Jakarta, Jan. 5 -- Indonesia's Ministry of Forestry has planted around 21 million mangrove saplings across four priority provinces between 2024 and 2025 under the Mangroves for Coastal Resilience (M4CR) project.

Giri Suryanta, head of the ministry's mangrove forest rehabilitation subdirectorate, said the reforestation effort has covered 15,574 hectares in North Kalimantan, North Sumatra, Riau, and East Kalimantan.

"The mangrove planting is part of the government's nature-based climate action to strengthen coastal resilience. Beyond ecosystem restoration, the program also aims to empower coastal communities," he said in a statement on Monday.

Suryanta said the ministry planted 14.6 million mangrove saplings across 13,307 hectares in 202...