“To keep tides from hitting us, we plant mangroves, forests for animals and oxygen for us to live. “I weave everything into my stories, ” said Samsudin, 50, as he mused about how some people in the area saw mangroves as a “nuisance” and would pull them out. Indonesia is home to over a fifth of the world’s mangrove forests, which naturally help keep out high tidal waters. Data from Indonesia’s forestry ministry from 2017 estimates that more than 1.8 million hectares of mangroves are damaged. Cukup Rudiyanto, another activist in Indramayu who plants mangroves, also blames a lack of sedimentation in this coastal area east of the capital Jakarta for harming mangroves.

Source: The Star April 06, 2021 01:30 UTC