Working Together to Protect Batam's Coastal Life

The decline in the carrying capacity of coastal areas has encouraged the residents of traditional villages in Batam, Riau Islands province, to work together to save their remaining mangrove forests.

KOMPAS/PANDU WIYOGA

A tourist walks through a mangrove forest in Kampung Tua Bakau Serip in Batam City, the Riau Islands, Saturday (8/10/2022).

Gari Dafit Semet (41) walks on a plank bridge snaking through a lush mangrove forest on Sunday (25/9/2022). Towering Rhizophora apiculata trees, also known as true mangrove, grow on the left and right. The roots are intertwined in the shallow sea below.

As soon as Gari reaches the end of the bridge, he stops. A Sonneratia alba (mangrove apple) stands there, even though its trunk has been torn apart by the waves.