Bogor, indomaritim.com – Environment Minister Moh. Jumhur Hidayat revealed that approximately 700,000 hectares of mangroves areas across Indonesia are currently damaged and require urgent restoration.
According to Antara News Agency, Jumhur speaking at the Indonesian Bamboo Foundation in Cibinong, West Java, Sunday, he revealed that the damaged areas account for nearly a fifth of the nation’s total 3.4-million-hectare mangrove footprint.
“Of the 3.4 million hectares of mangroves, approximately 700,000 hectares are problematic and damaged. This is part of our responsibility to ensure mangrove replanting,” Jumhur stated.
According to the minister, accelerated mangrove restoration is vital for global climate change mitigation, given the ecosystem’s extraordinary capacity to trap greenhouse gases.
“Mangroves can have the same benefits as ordinary plants, absorbing four times as much carbon dioxide,” he explained.
In addition to environmental conservation, a healthy mangrove ecosystem serves as a direct economic driver for coastal communities by sustaining local fisheries and green industries.
“If mangroves are healthy, many economic activities can be carried out, starting from crabs and fish, to food production and various other things,” Jumhur added.
While the government is actively driving rehabilitation campaigns ahead of National Mangrove Day on July 26, the minister urged all stakeholders, including regional administrations and private developers, to protect existing mangrove forests.
He asserted that any unavoidable reduction of mangrove zones must be offset by larger, compounding replanting initiatives elsewhere.
“For those who cause damage due to development-related causes – whether local governments, the central government, or anyone else – ensure that the number of mangroves planted is increased so that we can maintain their integrity,” he stressed.
The ministry will continue to tighten cooperation with local governments, environmental NGOs, and civil society to integrate mangrove rehabilitation into the national environmental recovery roadmap to ensure continuous, year-round planting. (Edo)
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