at a young age when she had her first snorkeling experience in Sabah, Malaysia. Inspired by the wonders of the ocean, she pursued marine biology as an undergraduate at James Cook University in Northern Queensland, Australia, where the Great Barrier Reef was a living classroom. She experienced first-hand how human activities like overfishing and coral bleaching impacted ecosystem health and resilience. These experiences shaped her career choices, where she found the purpose of using science to conserve and restore marine ecosystems.

In addition to her scientific pursuits, Siti enjoys meaningful conversations, a good fantasy novel, and unabashedly partaking in karaoke. She also showcases her tennis skills in an amateur ladies' tennis league in Singapore.

If you'd like to find out more about the International Blue Carbon Institute, please contact us at IBCI@conservation.org