Enviro News Asia, Jakarta – Indonesia’s Minister of Forestry, Raja Juli Antoni, launched the Kick-off Mangroves for Coastal Resilience (M4CR) program in Medan, North Sumatra, on Tuesday (September 10, 2025). On this occasion, Raja Antoni reaffirmed the target of rehabilitating 15,387 hectares of mangroves across four provinces during 2025.
The M4CR program is a national strategic initiative aimed at restoring Indonesia’s degraded mangrove ecosystems. The rehabilitation effort prioritizes community-based approaches, coastal community empowerment, and environmental sustainability. By 2027, M4CR targets a total of 41,000 hectares of mangrove restoration in four priority provinces: Riau, North Sumatra, East Kalimantan, and North Kalimantan.
According to data from the Ministry of Forestry, mangrove rehabilitation in North Sumatra began in 2024, covering 636 hectares in Langkat, Deli Serdang, and Serdang Bedagai Regencies. This year, similar efforts are expected to reach 1,924 hectares, and by 2026 the cumulative restoration is projected to total 3,332 hectares.
This year’s M4CR kick-off was held at Batubara Mangrove Park, a coastal area formerly used for quartz mining that had suffered severe abrasion. Raja Antoni praised the local community’s efforts to restore the mangrove vegetation cover.
“I appreciate the hard work of the community in rehabilitating this area. Once damaged by extensive quartz mining, the mangrove vegetation is now beginning to recover,” he said in an official press release.
He emphasized that the program’s success depends on multi-stakeholder collaboration.
“This proves the importance of cooperation between ministries, agencies, local governments, and, most importantly, community participation. The role of local communities is crucial in safeguarding the sustainability of our mangrove forests,” he added.
During his visit, Raja Antoni also held discussions with local community groups, inspected mangrove seed nurseries, and joined residents in harvesting crabs. The presence of the Minister of Forestry and Deputy Minister Sulaiman Umar is expected to strengthen support for national mangrove rehabilitation efforts and raise public awareness about the importance of protecting coastal ecosystems for environmental resilience and local economic sustainability. (*)
