Jakarta (Greeners) – Indonesia loses 52,000 hectares of mangrove ecosystem due to land use change, said a senior researcher from Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), in Jakarta, on Monday (13/2).
Daniel Mudiyarso, senior researcher of CIFOR, said that weak regulation had led to feeble mangrove management and protection.
The loss equals to carbon potential loss worth of US$ 3.1 billion per year.
Furthermore, Mudiyarso said that regulations related to mangrove management under the 2101 Presidential Regulation on National Strategy on Mangrove Ecosystem Management was not strong enough due to its instructive nature.
“There has yet strong formal regulation. So far, the presidential regulation is only based on coordination and there is not technical guidance or sanction if there’s violation,” he said.
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Furthermore, he said that the protection for mangrove was crucial as it hold four times carbon potential compare to terrestrial forests.
Sedimentation from mangrove ecosystem has 80 percent of the total biomass or 1,200 biomass. Meanwhile, terrestrial only covers 80 tons to 100 tons biomass.
Previously, Minister of Environment and Forestry, Siti Nurbaya had declared the commitment for mangrove ecosystem in 2017 as she had considered the issue related to blue carbon.
Coordination meetings with related parties are expected to be held throughout this year.
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“I am also thinking on how we can set up a meeting related to mangrove ecosystem issue which has close connection with blue carbon,” she said. “The more I visit the field, the more convinced I am to give serious attention to mangrove ecosystem.”
Reports by Danny Kosasih
22 Des 2023 
