...we have not had any regulations that stipulate which one is protected peatland or which one is included as cultivated peatland.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia has large carbon reserves in mangrove areas, which must be managed well to prevent them from becoming sources of emission, head of the National Peatland and Mangrove Restoration Agency (BRGM), Hartono, has said.

At a virtual workshop on ‘Blue Carbon in Developing Blue Economy and Reaching the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Target,’ he said that according to research, carbon is not only reserved above the ground surface of the mangrove area, but also beneath it, with the average total carbon reserve touching 500–950 tons of carbon per hectare.

Meanwhile, Indonesia has around 3.36 million hectares of mangroves and 3 million hectares of seagrass meadows, he noted.

"The large carbon reserve has the potential to be utilized, but it also becomes a burden for us since we have to ensure that it can be managed properly, thus it will not be a source of emissions," the BRGM head said.

Furthermore, he highlighted that the area under mangrove cover in Indonesia is projected to decline.

Based on the net deforestation scenario drawn up by the Center for Standardization of Disaster and Climate Change Resilience Instruments of the Environment and Forestry Ministry, Indonesia is expected to lose 12,818 hectares of its mangrove area per year.

Meanwhile, according to the gross deforestation scenario, the average decline in mangrove area coverage will be 26,114 hectares per year.

A number of areas under mangrove cover do not have forest area status since some of them are included as areas for other purposes (APL), he noted. This is one of the reasons that has led to the continued decline in total mangrove area coverage.

"However, the APL is determined in accordance with our spatial plan since we have not had any regulations that stipulate which one is protected peatland or which one is included as cultivated peatland,” he said.

Hence, BRGM is preparing regulations on mangrove area utilization to be complied by all stakeholders using the area, he added.

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Translator: Prisca Violleta, Uyu Liman
Editor: Suharto
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