WEST JAVA — The Disaster Management Center (DMC) of Dompet Dhuafa in collaboration with the Indonesia Outdoor Festival (Indofest) and Mangrove Jakarta, held a Tanam Mangrove activity at Pantai Bahagia, Muara Gembong, Bekasi Regency on Sunday (30/7/2023). In this activity involving influencers and dozens of volunteers, 1000 mangrove seedlings were planted.
Pantai Bahagia itself was chosen because this location has environmental conditions that are quite poor due to abrasion and rob that occur. Many ponds as a source of livelihood, even people’s houses are submerged in seawater.
In the interview session, Ahmad Qurtubi, Secretary of Pantai Bahagia Village, said that in the 1980s to 2022, as much as 2500 hectares of land in Muara Gembong had been lost. In Pantai Bahagia Village alone, there are around 1800 hectares affected by abrasion, so many residents have to move because the land has been lost.
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“Of course, we have collaborated with various parties and today with DMC Dompet Dhuafa. This is different from other activities. We know mangroves and also sharing education and so on. This is not only education about mangroves, but with a level of concern for the condition of the Earth that we must instill in young people,” he said.
On this occasion, education was also carried out to the participants and the people of Pantai Bahagia about the importance of mangroves for preserving coastal areas. This educational session was delivered by Mangrove Jakarta which is a startup community initiative based in Jakarta and focuses on mangrove planting and global climate change awareness.
“The reason for choosing this area is that this is one of the areas that experience quite deep severity related to the impact of climate change, so we want to collaborate and want to contribute to reducing the impact of climate change,” explained Arif Rahmadi Haryono as Chief Executive of DMC Dompet Dhuafa.
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This activity also implements the “Lestarikan Mangrove ” program campaign, which was held during the Indofest event in June 2023. The planting of mangrove seedlings this time was attended by 30 participants consisting of DMC Dompet Dhuafa, Mangrove Jakarta, Indofest representatives, volunteers and KOLs, facilitated by community residents, one of which was the Kelompok Bahagia Berkarya (KEBAYA). This community produces processed mangrove products named MANG OGE (Mangrove Olahan Muara Gembong or Muara Gembong Processed Mangrove). The result is processed food, and beverages, and even becomes a material for making fabric dyes.
“The activity is very exciting, God willing, this will be a sustainable activity and hopefully, our good intentions can all be accepted by residents around here and also the community in general,” said Aliah Sayuti as, DMC Dompet Dhuafa Volunteer Specialist who also participated in planting mangroves.
(Dompet Dhuafa/DMC/FAD/Muthohar)