Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) is expected to receive an additional budget allocation of Rp43.34 billion in 2021 to support mangrove rehabilitation programs in four provinces.
The ministry's budget ceiling in 2021 would increase from Rp6.49 trillion to Rp6.53 trillion, KKP Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono told Commission IV of the House of Representatives (DPR) during a hearing here on Thursday.
"Based on the letter of the Minister of Finance, Number S-37 / MK.2 / 2021, dated March 16, 2021, the KKP will receive an additional 2021 budget of Rp43.34 billion, which has been allocated to the directorate general of marine space management,” he said.
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The mangrove rehabilitation program will be implemented in six districts in Central Java, three districts and cities in Banten, 10 districts and cities in West Java, and 12 districts and cities in East Java, with a total mangrove area measuring 2,008 hectares, the minister informed.
"Activities for seed procurement, facility assistance, and supporting activities are being carried out through a labor-intensive system, with a paid wage component of Rp9.64 billion," he added.
Trenggono said he has also allocated a budget of Rp12.43 billion for mangrove rehabilitation activities, covering an area of 391.17 hectares, through cash-intensive programs.
Besides, Rp12.43 billion has been allocated for mangrove planting over an area of 391.17 hectares through a cash-for-work program involving 1,673 people and spread over 16,378 working days, he added.
The mangrove rehabilitation program is crucial because 19 percent, or around 637.6 thousand hectares, of Indonesia's mangrove ecosystem is now in a critical condition, he explained.
For Indonesia, which is an archipelago, mangroves function as a habitat and a place for marine organisms to find food and reproduce. They also help protect the coast from sea water abrasion.
Indonesia has a total of 3.3 million hectares under mangroves.
"The critical condition of mangroves is in a forest area of 460.2 thousand hectares and outside the forest area of 177.4 thousand hectares. This will be the focus of KKP in rehabilitating mangrove forests," Trenggono said.
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