Mangroves to fight erosion

INDRAMAYU, West Java: Residents of Karangsong village planted on Sunday thousands of mangrove trees along a coast which has been in a critical condition of late due to erosion.

The mass planting was part of commemorations to mark International Wetlands Day on Feb. 2, and was attended by Minister for Environment Sonny Keraf.

Director of International-Indonesia Wetlands Program (WI-IP) Dibjo Sartono said that Indonesia has converted wetlands without considering the environmental impact, damaging mangrove forest.

"So, this is a challenge for us. Especially as Indonesia has 37.5 million hectares of wetlands, but has little concern over it," he said, as quoted by Antara.

Meanwhile, Sonny said that wetlands in swamps and estuaries possess high ecological value for the continuity of biodiversity in coastal and sea areas.

"Mangrove is the main ecosystem supporting life at coastal sea areas, as it provides nutrition for fish and sea-life. It also protects coasts from erosion and avoids sea water intrusion inland," he said.(hdn)