VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration Ministry is striving to preserve mangrove ecosystems, especially in underdeveloped regions, since such ecosystems can be found only in 6,136 villages out of the 74,962 villages in Indonesia.

Out of the 6,136 villages, only 3,763 villages have mangrove forests in good condition, while the rest have damaged mangrove forests, director general for economic development and investment at the ministry, Herlina Sulistyorini, stated in a release on Tuesday.

"Villages which have mangroves need to be protected, fostered, and conserved together," she remarked.

Hence, her office has implemented several strategies to maintain mangrove ecosystems that are still in good condition through community empowerment activities.

The first strategy is conducting information dissemination on how to preserve the mangrove ecosystems.

The second is carrying out various sustainable economic activities, for instance, making syrup or dodol — a sweet toffee-like confection — from processed mangroves.

"We process mangroves to make prominent products which can be sold, without damaging the mangrove ecosystem in the village," the director general said.

Furthermore, the ministry has also established village-owned enterprises to encourage and manage cooperation with local customary institutions.

In addition, the ministry is providing assistance for the development of mangrove tourism villages, such as for building mangrove tracking paths; preparing boats; conducting capacity building for mangrove forest managers; carrying out technology-based promotions in collaboration with the Communication and Information Technology Ministry; as well as constructing bridges, observation towers, and information centers.

Yet another strategy has been implementing mangrove educational tours to raise awareness of the younger generation and encourage research on the ecosystem.

The ministry has also implemented a number of attempts for villages whose mangrove ecosystems have been damaged, including raising encouraging public awareness to cherish the ecosystems.

The ministry has also helped bolster the community’s basic economic activities by applying integrated agricultural system and developing derivative fishery products.

Another attempt has been to involve the community to conduct mangrove nursery and planting activities.

Furthermore, the ministry has also prepared the establishment of village-owned enterprises, local-customary institutions, and mangrove community spaces.

The ministry has also rehabilitated 500 hectares of the area under mangroves since 2021. (Antaranews)