Mataram, University of Mataram – The University of Mataram (Unram) is proud to announce a new research project to address the challenges of the Indonesian and Southeast Asian seaweed industry. ‘GLOBALSEAWEED-PROTECT’ is one of the projects funded by the United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) in 2025, worth around 4 million USD.

This research collaborative project is a consortium between Unram and the Natural History Museum (NHM) of the United Kingdom (UK) and other strong partnerships including the Scottish Association for Marine Science, University of Malaya, Kasetsart University, University of the Philippines Diliman, Yunus Thailand, United Nations University and Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology.

The three-year project, ‘GLOBALSEAWEED-PROTECT’, led by Prof. Juliet Brodie from NHM will develop improved seaweed breeds and renewable farming systems that are resilient and adaptive to current climate conditions. The implementation of the ‘GLOBALSEAWEED-PROTECT’ project covers most of Southeast Asia including Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

For Indonesia, it will be led by Unram under the coordination of Dr. Eka Prasedya. In previous research, Dr. Eka and his team have discovered a “wild” type of Kappaphycus seaweed that is suspected to be a new species and has the potential to be a superior type of seaweed.

Dr. Eka explained, “We are grateful to the Rector who has always fully supported seaweed research activities at the University of Mataram. Our achievement in obtaining prestigious international funding like this, of course, cannot be separated from the important role of university leaders. This is a great opportunity for Unram to continue its strong partnerships with research institutions in the UK and Southeast Asia, working together synergistically to increase the productivity of the Indonesian seaweed industry as well as Southeast Asia.”

Seaweed is amazing. A world without seaweed means destruction for the Earth’s ecological functions and food security. This research is expected to be an active contribution to the development of a better future for the planet.