Selvi Gibran Marks National Children's Day with Marine Conservation in Bintan

“Through this marine conservation activity, it is hoped that Indonesian children will increasingly preserve the maritime environment in their respective regions,” said Selvi at the event venue on Dugong Beach, Trikora, Bintan, on Thursday.

The series of activities began with coral transplantation as an effort to rehabilitate coral reef areas damaged by human activity and climate change.

The transplantation used the Spider Web method, placing coral seedling fragments on transplantation frames which were then lowered to the seabed at a depth of around five metres. The coral species planted came from the genera Acropora and Pocillopora.

This was followed by seagrass planting as part of coastal ecosystem restoration. Seagrass plays an important role as habitat and a food source for various marine biota, filtering water, holding back coastal erosion, and absorbing blue carbon, which contributes to climate change mitigation.

“I hand this over to you. Thank you for caring about our seas,” said Selvi as she symbolically handed over to the Ksatria Lamun Community, which took part in the activity.

It did not stop there; the Vice President’s wife and her delegation also released hawksbill turtle hatchlings into their natural habitat, aiming to increase the turtles’ chances of survival in the wild whilst maintaining the balance of the marine ecosystem.

Beyond the conservation action, Selvi Gibran also symbolically handed over various forms of assistance to local communities and educational institutions in Bintan, namely one floating net cage (KJA) unit to the Marine Agri Sejahtera Cooperative.

Next, 3,000 white snapper fingerlings to the Tanjung Darat Mandiri fish farming group, and 20 packages of fishing traps (bubu) to the Bawal Putih Fishermen Group.

Furthermore, assistance was also provided in the form of six Starlink internet devices for SDN 004 Bintan, SDN 008 Bintan, SMPN 20 Bintan, SDN 005 Teluk Sebong, SMPN 22 Mapur, and SDN 009 Teluk Sebong, to support equal internet access and digital learning.

“It is hoped that the various forms of assistance distributed can strengthen the fisheries sector, improve the welfare of coastal communities, and support the improvement of education quality in Bintan,” said Selvi.