A Comparative Study On Mangroves Conservation Between Indonesia And China

The aim of this study is to compare management strategies of mangrove conservation between Indonesia and China on sustainability basis. The degradation of mangrove areas appeared in Indonesia and China because of over-exploitation at a large scale. This alarming situation on mangrove ecosystem in Indonesia and China made these two countries to take serious actions. The degradation of mangrove ecosystems can be addressed through mangrove conservation, to restore the capacity of damaged mangrove ecosystem through appropriate conservation management strategies. Sustainable management of mangrove conservation requires a variety of approaches, and management measures on mangrove conservation by applying different appraoches different. The first approach in mangrove conesrvation management is to understand the bio-ecological, socio-economic and institutional regulations.The impressive of development in Asia Pacific region in the last decades have an impact on environment and biodiversity loss. The land reclamation into forestry, aquaculture, salt extraction, infrastructure and urban development are common practice by developing countries. Coastal wetlands such as Mangroves, Sea Grass Beds and Salt marshes are being rapidly converted on large scale into agriculture, aquaculture and other function around all over the world, leading to degradation on mangrove ecosystems. As tremendous value of ecosystem in coastal areas, mangroves have many benefits for coastal communities and associated species but today they are being lost at alarming rates because of over exploitation. Human threat to mangroves with converted their area into shrimp farming in the early 1980 was the common practices in the developing countries to earn more and more money. Many development countries including Indonesia and China started deforestation their mangrove areas for shrimp ponds on temporary basis to get benefit without any sustainable management for the next generation.Indonesia is the country having the largest mangrove in the world but today their mangrove forests have been destroyed due to the conversion into shrimp ponds in early 1980s. The higher loss of mangroves area are founded in two provinces of Indonesia, Java and Sumatera with around 90% of their mangroves areas have already been converted into shrimp ponds. In addition, the increasing population growth and rapid economy development in China causes degradation at the highest rate of mangroves forests and its associated biodiversity. During 1980s, high demand of aquaculture practices leads the mass destruction of mangrove forests around 250,000 ha into 15000 ha.The continuous practices of degradation of mangrove forests in Indonesia and China will lead them the loss of coastal protection and disruption of nursery, spawning and feeding ground, which inhabits in mangrove areas. Recently, mangroves conservation is a critical issue since the loss of mangrove forests. Conservation of mangrove area in many developing countries including Indonesia and China aims to recovery and strengthen the capacity of mangroves ecosystem that has been damaged. As developing countries, both of Indonesia and China have largest potential on mangroves conservation. There are many similarities and differences between Indonesia and China in term of composition of mangroves species and their mangrove ecosystems due to difference in regions, temperatures, rainfall etc. This study provides an overview of mangrove ecosystems in Indonesia and China using basic baseline data of current status, utilization, degradation rate, and effects of degradation in each country.Both of Indonesia and China have some similar sets of regulations to protect their mangrove areas. Government of Indonesia and China has full authority to plan, define and implement laws for the conservation of mangrove forests along with participation of other stakeholders and also coastal communities can play important role on mangrove conservation. A good coordination among the stakeholders is needed through a multi-sectoral approach for being successful in mangrove conservation on sustainability basis. Both of Indonesia and China hope that the mangrove conservation recovery strengthen the capacity of ecosystem to gain adaptation to sustain the changes of nature over time.