Pejarakan, Bali, April 2022
In 2019, A Tree for You donors funded the planting of 5,000 mangroves in the village of Pejarakan village, Bali. Planting was carried out in 2020; since then, the local partner the community collective Nature Conservation Forum (NCF) Putri Menjangan has coordinated maintenance of the plots, monitoring, and replanting to ensure the 5,000 mangroves were alive and well at the end of the project.
An ongoing effort by the community to clean up plastic waste and raise awareness of the importance of mangroves
Pejarakan community members have proved highly motivated and committed to the project. In 2021, NCF Putri Menjangan continued cleaning up plastic waste on the plots. Events were held about twice a month, involving over 50 people from the community.
“During the rainy season, the water and rivers carry plastic packaging and garbage that ends up on the shores of Pejarakan. Today, we collected 23 kilos of waste in 40 minutes!” said Ketut, a member of NCF Putri Menjangan, who took part in the regular beach clean-ups in 2021.
NFC Putri Menjangan organised mangrove planting with teams from the Plataran Menjangan Resort and West Bali National Park (WBNP) management to raise awareness of plastic pollution and its impacts on ecosystems among businesses and local authorities.
Replanting activities in 2021 to maintain optimal density on the plots
During the first monitoring session in December 2020, propagule growth was good, with a 75% survival rate; the team was however concerned about the potential effects of plastic waste and waves, which could impact part of the plots more exposed to the open sea.
So, replanting activities were carried out by the field team in February and again in September 2021, with the participation of 12 NFC Putri Menjangan team members. A total of 1,750 propagules were collected from the nearby mangrove forest and transplanted on the plots.
The propagules were replanted to have a mangrove plant growing every metre, which will ensure optimal forest density over the long term.
5,100 living mangroves after the second monitoring session, to be completed by extra planting in 2022
In July 2021, the field team ran the second monitoring session, which revealed a survival rate of 67% (excluding the propagules newly planted in 2021). This result is consistent with the normal development of a mangrove restoration project. Mortality is due to the direct impact of waves and currents on the young mangroves.
Forming a real protective belt along the coastline, the mangroves are most useful in these exposed areas.
With the replanting completed in 2021, 5,100 living mangroves are currently growing on the plots funded by A Tree For You donors. Since the project has some unspent budget, it was decided to continue planting for another year to reach A Tree For You’s target of 5,000 stable mangroves. So in 2022, the field team will plant an extra 1,000 mangroves on the plots.
