Restoring Myanmar’s mangrove forests and coastal communities’ socioeconomic stability with community based mangrove management

Abstract

Mangrove forests have a significant capacity to provide ecosystem services. However, deforestation from land use changes has led to widespread degradation of these services and consequently jeopardizes coastal populations. Reforestation projects and attempts to develop sustainable management procedures are widely attempted worldwide. However, these projects often have sustainable rural livelihood improvements as a complementary goal. Integrated approaches such as Community Based Mangrove Management (CBMM) are emerging to bridge the gap between ecological restoration, community participation and livelihood improvements. CBMM has been applied in several projects in Myanmar with mostly positive impacts on sustainable rural livelihoods. This research shows that an active inclusion of local communities in planning and implementation of restoration projects could lead to a more sustainable management of the mangrove forests, and ensure livelihood improvements for coastal communities.