Cultivation of stingless bee in the mangrove ecosystem, Kutawaru Village, Cilacap District, Central Java Province – Indonesia

Mangrove trees that grow densely by the sea decorate various tropical beaches on Earth. This forest is home to a variety of wildlife, protecting more than 3,000 species of fish. Mangrove forests can absorb up to ten times as much carbon per hectare as rainforests, making them an important player in curbing climate change. Mangrove roots also help anchor shorelines around the world, protecting the coast from the effects of violent storm surges, much more effectively than concrete walls on ocean banks. Despite all these benefits, mangrove forests tend to have no value in the eyes of many people. Explosive growth from shrimp farming, urban expansion, climate change, and other aspects of economic development reduced mangrove forests by 35% between 1980 and 2000. Eleven of about 70 mangrove species were threatened with extinction. This is also the case in the southern coastal region of Java Island, precisely in the Segara Anakan area, Cilacap Regency, Central Java. One of the strategies to preserve the mangrove ecosystem is to utilize its ecological potential for honey bee cultivation.