Ecological Mangrove Rehabilitation in Tiwoho Village

In 1991, 20 hectares of pristine and biodiverse mangroves were cleared in Tiwoho Village, part of Bunaken National Marine Park, as part of a nation-wide program of aquaculture development known as the Blue Revolution, which has resulted in the loss of over 1,000,000 hectares of mangroves nation-wide. The aquaculture venture operated only for a period of 6 months, and the land lay fallow for the next decade. Six attempts to plant mangroves took place over the intervening years, but none of these attempts succeeded, as a result of failure to restore a functional hydrology to the system, which is the limiting factor for successful mangrove rehabilitation.

In 2004, the principles of Ecological Mangrove Rehabilitation were applied to the site in a collaboration between villagers, local universities and NGOs, and international ecologists. The following pages bring to life this pivotal rehabilitation effort, the first of its kind in Indonesia where communities were enjoined to repair the hydrology of an abandoned shrimp pond complex to promote natural regeneration of mangroves. This pilot project has led to the successful rehabilitation of over 2000 hectares of mangroves in other parts of Indonesia, and serves as an example of collaboration and adaptive management that is changing the way Indonesian practitioners address mangrove restoration.

The Sustainable Wetlands Adaptation and Mitigation Program (SWAMP) – a collaborative effort between the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service (USFS) supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – welcomed the invitation from the Blue Carbon Initiatives to host its Fifth Blue Carbon Scientific Working Group Meeting held on 26–29 September 2016 in Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

During the meeting a field trip was organized and led by Blue Forests under the leadership of Ben Brown and Rignolda Djamaluddin, who also prepared this Field Guide; their contributions are gratefully acknowledged. SWAMP/CIFOR would also like to thank the David & Lucile Packard Foundation for its financial support that made the entire meeting a success.