Protecting and restoring Indonesia’s mangroves

Indonesia’s Group of 20 (G-20) presidency, under the banner of “Recover Together, Recover Stronger”, encourages member countries to achieve green economic recovery, and showcases Indonesia’s own vision to achieve green and low-emissions economic development.

The Agriculture, Forest and Land Use (AFOLU) sector has historically contributed the largest share of the country’s Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions, approximately 43 per cent in 2016, according to Indonesia’s updated National Determined Contribution (NDC) to the United Nations.

The government has enacted several related policies, including the ambitious target of converting forests and other types of land into a “carbon sink” by 2030. Achieving this will take bold policy changes and investments in different areas, particularly to protect critical, carbon-rich ecosystems such as primary forests, peatlands, and mangroves.

Indonesia harbors the largest area and diversity of mangrove ecosystems in the world. Mangroves support coastal livelihoods through fisheries (fish, crab, and other seafood), protect the country’s coasts from disasters, and store 3.14 billion tons of CO2, playing a significant role in mitigating global climate change. Recent World Bank research found Indonesia’s mangroves are worth approximately US$15,000 (S$20,880) per hectare on average, with some locations, particularly those near developed coastal areas, worth about US$50,000, due to their role in flood protection.

Despite having significant value, mangroves are regularly lost and converted to other uses, including aquaculture, agriculture, and infrastructure (including for housing and tourism). People living in coastal areas previously protected by mangroves are at higher threat from coastal disaster events such as flooding, erosion, and storms as well as decreased fish productivity.

Mangrove conversion also leads to biodiversity loss and significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. A recent study suggested that in this past ten years, mangrove conversion contributed to almost 200 million tons of CO2 going into the atmosphere, equivalent to the electricity use in over 35 million homes for one year.

The government of Indonesia has boldly committed to restore 600,000 ha of mangroves by 2024, the world’s largest mangrove restoration ambition to date. However, mangrove restoration comes with significant technical, social, and economic challenges. Hence, adopting three actions below is critical to enhance the success rates.

First, mangrove restoration needs to be firmly anchored in an “integrated landscape management”, which means conserving and restoring while strengthening the resilience of coastal communities. This integrated landscape approach requires cross-sectoral coordination with national, sub-national, and local institutions (government, NGOs and local communities) to plan, execute, and evaluate mangrove management.

Second, restoration needs to go beyond the planting of seedlings and include hydrological works to reestablish tidal flows and allow for mangrove seeds from nearby mangrove forests to disperse. The specific condition of the areas to be restored, quality of seedlings, medium-term management (e.g. tending, protection) and mid-course corrections can increase success rates.

Finally, the willingness, commitment, and engagement of local stakeholders to allow and support restoration is key and this requires providing them with concrete benefits in the short and medium term to participate in restoration and care for restored areas. Restoration can have significant impact on local communities, as it creates a link between their day-to-day life with efforts to protect their environment.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES