Jakarta (ANTARA) – Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono emphasized that mangrove rehabilitation is an essential effort to maintain the productivity of the fisheries sector while strengthening national food security.”Mangrove rehabilitation should not only involve planting, but it must be carried out based on ecological suitability so that ecosystem function is truly restored,” Trenggono said in an official statement received here on Monday.Trenggono attended the peak commemoration of World Mangrove Day held by the Ministry of Environment in Denpasar, Bali, on Sunday. Mangrove planting took place at Batu Lumbang Ecotourism area in Denpasar.Trenggono said the need for food, particularly protein sources, will continue to increase as the world population is projected to reach 9.66 billion people by 2050, including around 320.7 million Indonesians.He argued that Indonesia has a strategic position as a major fisheries producer, with around 23 percent of the world's mangrove ecosystems playing a vital role in supporting fisheries productivity and food security.However, based on the ministry's data, Indonesia has lost around 40 percent of its mangrove area in the last three decades, with the rate of destruction reaching around 52 thousand hectares per year.In addition, around 19.26 percent of mangrove ecosystems in Indonesia are currently in critical condition.In fact, mangroves have a strategic role in protecting coastal areas, providing habitat for various marine biota, supporting fisheries productivity and community livelihoods, and absorbing carbon, which contributes to climate change mitigation.To support the rehabilitation of coastal ecosystems, the ministry is targeting the expansion of marine conservation areas covering mangrove ecosystems, seagrass beds, and coral reefs to 97.5 million hectares by 2045.This step was taken to maintain the sustainability of marine resources and the productivity of capture fisheries.In addition, the ministry is also integrating mangrove rehabilitation with the development of fisheries cultivation areas through a program to revitalize 14,000 hectares of unproductive ponds on the North Coast of Java in the first phase.The program aims to restore coastal ecosystems, increase fisheries production, absorb labor, and support food security.