24,500 Mangrove Seedlings Planted in The Mandalika Area

Within the next seven days, some 24,500 mangrove seedlings are expected to be fully planted in The Mandalika area, Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).

“Today we are planting 4,500 seedlings, and last year 20,000 seedlings were already planted. This will continue over the next five years,” said GM of InJourney Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), I Made Pari Wijaya, to reporters on Friday (23/07) in Mandalika.

According to Pari, the mangrove sanctuary covers an area of 45.7 hectares, with 1.5 hectares currently being rehabilitated in demonstration plot 11 out of the 23 demonstration plots that have been prepared.

Pari said the progress will continue, involving not only InJourney and ITDC but also other stakeholders, including companies, the private sector and universities.

Environmental responsibility, he said, is not a solo burden but a shared one. “We believe that through collaboration and gotong royong (mutual cooperation), we can rehabilitate our mangroves into a legacy for us. In future, these mangroves can become the lungs of The Mandalika,” he said.

The InJourney Green Mangrove Sanctuary programme at The Mandalika is expected to protect the ecosystem whilst strengthening sustainable tourism practices, preserving coastal areas, reducing the impact of climate change and reinforcing the green ecosystem within the mangrove conservation zone.

Going forward, it will serve as a centre for mangrove conservation, environmental education and sustainable ecotourism.

“Mandalika was chosen because it has great potential as an ecotourism destination that can integrate green spaces and biodiversity with local wisdom,” he concluded.

The mangrove seedlings currently being planted are of the rhizophora species, following earlier plantings of mangrove apple, or Sonneratia alba.