From 1990, Miyawaki worked on restoring severely degraded tropical forests, including that of Bintulu (Sarawak, Malaysia). Thanks to sponsors, a seed bank of 201 tree species (mainly Dipterocarpaceae) from potential natural vegetation produced 600,000 seedlings in pots which were annually planted on site, under various conditions. In 2005, the surviving plants from 1991 (a major natural selection takes place, as is desired in the method) measured over 20 meters in height (growth of more than 1 metre per year) and the sedimentary facies of a young rainforest was reconstituting, protecting the soil, while fauna also was gradually reappearing.