Indonesia has more mangrove forests than anywhere else on Earth. The country’s 17,500 islands house around 3.2 million hectares (7.9 million acres) of mangrove, or one-fifth of the world’s remaining area. However, these unique ecosystems crucial for marine habitat, flood control and carbon sequestration are quickly being cleared.

Last year, President Joko Widodo’s administration announced an ambitious plan to replant mangroves on 600,000 hectares (1.5 million acres) of degraded coastline by 2024. While this made headlines, there is some skepticism whether the slow-moving bureaucracy can meet this goal — at least not without the help of local advocates passionate about protecting these vital habitats.

Here we highlight 10 of Indonesia’s mangrove heroes — just a few of the many individuals and local groups who have toiled in relative obscurity while planting hundreds of thousands of trees across the country. They have worked tirelessly for decades, often at great personal expense, to restore these habitats, because they recognize the benefits healthy mangroves provide for their communities.