The Directorate of Mangrove Rehabilitation at the Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) has launched the first cohort of the MATAHARI Acceleration Program as a strategic initiative to strengthen the leadership capacity of young civil servants (ASN) within the Ministry. The MATAHARI Acceleration Program—Manajer Tata Kelola Hutan dan Mangrove Lestari (Sustainable Forest and Mangrove Governance Managers)—is designed to equip young ASNs to become leaders capable of working across regions, sectors, and organizational units in addressing the challenges of forest management and mangrove rehabilitation in Indonesia.
Indonesia is home to the largest mangrove ecosystem in the world, with more than 3.4 million hectares stretching from Aceh to Papua, representing approximately 23 percent of the world’s total mangrove area. Indonesia’s forest cover spans 95.5 million hectares, making it the country with the third-largest tropical forest area globally, after Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Forest and mangrove management in Indonesia is extensive, transcends administrative boundaries, and requires the active contribution of multiple stakeholders. These conditions demand the presence of young leaders who understand local contexts and are able to collaborate at the national level. The MATAHARI Acceleration Program is designed to meet this need.
The program aims to address the complex challenges of managing forests and mangroves in Indonesia. The forestry sector currently faces a situation characterized by Turbulence, Uncertainty, Novelty, and Ambiguity (TUNA). As the manager of vast forest and mangrove areas, the Ministry of Forestry requires ASNs who are not only technically competent but also capable of agile leadership and adaptive vision. The program seeks to cultivate leaders who can collaborate effectively to safeguard environmental sustainability amid rapid global change.
The first cohort of the MATAHARI Acceleration Program was attended by 80 young ASNs from various regions across Indonesia, with women comprising more than one-third of the participants. The participants completed 42 hours of training over five days in South Tangerang. Training modules included the Zero State Budget (Zero APBN) mindset, adaptive leadership, becoming ecosystem builders and agents of change, building adaptive and resilient teams, and effective communication. Participants also gained insights and experience from senior leaders in public relations and human resource management within the Ministry, as well as from conservation experts.
The Director of Mangrove Rehabilitation emphasized that a leader’s integrity and adaptability are critical determinants of the sustainability of Indonesia’s forest and mangrove ecosystems. “The sustainability of forest and mangrove ecosystems is highly dependent on the quality of leadership that manages them. Sound policies and strong regulations can fail if they are not supported by adaptive and integrity-driven leadership,” the Director stated.
The MATAHARI Acceleration Program is an initiative of the Directorate of Mangrove Rehabilitation, Ministry of Forestry, and is supported by the Mangroves for Coastal Resilience (M4CR) Project. Through the M4CR Project, the Ministry has strengthened the capacity of human resources managing mangrove forests and successfully planted 20.8 million mangrove seedlings during the 2024–2025 period. As of 2025, the M4CR Project has realized mangrove planting across 15,574 hectares in four priority provinces: North Kalimantan, North Sumatra, Riau, and East Kalimantan.
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