Ministry of Forestry: Mangrove Ecosystem is the Attention of the Government and the World

TANJUNG SELOR - Director of Mangrove Rehabilitation, Directorate General of River Basin Management and Forest Rehabilitation of the Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) Nikolas Nugroho Surjobasuindro said that the mangrove ecosystem in Indonesia has become the attention of the government and the world.

"This mangrove ecosystem area is important and is the attention of the Government of Indonesia and the world, especially at this time," he said in the Kick Off Meeting and Socialization of the Implementation of the Forest Programme (FP) VI in Tanjung Selor, North Kalimantan Province (Kaltara), Tuesday.

According to him, the mangrove ecosystem is attention because of the threat of climate change, one of the impacts of which is the rise in sea level. Because, he said, with the rise in sea level, there are many threats in Indonesia which is an archipelago country.

"Due to the rise in sea level, it can submerge several small islands or reduce the land area. Therefore, the existence of mangroves is important today in Indonesia," he said.

Nikolas said the Ministry of Defense had conveyed to the Ministry of Finance in several previous meetings in Jakarta that mangroves have a fairly essential interest in maintaining state sovereignty.

"So this is important when there is a rise in sea level, waves and abrasion, it becomes a very significant danger on the outermost islands in Indonesia which have been the state border," he said.

If there is a reduction in land as a state border, he continued, it will have an impact not only on national sovereignty, but also on the utilization of the exclusive economic zone whose boundaries are usually measured from the outer coastal limits.

"This is why the position of mangroves is important not only in the province of Kaltara, but also in all regions of Indonesia, and what we need to realize is that mangroves in Indonesia are the largest mangroves in the world. The area is 3.4 million hectares or 23 percent of the world's total mangroves," said Nikolas.

With the area of mangrove forest, he said, which is of great interest to other countries to Indonesia in supporting the management of mangrove ecosystems in Indonesia, especially making Indonesia a place to learn about mangrove rehabilitation and management.

"Many other countries have made Indonesia a visit to learn how mangroves can be managed based on local wisdom," he said.

Indonesia, he continued, has hundreds of local wisdom on how communities traditionally manage mangroves and are different in each location. In fact, he said, mangrove management between one village and another can be different within one district or with one administrative area.

"Well, this is what makes our wealth in Indonesia which we need to protect and need to resonate with the international community that Indonesia can maintain local wisdom but also have a clear commitment to maintaining the existence of mangroves in our country," he said as quoted by Antara.