The Association of Indonesian Fishermen (KNTI) from Langkat regency in North Sumatra planted 25,000 mangrove trees in the coastal area of West Brandan beach, the chairman of the association said.
The mangrove planting was done to rehabilitate the region’s mangrove forest area that had been converted to make way for a palm oil plantation in West Brandan regency, the Association of Indonesian Fishermen chairman Tajruddin Hasibuan here on Tuesday.
The mangrove forest is in danger of becoming extinct, as the palm plantation businesses encroach on the forest. The planting of the mangrove was implemented by the fisherman, as the decline of mangrove threatens their income as well as their environment.
“The transformation of the mangrove forest into a palm oil plantation ruins the eco-system and the environment, and it impacts our livelihood,” Tajruddin exclaimed.
Based on the data acquired by KNTI, 80 percent of the mangrove forest in Langkat has already been converted to palm oil plantation.
The Secretary General, Kiara Abdul Halim, has also criticized the small role the nation plays in conserving the mangrove ecosystem that remains integral to the sustainability of the fishing resources on the coastal region.
Until this day, the conversion of the mangrove forest into palm oil plantation in the eastern beaches of the region continues to occur and has already undergone a massive transformation without any maximal effort to condemn the culprits legally.
Abdul Halim’s department has already put pressure on the Environmental Minister to observe the mangrove ecosystem that has been destroyed by the plantation.
The police commissioner has also been asked to take firm action against the perpetrators who encroach and convert the mangrove forest in Langkat, starting from the regencies of Secanggang, Tanjungpura, Gebang, West Brandan, Sei Lepen, Pangkalan Susu and Besitang.
