Perceptive insight into incentive design and sustainability of participatory mangrove management: a case study from the Indian Sundarbans

Incentive design is among the decisive factors behind active community participation and long-term sustainability of participatory forest management. Especially in case of mangroves, where multiple interests apply, it requires a careful integration of several ecological, economic and institutional factors. The primary objective of this paper is to understand the basis of incentive design and make a comprehensive inquiry into the existing incentive mechanism of participatory mangrove management in Indian Sundarbans. The qualitative and in-depth assessment was derived against a conceptual framework that contains three main determinants: (1) resources availability, (2) control mechanism, and (3) perception of end-users. The study deploys the results of various participatory exercises such as structured interviews with forest officials, focus group discussions with 10 Joint Forest Management Committees and semi-structured interviews with 119 mangrove users. In general, we observed an over-cautious, hierarchical and safety-margin-based incentive design with distinct bifurcation of communities over the adequacy and effectiveness of derived benefits. Although, the incentives are diverse and align well with the overall conservation of mangroves, they are considered to be insufficient by nearly half of the mangrove users. The main issues that were observed to hinder effective community participation can be summarized as (1) serious restrictions on access to economically exploitable mangrove products, (2) passive involvement of vulnerable occupational groups, and (3) lack of trust and conflicting interests between the officials and the communities. Although the existing preventive management of mangroves can be justified considering the magnanimity of the Indian Sundarbans, it can severely impair community participation and emerge as a clear threat to future sustainability. To secure greater participation of the communities, we propose small scale, innovative developmental incentives to supplement traditional forest-resource-based incentives.

Sustainability Evaluation of Mangrove Forest Management System of Tagbanua Tribe in Bgy. Manalo, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines

Community-based forest management agreement in the country is a needed instrument in attaining sustainability of mangrove management.Sadly,there is no assurance that the system implemented in the mangrove forest management is sustainable.So,evaluating the mangrove management sustainability of the local tribe is a viable avenue for the appropriate management.In this study,the sustainability of the mangrove management system of the Tagbanua tribe in Bgy.Manalo,Puerto Princesa City,Palawan was evaluated.The study utilized various criteria with relevant indicators of sustainable mangrove forest management in assessing the mangrove forest management system.Focused group discussions were conducted to identify the relevant sustainable mangrove forest management C&I and verifiers.Each indicator was rated using the formulated verifiers in the form of the rating scale.Through household interviews,FGD,KII,mangrove assessment,and secondary data analysis,this study also used a mathematical model on the Sustainability Index for Individual Criteria(SIIC)to evaluate the scores for individual criteria and the Overall Sustainability Index(OSI)of the community.As a result,there are a total of seven relevant criteria,and 35 relevant indicators for Mangrove Management in Barangay Manalo.Based on the individual rating of seven criteria,the overall rating of the sustainable mangrove management system is 1.80,which implies a fairly sustainable mangrove management system.Also,the computed overall sustainability index is 0.26,which is fairly or moderately sustainable.Each criterion has strengths and weaknesses and needs to be improved to have a highly sustainable mangrove management system.

Mangrove Degradation and Management Practices along the Coast of Ghana

Mangroves are increasingly being degraded in West Africa. We explored local utilization, threats and assessed existing conservation practices in Ghana through field visits, mapping, laboratory analyses and interviews. The study reports three species of mangroves along Ghana’s coastline;white (Avicennia germinans), red (Rhizophora racemosa), and black (Laguncularia racemosa) mangroves. White mangrove is the most dominant, with black mangroves being the least. The current mangrove cover of Ghana was estimated at 72.4 km2 with over 18 million trees (average = 2284.21 trees per hectare), both naturally occurring and planted mangroves. The Volta Region had the most abundant mangroves, with the Central region recording the least. Notable flora within the mangrove forests included Acrostichum aureum, Sesuvium portulacastrum, Paspalum vaginatum, Sporobolus maritima and Conocarpus erectus. Mangrove wetland in Ghana provides suitable nursery habitats for several important fish species, including Sarotherodon melanotheron, Mugil cephalus, Callinectes amnicola, Cardiosoma armatum, Crassostrea sp, Periophthalmus papilio, Coptodon spp. Ghana’s mangrove forest is declining at a rate of 8.1 km2 per annum due to over-cutting, land conversion, wildfires, pollution, overgrazing and natural death from disease. Over cutting mangrove for fish smoking and housing construction were significant threats to mangroves nationwide. Continuous education, law enforcement, nature-based methods and local control mechanisms effectively protect mangroves.

Analysis of coastal land use/land cover changes in the Indian Sunderbans using remotely sensed data

The world’s largest mangrove ecosystem,the Sunderbans is experiencing multidimensional threats of degradation.The present study was aimed to understand these problems and search for proper remedies by applying suitable remote sensing technologies.South-western parts of Indian Sunderbans Biosphere Reserve had been chosen for assessment of land use/land cover changes in between 1975 and 2006 by using multitemporal Landsat data.Results indicated considerable reduction of open mangrove stands and associated biodiversity mainly in the forest-habitation interference zones of Sunderbans.On the contrary,increase in the coverage of dense mangroves in the reserved forests had been observed indicating the existence of proper centralized management regimes.Overall,a cumulative loss of approximately 0.42%of its original mangrove cover in between 1975 and 2006 had been estimated for this part of the Sunderbans which was at parity with the findings of other studies in the Sunderbans or similar mangrove ecosystems of the tropics.Expansion of non agricultural lands in the last two decades was found to be related with the growth of new settlements,tourism infrastructure,and facilities.This transformation was attributed to the shifting of local peoples’interest from traditional forestry and subsistence farming towards alternative occupations like shrimp culture,coastal tourism,and commercial fishing although environmentally hazardous livelihood activities like collection of prawn seeds along the riverbanks were still persistent.