Through private-sector partnership, Pact supports communities and mangroves in Indonesia

Mangroves provide vital ecosystem benefits to local communities. They act as powerful carbon sinks, storing up to four times more carbon in their soils than other forests. They also protect coastlines from sea-level rise and storms, safeguarding communities’ lives and livelihoods.

Yet over the past 30 years, in Indonesia – home to more than 20% of the world’s mangroves – roughly half of these precious ecosystems have been lost. 

This is why Pact and Chevron, which have collaborated for social impact for more than a decade, came together in 2022 to take action. 

In East Kalimantan, Indonesia, many mangrove forests have been converted into shrimp ponds. As shrimp yields have decreased, farmers have cleared more and more coastal mangroves to try to save their livelihoods. In villages such as Pegat Batumbuk and Tabalar Muara, in the regency of Berau, shrimp-dependent families have struggled. 

The three-year MESTI project – a partnership among local communities, a local Indonesian conservation organization, Pact, and Chevron – took on both the economic and environmental challenges of shrimp aquaculture. The results for participating communities have been life-changing. 

MESTI, which recently came to a successful close, helped shrimp farmers to farm more productively in ponds that require less space, making room for vital mangrove restoration. 

To build local capacity, MESTI created a field school and offered a 15-module training to farmers, including training of trainers, on topics from ecosystem mapping to aquaculture business planning. Farmers were trained in the use of the innovative shrimp farming method: Shrimp-Carbon Aquaculture (SECURE).

“Farmers began a new journey of learning,” Muchmin, a field facilitator, said. “They explored the whole ecosystem cycle.”

Kisman, a shrimp farmer, said, “What we gained from this program was training on how to manage shrimp ponds in an environmentally friendly way. Now, the community’s harvests are improving. Since learning SECURE practices, our results have improved.”

To ensure impact, Pact began by conducting supply and value chain analyses to inform the program. The science-based local conservation organization then worked with farmer partners to test new methods, beginning in the nursery. Farmers learned ways to produce stronger fry – or young shrimp – to reduce risk from the start. This helped fry survival rates to quickly soar. 

More reliable harvests meant more income, said Jamaluddin, a participating farmer. “There has been a real economic improvement.”

Of the 130 farmers who MESTI trained, 100 reported having the ability to generate more income as a result. 

The change didn’t come only from ponds. With MESTI’s support, women-led cooperatives began diversifying their income, learning to make higher-value products from harvests, such as shrimp paste. They obtained business licenses, distribution permits, and access to new markets. 

The three women-led groups supported by MESTI – with 53 members total – established production levels of around 6,000 items per month, with an average return on investment of 167%.

MESTI also supported the installation of a solar power system, giving communities reliable electricity to power successful businesses for the first time. Tabalar Muara is not grid-connected, so before MESTI, villagers relied mostly on diesel for electricity. After installing a rooftop solar system on a local women-led production house, the community gained enough energy to also power lighting for streets and other priority public places.

Between 2022 and 2025, the average household income in Pegat Batumbuk and Tabalar Muara rose by 50%.

Andi Nisbahwati, a women’s group member, described the impact: “Previously, our production was very limited. We had a group, but there was no real unity within it, because we lacked support and motivation to move forward. After we received assistance from Pact and Chevron, we felt the desire to grow.”

As ponds thrived and livelihoods improved, previously degraded mangrove areas began to regenerate. 

MESTI also supported local communities and authorities to position the local shrimp farming sector to access carbon finance in the future. This included providing strategic recommendations to strengthen effectiveness, inclusiveness, and sustainability of Berau carbon finance initiatives, and key guidance such as simplifying technical guidelines, standardizing validation processes, strengthening sub-district roles, and improving participation of vulnerable groups.

“The progress is a reflection of prosperity in balance. For families in Tabalar Muara and Pegat Batumbuk, shrimp farming and mangroves are no longer in conflict but in harmony,” said David Bonnardeaux, Pact’s Director of Environment and Clean Energy. “This is the kind of impact that Pact is able to make when we partner with the private sector – and most importantly with local communities, which is our cornerstone.”

MESTI’s model was designed to be replicated in additional villages, ensuring sustainable social and environmental impact that will continue into the future.

Herdin, a village secretary in Pegat Batumbuk, thinks his community can inspire its neighbors. “Hopefully this can be duplicated in other villages,” he said. “Even though our land is small, it can still produce yields equal to or greater than larger areas.”

The impact for Berau’s shrimp farmers is environmental and economic resilience – leading to better food and social security and, ultimately, better lives.