Distribution and current status of mangrove forests in Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesia is an archipelagic country of more than 17,504 islands with the length of coastline estimated at 95,181 km, which bears mangroves from several meters to several kilometers. They grow extensively along the inner facing coastlines of most of the large islands and estuarine. They consist of various community types, either mixed or pure stands, mainly distributed in the five big islands (Jawa, Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Papua). In 2009, the Agency of Survey Coordination and National Mapping (Republic of Indonesia) of Indonesia reported the existing mangrove forest area in Indonesia of about 3,244,018 ha; however, at 2007 the Directorate General of Land Rehabilitation and Social Forestry, Ministry of Forestry (Ditjen RLPS MoF) of Indonesia reported about 7,758,411 ha of mangrove area (including an existing vegetated mangrove area). It was further reported that of those mangroves 30.7% were in good condition, 27.4% moderately destroyed and 41.9% heavily destroyed. There are at least five ministries responsible for mangrove resource allocation and management in Indonesia, in which the Ministry of Forestry has the major authority. Nowadays, two Bureaus of Mangrove Forest Management, the National Mangrove Working Group and the Local (Provincial and Regency/City) Mangrove Working Group, as well as the Presidential Decree (PerPres) No. 73/2012 regarding National Strategy of Mangrove Management have been setup to strengthen the sustainable mangrove forest management. Currently the Indonesian Government leases a 85,000-ha mangrove forest in Bintuni, Papua and28,280 ha in Batu Ampar, West Kalimantan to three forest concessioner companies to be harvested using seed tree method silvicultural systems. To enhance the conservation focus as stated on the Presidential Decree (Kepres) No. 32/1990, the width of the mangrove green belt in any coastal area should be set up about 130×annual average of the difference between the highest and lowest tides. In Indonesia some mangrove forests have been destroyed by various causes, mainly conversion to other uses. In order to recover the destroyed mangroves, the Indonesian Government (c.q. Ministry of Forestry and Ministry of Marine and Fishery) collaborated with stakeholders (domestic and international) and executed rehabilitation as well as restoration of those destroyed mangroves, either in or outside state forest area.