SOWING SHOOTS OF SUCCESS

Efforts to restore mangroves are under way in a district in South Sumatra, Indonesia, where local communities are reaping the benefits of the 15ha of restored mangroves, with new livelihoods created for the people

- Shintaro Tay

A mangrove forest probably does not have much in common with Korean pop music.

Yet, over the past two decades, mangrove scientist Tengku Zia Ulqodry has been flashing a picture of K-pop star Lee Min-ho to the students in his mangrove conservation class at the Sriwijaya University in Palembang, Indonesia.

His message to them: Only when people love these ecosystems as much as many do the pop star, can these critical ecosystems thrive in the face of a multitude of threats.

“When I first stepped into a mangrove (forest) two decades ago, the trees were very big and green. Now, it’s very different and if we are not careful, it can be lost,” said Dr Zia, 47.

These ecosystems are crucial in humanity’s bid to tackle climate change.

Mangroves are coastal defenders. Their sturdy roots can withstand the impact of strong waves and prevent soil erosion. Their tangled webs of roots trap sediment from the tides, enabling the mangroves to keep pace with sea-level rise, protecting inland communities. Mangroves are also powerful carbon stores - they can absorb three times more carbon than tropical rainforests.

Indonesia is home to more than a fifth of the world’s mangroves.

Over the years, the mangroves have thinned as they make way for fishing, agriculture, settlements, and illegal and legal logging.

But all is not lost. Dr Zia is sowing hope - not least among his students - at a restoration site in the Banyuasin district of South Sumatra.

“It’s like my baby is born into the world,” he said, describing the growth of a mangrove seedling.

Banyuasin lost around 10,000ha of mangroves from 2014 to 2019. The district covers an area of approximately 1.2 million ha, with around 130,000ha of mangroves inside and outside Sembilang National Park.

At the Banyuasin villages, the communities have noticed that the felling of mangrove trees had increased the susceptibility of the area to flooding when the tides are high.