Improving Livelihoods & Mangroves in Indonesia
with the Food Planet Prize
In 2022, the Global Mangrove Alliance was delighted to be the recipient of the $2 million Food Planet Prize. The Curt Bergfors Food Planet Prize awards initiatives that solve the dilemma of feeding a growing world population while saving a planet in peril.
Following the receipt of the Prize, the Global Mangrove Alliance Steering Committee has been carefully considering where these funds will be best used to support food security and our goal to Halt Loss, Restore Half, and Double Protection of mangrove forests globally.
A selection committee was organized to determine a distribution process and they had this to say about their decision:
The GMA’s National Chapters hold much promise in making our goal a reality. We saw the support of a Chapter-driven project centered on both food security and the advancement of the GMA’s goals as a unique opportunity. The Indonesia National Chapter’s proposal impressed us on all fronts, and we are very excited to see the project’s implementation.”
With the Food Planet Prize funds, the GMA-Indonesia National Chapter will implement its first collaborative project for mangrove conservation and improved food security for communities. Working across five districts in Indonesia, they will focus on four major components: mangrove rehabilitation, mangrove protection and management, integrated mangrove aquaculture and sustainable use, and policy advancement. By working across these components the Chapter expects to broadly improve coastal communities’ livelihoods, ecosystem services, and ultimately food security.
Apri Susanto Astra, Wetlands International and GMA-Indonesia National Chapter Lead, had this to say about the Chapter and utilizing these funds:
“Working as a team gives us more strength to achieve something greater. The Global Mangrove Alliance Indonesia chapter, which was born on November 4th, 2022, has started doing that by collaborating in the implementation of GMA programs in Indonesia. With this support from the Food Planet Prize, we can continue our dreams for better protection and management of mangrove ecosystems in Indonesia, since mangroves also play a major role in food security, especially for communities in the coastal area”.
Participants of a Community-Based Ecological Mangrove Restoration workshop in Indonesia. Led by the Mangrove Action Project and including members of the GMA-Indonesia National Chapter.
To demonstrate success at scale, the Chapter has set targets for both mangrove forest health and sustainable livelihoods and food security:
For mangrove forests, the goal is to achieve a 20% increase in mangrove canopy cover across 185 ha of mangroves, a 40% increase in natural regeneration, rehabilitation of 170 ha of pond-integrated mangroves, and effective management of 27,000 ha across the five project sites.
For community livelihoods and resilience for food provisioning, the goal is to increase income from mangrove-related livelihoods by 20%, increase commercial fish catch by 20%, advance six livelihood enterprise chains, and achieve a first cohort of nearly 40 farmers who implement best practices for integrated mangrove aquaculture.
Indonesia has the largest swath of mangroves of any country in the world, yet those mangroves face a variety of human pressures. The country is therefore a well-suited priority for mangrove conservation and building up sustainable mangrove livelihoods. The Global Mangrove Alliance Steering Committee is thrilled that the Food Planet Prize will strengthen the GMA-Indonesia National Chapter, allow it to showcase the success of our collaborative approach, and demonstrate progress towards halting loss, restoring half, and doubling protection of mangroves.
