Antara 15 Apr 08;
Banda Aceh (ANTARA News) - Forestry Minister MS Kaban said here on Tuesday Indonesia had 9.4 million hectares of mangroves but about 70 percent of them were in damaged condition.
"We have limited human and funding resources to rehabilitate and restore the damaged mangroves and to stop the process of their destruction," the minister said when inaugurating a mangrove information center building here on Tuesday.
He said lack of understanding among local people about the importance of the mangrove ecosystem had helped speed up mangrove forest degradation.
The minister said mangrove forests were performing an important function in preventing land abrasion by sea waves and tsunamis. "Mangroves can also serve as a source of wood for human beings and as habitats for other creatures," he said.
South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Sun Jin Lee, Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf, Aceh Military Commander Maj Gen Supiadin, Aceh Police Chief Insp Gen Rismawan, Head of the Aceh Prosecutors` Office Abdul Jalil Mansur and other local government officials attended the function.(*)
