Ministry stresses swift mangrove rehabilitation action in Indonesia

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Environment emphasized the urgent need to maintain and rehabilitate Indonesia's mangrove ecosystem, as the country risks losing 19,501 hectares of mangroves annually.

During the 2025 Environment Day National Seminar monitored online here on Monday, the ministry's Deputy for Environmental Damage and Pollution Control Rasio Ridho Sani noted that Indonesia possesses 3.44 million hectares of mangroves, accounting for 23 percent of the world's total 14.7 million hectares.

"Every year, we lose approximately 19,501 hectares of mangroves. Thus, we need very serious action to address the loss of mangroves," he stressed.

Most of Indonesia's mangroves—about 2.7 million hectares or 79.6 percent—are located within forest areas. Meanwhile, the remaining 701,326 hectares are found outside forest areas.

"The areas need to be maintained and increased since mangroves are one of the nature-based solutions to deal with climate change," he remarked.

He explained that mangrove ecosystems have a greater carbon storage capacity than terrestrial ecosystems, which also have the potential to support the development of Indonesia's carbon economic value.

"Mangroves can also be natural coastal protectors, sites of ecotourism, filters to improve water quality, and habitats for biodiversity," he remarked.

On that occasion, he also outlined several threats to Indonesia's mangrove ecosystem, including land use change, illegal logging, waste pollution, rising sea levels, altered rainfall patterns and increasing temperatures, as well as sub-optimal law enforcement and supervision.

He stressed the importance of collaboration among the Ministry of Environment, regional governments, universities, and cooperatives to increase mangrove coverage.

"We must adopt several approaches for mangrove rehabilitation," Sani emphasized.