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Sungai Moroli in Malaysian Borneo is a thriving ecosystem. Tourists flock there for "fish massages": as they wade in the water, fish nibble their feet. Villagers harvest fish according to a communal system that ensures sustainability.

Profits from the river benefit the village, Kampung Luanti Baru, about 130km east of Kota Kinabalu. The river provides jobs for 22 residents and some of the tourism revenue goes toward children's school fees.

It's hard to believe that just eight years ago, Sungai Moroli was a river of trash.

"This river was a rubbish dump," Jeffreng Majangki, chairman of the communal program that oversees the river, told the New Straits Times newspaper. "Villagers threw rubbish into it, and motorists travelling along the main road did the same."

Jeffreng said he faced resistance when he began his drive to restore the waterway to health.

"I bought chicken wings and held a barbeque to attract youths to help clean the river and eventually, it was done," he recalled.

"Within a year, fish returned."

The communal system known as tagal ensures tourists and locals don't overfish the restored river.

"We have the red zone where no fishing is allowed at any time," Salleh, a member of the village tagal committee, told the newspaper.

"The yellow zone is where we harvest fish once a year and in the green zone, we allow people to catch the fish at any time but they pay a fee on whatever they catch."

The village has built huts to provide shade for anglers. It has also begun to provide jungle trekking tours. All tourism activities are planned for environmental sustainability, Jeffren said.

"We must not destroy nature," he explained. "If we fail, our children will blame us."

JG