Healthy mangrove ecosystems protect coastlines, support biodiversity, store carbon, and sustain the livelihoods of coastal communities. Yet many mangrove restoration efforts still rely on large-scale planting without addressing the ecological conditions needed for mangroves to thrive, often resulting in limited long-term success.

To help change this, Wetlands International Indonesia is strengthening the capacity of mangrove practitioners through training in Ecological Mangrove Rehabilitation (EMR), supported by our NASCLIM and To Plant or not to Plant projects. The programme brings together government representatives, academics, NGOs, and restoration practitioners to learn an approach that prioritises restoring the natural conditions that enable mangroves to regenerate on their own.

Combining classroom learning with hands-on fieldwork, participants explore mangrove ecology, hydrology, site assessment, and the social and environmental factors that influence successful restoration. Through discussion, field exercises, and collaborative planning, they develop practical skills to design restoration interventions that work with nature rather than against it.

The training is about more than building technical knowledge. By creating a network of local trainers, it helps ensure that the EMR approach can be shared more widely and applied across Indonesia, contributing to more effective, resilient, and lasting coastal ecosystem recovery.

Reflections from our participants:

Yusran Nurdin Massa, EMR Trainer Blue Forests Indonesia: “Nature actually has the ability to restore itself. And Ecological Mangrove Rehabilitation focuses on how we, as humans, can help nature recover. A mangrove ecosystem can function properly if its hydrology functions normally. The species growing within it also become more diverse. Ultimately, EMR leads to increased resilience of the existing mangrove system. This is what does not happen in conventional rehabilitation, which focuses very heavily on vegetation that sometimes struggles to adapt to those changes.”

Dian Rahmawati, Directorate of Mangrove Rehabilitation, Ministry of Forestry of Indonesia: “Our directorate has the main duties and functions to carry out rehabilitation by planting, specifically for rehabilitating mangroves. So, I would like to compare the methods, see how they are implemented, and figure out how we can adopt and apply this knowledge.”

Harianto, North Kalimantan aquaculture farmer: “What really impressed me was that even though I have been a shrimp pond farmer for almost thirty years, I only just learned how to identify mangrove species like this during this training. We will apply it, and hopefully, we will be able to monitor it in the future. There is one pond pilot where we will apply rehabilitation using this EMR method.”

Fitria Dewi Kusuma, Lecturer, Faculty of Forestry and Tropical Environment, Mulawarman University: “I will likely incorporate this EMR theory into my teaching for the students, especially given the topography in East Kalimantan, so it needs to be introduced to them. Mangrove rehabilitation is not just about planting seedlings; we can improve the hydrological conditions, so that tidal water can flow in smoothly, bringing in seeds, which allow natural succession to occur.”

Nessy Rosdiana, GIZ: “I am thinking about how this can be applied alongside the revitalization of the community’s economy, and how we can apply this in aquaculture ponds. If it is possible for us to design community ponds while still carrying out rehabilitation using this EMR method.”

Fendrik Prayogo Sugianto, PT. Sumber Kalimantan Abadi (shrimp processing and production company): “Mangroves are very closely and strongly tied to shrimp farming habitats. So I believe that when everyone starts actively promoting mangroves, shrimp farming will also be positively impacted, and productivity will continue to increase.”

Watch the video

Watch the video to see how ecological mangrove rehabilitation is empowering practitioners and supporting healthier mangrove landscapes for people and nature:

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Supported by:

The work is realised under Nature-Based Solutions for Climate-Smart Livelihoods in Mangrove Landscapes (NASCLIM), in collaboration with Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and the Ministry of Forestry of Indonesia. It is also supported by the Return of the Mangroves initiative and To Plant or not to Plant Indonesia, supported through the Waterloo Foundation and Good Energies.