For whom are the Mangroves in Jakarta?

Despite being the smallest Wildlife Sanctuary in Indonesia, the Muara Angke Wildlife Reserve (SMMA) supports many lives as home to the only mangrove forest in Jakarta and the last fortress of the Capital's coast.

Mangroves have important roles such as oxygen providers, carbon dioxide absorbers, hydrological regulators, pollutant absorbers, landscape beauty, and biodiversity providers. SMMA is also a habitat for various fauna such as saltwater crocodiles, lizards, long-tailed monkeys, snakes and birds.

Read More: Women's Group and Sustainable Growing of Mangrove Crab in Wakatobi

To increase shared awareness about mangrove conservation, the Jakarta BKSDA together with Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara (YKAN), held an awareness event with the theme "For whom are the Mangroves in Jakarta?", which was attended by a number of media crews, on 25 May 2023 at the Muara Angke Wildlife Reserve, Jakarta North. On this occasion, interactive discussions were held, planting mangroves, clearing weeds, and cultivate mangrove seedlings.

“Today's activities were incredibly fun. Moreover, this involves a lot of media, so the goal is for the general public to know more about the function of mangroves and why we have to protect mangroves. Interestingly, we are invited to see mangroves, planting, and find out how to cultivate mangrove seedlings. Thanks to this event, I came to know that one of the obstacles (to the growth of mangroves) is water hyacinth. Overall, cool!” said Jimmi from BBC Media Action, one of the planting participants.

At the event, participants could taste and see some of the derivative mangrove products such as cookies made from nipa palm juice, fresh drinks made from pidada fruit and beautiful batik cloth with natural dyes from mangroves.

“If managed in an effective and sustainable way, mangroves are not only a protection against natural disasters such as tsunamis, storms, sea waves. But mangroves can also be a source of income. Mangrove ecosystems also have a close relationship with climate change. Indonesia's role in efforts to mitigate global climate change is enormous, so protecting and restoring mangrove ecosystems is an important step that must be taken together immediately as a form of our concern for the world," added YKAN Marine Program Director Muhammad Ilman.