Mangroves have important ecological and economic functions for ecosystems and coastal communities (Seary, 2019). The benefits of mangrove forests can be felt both directly and indirectly because, in addition to being a natural fortress against the crashing of sea waves so as to minimize abrasion in coastal areas, marine ecosystems are also home to various kinds of biota. Starting from the crab to the place where fish reproduce and raise their young. The branches, leaves, and fruit can be used directly by the community for their daily needs.

The discourse on the reclamation of Benoa Bay was influenced by Presidential Decree No. 51 of 2014, which in recent years has become a topic of discussion, such as news at BBC:

when it is realized, it is not impossible that the mangrove ecosystem in the area will be affected. Starting from this problem, ewtried to visualize the mangrove condition of the Benoa Bay area using KLHK data:

The data ewgot consisted of five levels of density categories, namely Very Rare Mangroves to Very Dense Mangroves. Through the 3D map attribute table below, we can see that Very Dense Mangroves and Dense Mangroves have an area of 414,037 and 390,125 Ha. It's very far when it's being compared to moderate mangroves (145,534 ha), rare mangroves (54,860 ha), mangroves very rare (ha). The extent of the mangrove category is also represented by the polygon height in 3D, the polygon height is directly proportional to the mangrove area.

Based on the map above, we can conclude that the majority of the mangrove ecosystem in Benoa Bay is still in good condition when viewed through its density parameters. Therefore, it is very unfortunate when the mangrove ecosystem in this area is damaged for example due to changes in land functions such as reclamation.

The good news is that the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries for the 2014-2019 period, Mrs. Susi Pudjiastuti, through Ministerial Decree Number 46 / KEPMEN-KP / 2019 has designated Benoa Bay as a Maritime Conservation Area. This policy was issued at the end of his term of office on October 4, 2019. Although this does not necessarily cancel the potential for the implementation of the Benoa Bay reclamation project because Presidential Decree No. 51 of 2014 has not been officially canceled.

But at least the Ministerial Decree could be the beginning of the government in making regulations for development that always pay attention to environmental sustainability and realize Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Links to explore:

Reference:

Seary, R. (2019). The future of mangrove fishing communities. In Predicting Future Oceans (pp. 283–293). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-817945-1.00036-8

https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20191010195346-20-438543/menteri-susi-batalkan-reklamasi-teluk-benoa

https://www.bbc.com/indonesia/majalah-50010898