Mangrove Rehabilitation in Seribu Islands at the Crossroad of Awareness and Tokenism

As a part of Indonesia’s commitment to fight climate change, the country is committed to reduce emission by 41 % in 2020 (with international support). Out of the various tools developed to support this goal, mangrove rehabilitation is one. Mangrove provides a broad array of ecological services. One of its services is in producing significant amount of organic materials that functions as carbon absorber. The study was carried out in Seribu Islands, a group of 105 small islands located along North Jakarta Bay. The local government aims to plant 1.5 million mangroves. Therefore, through tourism and corporate social responsibility (CSR), voluntary mangrove rehabilitation is mushrooming. Tourists can purchase mangrove seedlings, 2 USD each, from the local community then plant them along the coastline. Although this is officially promoted by local authorities in collaboration with coastal communities and private sector, current mangrove rehabilitation and planting can be seen as tokenism rather than an awareness. Planting mangrove requires a comprehensive planning and maintenance. However, given the favor of voluntary activity, it is rarely rehabilitation and sustainability taken into account. Tokenism may hinder the country’s mitigation and adaptation toward climate change and, at the same time, may hinder the use of ecosystem services as part of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in Indonesia.