As ASEAN moves through a period of rapid energy growth, its progress has opened a wider conversation about how development can sit more gently within the region’s natural landscapes.  

Forests, rivers and coastlines shape daily life and hold rich biodiversity that communities depend on for food, livelihoods and protection from climate risks. With future power needs in view, many countries are looking for ways to strengthen access while keeping these environments healthy. 

New technologies, stronger environmental standards and better ecological data are helping guide this shift. Many projects are applying nature-informed planning from the earliest stages, drawing on biodiversity mapping, hydrological studies and habitat assessments to understand the landscapes they move through.  

This is shaping a more thoughtful approach to development across the region, and together, they signal a growing belief that long-term energy progress and environmental wellbeing can be strengthened at the same time. 

Rethinking energy development through a nature-first lens 

The effort to build cleaner and more efficient power solutions invites nature to play a larger role in energy planning. With rising renewable energy projects across ASEAN, this growth is encouraging planners to consider how each site can support biodiversity and nearby communities. Climate and nature goals already move in similar directions, and early planning helps keep them aligned as energy demand grows. 

Past infrastructure sometimes placed pressure on landscapes through habitat loss or disturbances to species. These experiences show why and how future projects could benefit from nature-first approaches that limit ecological impacts and support community resilience.  

Low-emissions power systems should advance both climate goals under the Paris Agreement and biodiversity goals under the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework which aims to halt nature loss. This requires an integrated, strategic approach to sector and project planning that systematically considers biodiversity from the outset.  

Global good practices and guidelines already exist to guide nature-positive engineering, including biodiversity mapping, hydrological modelling, and habitat-risk assessments. Indeed, studies show adopting a nature-inclusive approach in renewables and related grid projects can result in 75% lower risks to biodiversity than business as usual. 

Against this backdrop, Southeast Asia is seeing a new generation of energy projects that link ecological measures to the viability of renewables and supporting infrastructure. Regional energy companies and governments are adopting sustainable practices that demonstrate how progress and preservation can advance together.  

How TNB integrates environmental stewardship into Malaysia’s energy expansion 

Among the world’s 17 megadiverse countries with a wealth of natural capital, Malaysia is well-positioned to create an enabling environment for nature-positive energy. As the country continues to build the nation through essential energy infrastructure, environmental care has become an important companion to this work. The nation has proactively embedded environmental stewardship into various clean energy projects, ensuring new grid infrastructure supports the Rakyat while protecting surrounding natural ecosystems.

In recent years, the country’s leading utility, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) exemplified this effort through the construction of its new electricity overhead transmission lines through the Chiling River near Kuala Kubu Bharu. The river is a critical freshwater sanctuary that shelters sensitive fish species like ikan kelah and ikan tengas.  

To ensure a thorough understanding of the river’s delicate ecosystem, TNB launched the Chiling River Fish Monitoring, Nursing, and Rehabilitation Programme. The comprehensive initiative focused on the efforts to nurture, monitor, and support the recovery of existing aquatic species, as well as restore the health of the riverbanks and adjacent ecosystems. This initiative is aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), most notably SDG 13: Climate Action, SDG 14: Life Below Water and SDG 15: Life on Land. 

TNB’s programme was designed with long-term ecological resilience in mind, aligning with both national and international conservation frameworks. Domestically, TNB’s approach supported Malaysia’s National Policy on Biological Diversity 2016-2025. Globally, it followed the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework as a guiding reference.  

With a strong emphasis on multi-stakeholder involvement, the programme also saw the participation of local communities in river conservation activities. Meanwhile, technical support from the Department of Fisheries (DOF) and Selangor State Forestry Department ensured best practices were followed in fish nursing and population monitoring.   

As a result, TNB’s programme has yielded significant positive impacts on the Chiling River ecosystem, evidenced by measurable outcomes. Within just three months, the fish population rose by 93%, with improved fish health indices and fewer disease prevalence – standing as a model for successful, science-based, community-driven conservation.  

Mainstreaming biodiversity in ASEAN’s energy system

Across ASEAN, a growing number of countries are similarly embracing nature-inclusive design, biodiversity safeguards, and climate-resilient engineering. Many energy projects are adopting meaningful mitigation and conservation measures, ensuring that sensitive habitats and endangered species remain protected from the earliest planning stages.  

Cambodia’s Lower Sesan II Hydropower Station features a dedicated fish-friendly bypass channel that preserves migration routes essential to local fisheries. Complementary habitat restoration around the reservoir helps stabilise surrounding ecosystems, ensuring hydropower expansion supports biodiversity and community livelihoods.  

The largest renewable energy company in the Philippines, Energy Development Corporation, integrates biodiversity corridors and forest restoration into geothermal facilities through its long-running BINHI programme, meaning ‘young plants’ or ‘seedlings’ in Tagalog, where a comprehensive initiative aimed at improving literacy and environmental conservation among children is emphasised. The company’s efforts demonstrate how baseload renewable power can coexist with ecosystem conservation.  

Other regional utilities are also adopting measures such as wildlife corridors, riparian buffer zones, and remote environmental monitoring to limit ecological disturbance. Ultimately, all these innovations reflect a broader regional shift: energy infrastructure that works together with natural systems, enhancing long-term sustainability and resilience. 

Charting a collective path to progress that protects nature 

Sustainable energy development is no longer an optional ideal

Sustainable energy development is no longer an optional ideal, it is a regional necessity to ensure climate resilience, ecological protection, and community well–being. This requires effective coordination across government, utilities, and energy companies for tapping into synergies and addressing trade-offs in renewables expansion.  

Clear regulatory frameworks, nature-based guidelines and long-term ecological monitoring are essential to sustain biodiversity while meeting rising energy needs. Mainstreaming biodiversity in electricity planning not only mitigates adverse biodiversity impacts, but can also provide certainty to developers, investors, and regulators.  

By embracing nature-positive energy, ASEAN can build the infrastructure needed to power its future while keeping its rivers, forests, wildlife, and communities thriving. When all parties move in the same direction, Southeast Asia can become a global model for energy progress that protects the living world.