From Tourism to Trees
In a groundbreaking move towards sustainable practices, Traveloka, CarbonEthics, and WRI Indonesia have forged a strategic alliance, centered around a shared commitment to empower farmers on Harapan Island, Kepulauan Seribu. Recognizing the critical role mangrove ecosystems play in coastal health and carbon sequestration, this collaboration is set to bring tangible benefits to both the environment and local communities.
This strategic alliance with CarbonEthics and WRI Indonesia goes beyond mere carbon offsets; it's about actively restoring vital ecosystems and equipping coastal communities with the tools to thrive. The program took place in Jakarta on 22-23 November, 2023.
The capacity building event aims to increase the knowledge capacity of local community on mangrove restoration management and how the interlinkages between mangrove ecosystem with regenerative ecotourism. In addition, the focus group discussion with local community aims to obtain local knowledge on behavioral shifting from business as usual activity to sustainable environmental management. Furthermore, the training on monitoring and evaluation tool for restoration program is designed to increase planting partner and local community’s knowledge to independently maintain the restoration program for long term period.
The collaboration between CarbonEthics, Traveloka, and WRI Indonesia serves as sign of commitment and an example for companies in empowering coastal communities through capacity-building and conserving mangrove ecosystems, can be achieved through a holistic approach to the preservation and sustainable management of coastal areas.
Also read:Â Ministry of Marine Affairs & Fisheries Collaborates with CarbonEthics to Restore Seagrass Ecosystem
How Mangrove Uplift the Social-Economic Development of Coastal Communities
Mangrove forests are vital for healthy coastal ecosystems in many regions of the world. They support an immense variety of sea life in intricate food webs associated directly with the mangrove trees themselves. Healthy mangrove forests also play an important role in carbon sequestration, with mangrove and wetland ecosystems contributing almost nearly a third of the world’s terrestrial carbon stores.
Intact mangroves also form a natural coastline protection shield against floods, storms, or other natural events such as hurricanes and tsunamis that usually cause disasters. Beyond these irreplaceable ecosystem services, mangroves also provide important socio-economic benefits to coastal communities, enhancing their function as a natural water treatment system and spawning grounds for fish. This improvement in health and fishing possibilities also brings economic benefits to local coastal communities.
With that background, PT. Trinusa Travelindo (Traveloka) has been committed to green investment in nature-based carbon sequestration projects to increase the level of carbon sink in the ecosystem and empower coastal communities. With a focus on coastal ecosystems, Traveloka entered into an agreement with CarbonEthics and WRI Indonesia in 2023 to manage their sequestration efforts and empower coastal communities through skill enhancement and training.
References
J. Sanderman, T. Heng, G. Fiske, K. Solvik, M. F. Adame, L. Benson, J. J Bukoski, P. Carnell, M. Cifuentes-Jara and D. Donato. 2018. A Global Map of Mangrove Forest Soil Carbon at 30 m Spatial Resolution. Environmental Research Letters. 13 (5) : 1-12.
New Study Finds Mangroves May Store Way More Carbon Than We Thought. Retrieved December 14, 2023 from https://news.mongabay.com/2018/05/new-study-finds-mangroves-may-store-way-more-carbon-than-we-thought/