Indonesian Mother Plants Mangroves to Protect Coastal Home from Rising Seas

Coastal Village Threatened by Rising Seas

• 🌊 Most families have evacuated a village in Indonesia's Central Java province due to rising sea levels.
• 🏠 Despite the encroaching tides, 55-year-old Pacia and her family have chosen to remain in their home.

Pacia's Mangrove Restoration Efforts

• 🌱 For 20 years, Pacia has been planting mangrove saplings to protect her home from advancing tides and waves.
• 🛥️ She travels by boat daily to tend to the mangroves, estimating she has planted hundreds of thousands of saplings.
• 🐦 Pacia explains that mangroves provide protection from wind and waves, and also create nesting places for birds.

Climate Change and Human Impact

• ⚠️ Indonesia, an archipelago, is particularly vulnerable to climate change, which accounts for up to 30% of land loss to seawater flooding.
• 🏗️ Environmentalists note that human activities, such as development projects and groundwater drilling causing land subsidence, contribute significantly to coastal erosion.
• 📈 Massive government developments have affected at least 10% of mangrove forests along the North Java coast.

Government Response and Personal Commitment

• 🚧 Indonesia's government plans to build a nearly 450-mile seawall to protect the coastline.
• 🗣️ Pacia has been trying to warn the government about environmental costs for years, feeling the seawall might be too late.
• ❤️ Despite the isolation and challenges, Pacia and her family are committed to staying as long as they can protect their home, finding strength in prayer and care for the mangroves.