RRI.CO.ID, Bali - The Ministry of Environment and Forestry/Environmental Control Agency (KLH/BPLH) held a commemoration of World Mangrove Day 2026 thru a simultaneous planting action of more than one million mangrove seedlings at 162 locations spread across 37 provinces in Indonesia.

The activity, covering an area of 364.11 hectares, involved more than 25 thousand participants from various groups, including students, communities, labor unions, and the general public. This action is a step by the government to strengthen the protection of coastal ecosystems while also addressing the threat of climate change.

The Minister of the Environment/Head of the BPLH, Moh Jumhur Hidayat, said that mangroves play an important role in the sustainability of the environment and the lives of coastal communities. According to him, mangroves not only serve as protectors of coastal areas but also play a role in carbon storage and maintaining biodiversity.

"Mangroves are not just a collection of trees in coastal areas. Mangroves are a fortress of life that protects the land, sustains the livelihoods of coastal communities, stores carbon, and serves as a home for biodiversity," Jumhur said in Bali, Sunday, July 26, 2026.

Based on the National Mangrove Map 2025, Indonesia has mangrove areas covering more than 3.45 million hectares or about 20 to 25 percent of the world's total mangroves. However, this ecosystem still faces various threats, such as land conversion, pollution, and uncontrolled exploitation.

To strengthen mangrove protection, the government has enacted Government Regulation Number 27 of 2025 concerning the Protection and Management of Mangrove Ecosystems and the National Mangrove Ecosystem Protection and Management Plan 2026–2055 as a long-term management guideline.

Vice Minister of Forestry, Rohmat Marzuki, emphasized that the Ministry of Forestry is committed to strengthening mangrove rehabilitation, especially in areas under its jurisdiction. Currently, around 2.73 million hectares of mangroves are located in forest areas under the responsibility of the Ministry of Forestry.

"We from the Ministry of Forestry are committed to continuously improving mangrove rehabilitation, because there are 2.73 million hectares of mangroves in the forest areas that are our responsibility. We also involve the local community in mangrove rehabilitation," he said.

The government assesses that the success of mangrove protection requires cross-sector collaboration between ministries, local governments, communities, and development partners. Thru this synergy, the restoration of coastal ecosystems is expected to be sustainable while also providing ecological and economic benefits to the community.