MARITIMEPOSTS.COM – As the world marks the 2026 International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem, attention turns once again to one of nature’s most valuable coastal defenses.
For Indonesia—home to the world’s largest extent of mangrove forests—the annual observance is both a celebration and a reminder of the urgent need to protect and restore these critical ecosystems.
Against this backdrop, Prof. Amran Saru, Professor of Mangrove Ecology at Hasanuddin University, reflects on why successful mangrove restoration demands more than simply planting trees.
Indonesia possesses one of the world’s richest mangrove ecosystems, yet decades of coastal development have left many of these vital forests severely degraded. According to Prof. Amran Saru, restoring these ecosystems requires a fundamental shift in how rehabilitation programs are designed and implemented.
“Mangroves are among the most important coastal ecosystems because they support fisheries, protect shorelines, and sustain countless marine organisms,” Prof. Amran said during an interview in Makassar.
He explained that mangroves serve multiple ecological functions. Besides producing oxygen and protecting coastlines from erosion, they function as spawning grounds, nursery habitats, and feeding areas for fish, shrimp, crabs, and numerous other marine species.
Consequently, the productivity of coastal fisheries depends heavily on healthy mangrove ecosystems.
Decades of Degradation
Despite their ecological importance, Indonesia’s mangrove forests have experienced significant losses over the past several decades.
Prof. Amran identified three major drivers behind this degradation. The first was large-scale harvesting of mangrove timber for industrial purposes, including pulp and paper production, particularly during the expansion of the forestry industry in previous decades. The second was the widespread conversion of mangrove forests into shrimp and fish ponds as aquaculture rapidly expanded along Indonesia’s coasts.
The third has been ongoing coastal development and land conversion, which continue to reduce mangrove coverage in many regions.
“The real challenge today,” he said, “is not simply recognizing what has been lost, but restoring those ecosystems successfully.”
Why Rehabilitation Often Fails
Indonesia has invested heavily in mangrove rehabilitation for many years. However, Prof. Amran believes that many restoration projects have focused too heavily on achieving planting targets rather than ensuring ecological success.
According to him, rehabilitation should not merely aim to replace the area of forest that has disappeared. Instead, restoration strategies must match the appropriate mangrove species with the specific environmental conditions of each planting site.
“Planting mangroves cannot be done indiscriminately,” he explained. “Species selection must correspond with the substrate and environmental characteristics of the location.”
Without this ecological approach, many planted seedlings fail to survive despite large-scale planting campaigns.
Conservation and Aquaculture Can Coexist
One of the most promising solutions promoted by Prof. Amran is silvofishery, an integrated farming system that combines mangrove conservation with aquaculture.
Rather than clearing mangroves entirely to create ponds, silvofishery retains mangrove vegetation within or around aquaculture areas. Channels are constructed around existing mangrove stands, allowing fish and shrimp cultivation while preserving ecological functions.
Prof. Amran has experimented with this approach himself through community-based projects in Pinrang, South Sulawesi. While implementation presented technical challenges—particularly maintaining adequate water levels for mangrove growth—the system demonstrated that fisheries production and ecosystem conservation can complement one another rather than compete.
He noted that healthy mangroves also improve water quality by trapping sediments and absorbing waste, potentially reducing disease outbreaks in shrimp ponds.
Policy Alone Is Not Enough
While Indonesia has introduced various regulations to protect mangrove ecosystems, Prof. Amran emphasized that legislation alone cannot guarantee successful conservation.
Effective implementation, he argued, depends on continuous public education, community participation, and demonstration projects that allow local people to witness successful management practices firsthand.
Governments should establish pilot silvofishery sites where communities can observe the economic benefits of integrating mangroves with aquaculture before adopting the approach themselves.
“The key is building public trust,” he said. “Communities need to understand that protecting mangroves does not mean sacrificing their livelihoods.”
Science-Based Restoration
At Hasanuddin University, Prof. Amran and his colleagues continue developing science-based rehabilitation models tailored to different coastal environments.
Their research examines nursery techniques, planting methods, the use of bamboo stakes and wave barriers, and appropriate species selection based on local environmental conditions. Each restoration site requires its own strategy depending on sediment type, wave exposure, and the mangrove species that historically occupied the area.
“We cannot apply one method everywhere,” he explained. “Successful rehabilitation begins with understanding the ecological characteristics of each site.”
Looking Beyond Tree Planting
For Prof. Amran, Indonesia’s mangrove future depends on moving beyond symbolic tree-planting campaigns toward ecosystem-based restoration grounded in scientific knowledge.
Mangrove rehabilitation should not be measured by the number of seedlings planted but by the number of forests that survive, recover their ecological functions, and continue supporting coastal communities for generations to come.
As Indonesia accelerates its Blue Economy agenda and strengthens climate adaptation efforts, restoring mangrove ecosystems may prove to be one of the country’s most valuable long-term investments—not only for biodiversity, but also for fisheries, coastal resilience, and the millions of people whose livelihoods depend on healthy shores.
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Editor K. Azis
