Within 10 years, the growth of shrimp ponds in the Mahakam Delta has lead to the destruction of more than 50 000 hectares of mangrove forests and nypah stands. Fresh water mangrove and forests, the ultimate upstream buffer area of the delta, are already encroached. This uncontrolled growth of shrimp ponds in mangrove areas has put in jeopardy the future of the Delta's natural resources and human activities both from an ecological and economic point of view. The problem addressed is the lack of stakeholders capacity to prevent the ecological and economic breakdown of the Mahakam Delta, whose root cause lies largely in the destruction of the mangrove forest for the establishment of unsustainable shrimp production systems. The larger picture behind this is the short-term opportunistic profit oriented behaviour of stakeholders taking advantage of poor regulations and law enforcement to use the Mahakam Delta resources. So far, local authorities have been first permissive in letting free access to the resources. Then, a series of decrees and laws, including the creation of a Coordination Team (CT), were published intending to control and regulate pond development, but they have had limited impact. The proposed programme, whose preparation is currently supported by three UN agencies in Jakarta, UNDP, UNESCO and UNV, intends to provide an operational arm for the CT. The expected outcome of the programme is the implementation of a sustainable mode of utilization of the natural resources of the Delta, ensuring at the same time that the key ecological functions of the Delta are preserved and that the economic benefits of shrimp and marine production and gas exploitation are maintained on a long-term basis.