Mangrove restoration in Sepatin boosts residents' ponds
The M4CR program recorded 61% to 79% planting success in 2025 and will continue across hundreds of hectares in 2026.
Mangrove restoration in Sepatin village, Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan, has begun to improve residents' pond yields and is encouraging more fish farmers to replant along the coast. Fish farmer Andi Firmansyah said his pond production improved after Rhizophora mangroves were replanted around land that had previously lost its mangrove cover. KTH Gemilang Sejahtera Abadi chairman Asharudin also linked lower pond productivity to shrinking mangroves since the 1990s. Under the Mangroves for Coastal Resilience (M4CR) program, supported by the World Bank and implemented by the Ministry of Forestry, a silvofishery model is being used so aquaculture can continue. In 2025, KTH Mangrove Borneo recorded a 69% growth rate on 55 hectares, KTH Peduli Hutan Mangrove 61% on 31 hectares, and KTH Gemilang Sejahtera Abadi 79% on 121 hectares; planting will continue in 2026.