TEMPO.CO, Malang - Indonesia’s mangrove forest makes 25 percent of the world’s total mangrove forest which is spread along 90 thousand kilometers coastline.

However, the destruction rate of mangrove forests in Indonesia is considerably the quickest and largest in the world, according to the Executive Director of the Biodiversity Foundation (Kehati) M.S. Sembiring in a workshop on mangroves at the University of Brawijaya Malang, Thursday, October 13, 2016.

Quoting the data from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) in 2007, Sembiring explained, in the last three decades, Indonesia has lost 40 percent of its mangrove forests. The destruction of mangrove forests is mostly caused by the functional shift of the forests into embankments, settlements, industrial sites, and plantation.

It is not only because of functional shifts of mangrove forests but also because of illegal logging. The mangrove woods get stolen to be made into building materials, boats, charcoal, and firewood. “Including the industrial wastes that kill the mangrove,” Sembiring said.

Chief of Sub-Directorate for Reforestation at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Joko Pramono says that the remaining mangrove forests are about 3.7 million hectares. Most of it is in Java, Papua, and Kalimantan. Around 2.5 million hectares of the land are in good condition and the rest of it is ruined.

EKO WIDIANTO