Press Release: Mobilizing the Mangrove Breakthrough in Indonesia
Mangrove Breakthrough workshop held in Jakarta, April 2025.
Jakarta, 22 April 2025 – Effective mangrove conservation requires collaboration across sectors and sustainable funding to ensure lasting impact. This was the central focus of the Mangrove Breakthrough workshop held April 16–17, 2025, in Jakarta. Organized by the Global Mangrove Alliance (GMA) Indonesia Chapter—which includes Wetlands International Indonesia, Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara (YKAN), Konservasi Indonesia (KI), and WWF Indonesia—the event carried the theme: “Mobilizing the Mangrove Breakthrough in Indonesia: A shared compass for partnerships and scaling up finance.”
“The Mangrove Breakthrough is a global initiative accelerating collaboration and setting the conditions for larger-scale investments into mangrove ecosystems. Working with the government representatives and local stakeholders in Indonesia, we are progressing toward our collective ambitious objectives,” said Ignace Beguin Billecocq, Executive Director of the Mangrove Breakthrough.
Mangrove protection is critical in Indonesia, which hosts the world’s largest mangrove ecosystem—3.44 million hectares, or 23% of the global total (Ministry of Forestry, 2025). These mangroves store up to one-third of the carbon found in coastal ecosystems worldwide. With 60% of Indonesia’s population living in coastal areas and relying on them for their livelihoods, mangroves play a vital ecological and economic role.
“Indonesia plays a major role in global climate change mitigation and adaptation. Protecting mangroves is a shared responsibility that supports income generation, coastal protection, and food and social security,” said Nani Hendiarti, Deputy for Coordination of Food Affordability and Security at the Coordinating Ministry for Food, in a speech delivered by Assistant Deputy Fajar Nuradi. “The Government of Indonesia fully supports the Mangrove Breakthrough initiative and is committed to preserving these vital ecosystems.”
Mangrove conservation demands genuine multi-stakeholder collaboration. The GMA exemplifies this synergy, uniting technical experts, academics, civil society organizations, local communities, funders, and NGOs to drive large-scale, coordinated mangrove conservation and restoration worldwide.
Community involvement is also key to successful restoration.
“In Indonesia, 23,000 coastal villages can be empowered to support mangrove conservation and restoration,” said Nugroho Setijo Nagoro, Director General of Village and Rural Development at the Ministry of Villages. “This effort must be integrated into village planning, especially since villages have dedicated funds for environmental management. Mangrove protection should grow from community initiatives, as these ecosystems directly support their livelihoods.”
Synergy for Sustainability
One of GMA’s key initiatives is the Mobilizing the Mangrove Breakthrough (MMB) program, launched with support from the Bezos Earth Fund. GMA has developed a large-scale proposal targeting initial priority countries: Indonesia, Mexico, and Guinea-Bissau.
“In Indonesia, we’re developing a national program to mobilize financing and foster cross-sector collaboration,” said Yus Rusila Noor of Wetlands International Indonesia and Chairperson of the GMA Indonesia Chapter. “We will also implement actions at multiple levels to conserve, sustainably manage, and restore mangrove ecosystems.”
The meeting also featured preview reports from the Mobilizing the Mangrove Breakthrough (MMB) initiative in Asia, including Indonesia.
“The Mobilizing the Mangrove Breakthrough series of regional reports is designed to provide an easily accessible resource to connect global mangrove conservation, protection, restoration, and finance goals with national and local contexts. Each report provides a high-level overview of breakthroughs, key partners, and resources. It also includes information on countries with significant restoration and conservation potential and a summary of conditions supporting mangrove conservation efforts on the ground, written by local experts,” said Mark Beeston, MMB Regional Lead.
To strengthen mangrove conservation in Indonesia, a clear roadmap and coordination plan is essential.
“Bappenas identified around 250,000 hectares in need of rehabilitation,” said Anna Amalia from the Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas. “The foundation is in place, but the key is collaboration. We must go beyond the state budget—leveraging international, innovative, and alternative financing to ensure effective, targeted impact.”
There is optimism that the Mangrove Breakthrough will significantly advance mangrove conservation.
“By uniting stakeholders under a concrete roadmap and program strategy, the initiative aims to accelerate the recovery and protection of sustainable mangrove ecosystems,” said Muhammad Ilman, Oceans Program Director at YKAN and member of the GMA Indonesia Chapter.
About the Mangrove Breakthrough
The Mangrove Breakthrough, a science-based global call to action, and its partners are enabling the mobilization of USD 4 billion by 2030, boosting actions to restore and protect 15 million hectares — along with the communities and biodiversity that rely on them. We empower cross-sector collaborations by reinforcing national policies, structuring a global pipeline and driving transformative approaches.
The Breakthrough was launched at COP27 and brought together governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), researchers, and financiers to mobilize collectively around four actions, building off the guiding principles developed by the Global Mangrove Alliance :
1. Reduce net mangrove losses driven by humans to 0
2. Ensure long-term protection for 80% of remaining mangroves
3. Restore mangroves to cover at least half of all recent loss
4. Drive sustainable finance to existing mangrove extent
For Media Inquiries
Yus Rusila Noor
Wetlands International Indonesia,
Global Mangrove Alliance Indonesia Chapter lead
Sam Goodman
Communications Director, Mangrove Breakthrough
sam.goodman@ambitionloop.earth
+57 310 481 5586
Connor Nickerson Wheatley
Communications Manager, Climate and Ocean
Global Mangrove Alliance
+1 770-653-0422
