Jakarta, May 12 -- Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni reaffirmed Indonesia's strategic role in preserving mangrove ecosystems and highlighted its World Mangrove Center initiative, expected to drive stronger international collaboration on sustainability.

Speaking at the 21st Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests in New York, the United States, on Monday (May 11), he emphasized that the government is determined to safeguard mangroves nationwide, which account for 23 percent of the world's total.

"As Indonesia houses nearly one-third of the world's mangrove fields, we aim to ensure these ecosystems become a primary pillar of climate change mitigation and coastal protection," Antoni noted in a statement cited in Jakarta on Tuesd...