Marine resource and ecosystem management aims to overcome natural resource degradation, climate change and marine pollution, as well as socio-economic vulnerability of coastal communities
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Environment and Forestry Ministry invites business actors to contribute to mangrove forest restoration and conservation as one of the attempts to mitigate the impacts of climate change in Indonesia.

"Protecting mangroves as a blue carbon ecosystem does not only aim to reduce emissions and increase carbon sequestration but also to preserve healthy mangroves that can provide benefits for the community’s welfare," Director General of Sustainable Forest Management at the ministry Agus Justianto noted in a press release on Tuesday.

The ministry estimated that the forestry and other land use sector in Indonesia will be able to absorb around 113.18 gigatons of carbon, with 33 billion tons absorbed by mangrove forests, 55 billion tons by peatlands, and 25.18 billion tons by tropical forests.

In addition, Indonesia's carbon trade potential is projected to reach Rp350 trillion.

Mangrove ecosystems have a quite high blue carbon value and play a major role in achieving the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets, so their restoration must be supported by all parties.

The director general assessed that restoration attempts are important to bolster the resilience of Indonesia’s coastal areas to face various environmental problems.

Related news: Mangrove ecosystem can store carbon for thousands of years: BRGM

“Marine resource and ecosystem management aims to overcome natural resource degradation, climate change and marine pollution, as well as socio-economic vulnerability of coastal communities," he remarked.

Indonesia has the largest mangrove forest area in the world. According to the One Map Mangrove Indonesia, the total area of the country’s mangrove forests reaches 3.3 million hectares, or equivalent to 20 percent of the total area of mangrove forests in the world.

Deputy Head for Environment and Forestry at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) Silverus Oscar Unggul said his side had encouraged business players to collaborate to restore mangroves in Indonesia.

Several business players, such as state-run oil and gas company PT Pertamina (Persero), state-owned electricity provider PT PLN (Persero), state-run tin mining corporation PT Timah, as well as private-owned energy company PT Indika Energy, have actively contributed to the preservation of mangrove ecosystems through their corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs.

"Protecting, developing, and preserving mangrove forests can be conducted well if all stakeholders work hand-in-hand and are committed to realizing successful sustainable mangrove restoration," Unggul added.

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Translator: Sugiharto Purnama, Uyu Liman
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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