Assessment of water quality based on biological indices of macrobenthos: a river under pressure from tourism activities

Cijulang River is one of the leading ecotourism objects in Pangandaran, West Java Province, Indonesia. However, the river has a variety of activities that can increase the water pollution in the river such as Green Canyon cliffs tourism, ecotourism of mangrove conservation, housing, and industrial siting. Macrobenthos is one of the bio-indicators that can assess the rate of water pollution in rivers, especially their organic pollutants. Therefore, this research aims to determine water pollution status in Cijulang River Tourism by comparing various biotic indices. The study was conducted at four site sampling locations from upstream to downstream in the rainy season period and dry season period using different methods namely, line transect model, water quality assessment by biological indexing (diversity, species dominant, and family biotic), species deficit, and organic measurement. The research showed 5873 macrobenthos and divided into 27 species with an average abundance of 167 ind.m-2 and are mainly dominated by gastropod species Faunus ater (40%). They are extreme species that can live in high organic pollution and water salinity. This divided the research of quality water assessment of Cijulang River into three categories as follows: slightly polluted (score 36-46) at Green Canyon site, moderately polluted (score 50-60) at Boat Shelter and Muara Cijulang location, and highly polluted (score 66) at Nusawiru site.Keywords:RiverBio-indicatorOrganicAquatic pollution

Multi-Stakeholder Approach in Natural Resources Management: The Case of Mida Creek and Gongoni-Marereni Mangrove Ecosystems in Kilifi County, Kenya

Multi-stakeholder approach has an overall improvement in conservation and management of mangrove forests resources, more so with a functional coordination framework among stakeholders. Mida creek and Gongoni-Marereni sites were compared in terms of the presence of the multi-stakeholders and the level of coordination and cooperation among stakeholders in conservation of mangrove forests. Data was gathered through a semi-structured interview questionnaire from Key Informants from the stakeholders present in the two sites. The data collected captured stakeholder presence on site, participation in mangrove conservation, and coordination and cooperation with others. There was a variation in multi-stakeholder participation in the two sites. Gongoni-Marereni site had less stakeholders compared to Mida creek which had more, with the latter having a greater participation of stakeholders. The Gongoni-Marereni site mangroves were degraded while in Mida creek had healthy mangroves.

Status, Threats and Conservation of the Wetland Ecosystem Dominated with Mangroves in India

Mangroves are one of the most undermined biological systems. They have immense ecological and economic advantages. Consistent, increment in natural and coastal development like a change of wetlands for hydroponics, construction for tourism, the tsunami has led to the demolishment of mangrove environments in India. The inhabitants of minor zones are at risk of losing their livelihood and there is a threat to the existence of the mangrove ecosystem. It has been noted that from a decade ago, about 40% of the Indian mangrove territories have been lost. At present, the environmental changes and increased anthropogenic activities have become a significant concern for the conservation and sustaining of the mangroves. Conservation of mangrove environment can be accomplished by increasing awareness about their significance among various stakeholders and safeguarding them through mandatory national policy and regulations. A specific policy like Coastal Zone Regulation has been formulated to ensure mangrove conservation, sustainable existence of local community habitat along the coastal area, fishing community, and coastal stretches for marine habitat have been protected.

Suitability analysis of mangrove conversation areas in Mundu District, Cirebon Regency using Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

This study aims to analyze the suitability of mangrove conservation areas in the Mundu District, Cirebon Regency. In this study, we used Sentinel-2A satellite data obtained from ESA Copernicus’s web to analyze the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) of mangrove that will be used as a mangrove health indicator and several oceanographic characteristics to assess the suitability of mangrove conservation areas based on weighing-scores systems. All data were then analyzed using image processing combined with geographic information systems (GIS) tools available in the open-access QGIS software. Results show that the health of the mangrove based on vegetation index was in the range of 0.3–0.6. Mangroves in Mundu Region have consisted of two species, Avicennia marina, and Rhizophora apiculata. The substrate in this area is dominated by muddy sand with a pH value of 8 and an average salinity of 32 PSU. The tidal type in Mundu region has mixed semi-diurnal characteristics with an average tidal height of 1.22 m. Based on those parameters and NDVI analysis, the suitability rank for mangrove conservation areas can be classified as suitable with a total score in the ranges of 101-200.

The improvement of molluscs population: as a parameter of success of local scale mangrove conservation on the south coast of Lombok

Mangroves are known by local people as mangrove plants that contribute to the sustainability of the diversity of marine biota species, such as molluscs. At the study site, mangrove conservation activities have been carried out by the community and are thought to influence the development of molluscs populations significantly. The study aims to assess the results of local-scale mangrove conservation with the development of molluscs populations. The research method uses observation methods with transect methods for ecological data. Ecological data analysis uses the index of evenness, richness, and diversity. The analysis found 27 species of molluscs consisting of 21 species of gastropods and 6 species of bivalves. The highest evenness and diversity was found at 2.4 in Gerupuk, while the highest wealth index was 16.8 in Poton Bakau. Furthermore, the molluscs species found consists of two classes, namely bivalves and gastropods. The main factor in determining species richness, is more determined by the condition of the substrate. In this case, the presence of mangroves is very important in creating the substrate conditions needed by the diversity of mollusc species. Therefore, mangrove conservation is very important for the protection and preservation and diversity of molluscs species. Information on the ecological potential of mangroves on fauna diversity, especially molluscs, can be a major source of ecosystem-based marine resource management, such as at the study site.

Priority Areas for Mangrove Conservation to Support Disaster Mitigation Efforts in Pacitan Bay

Mangrove ecosystems at the estuary of Teleng River, Pacitan Bay, call for preservation, protection, and development as a natural vegetative defense against tsunami impacts. Limited availability of potential land for mangrove growth poses a challenge to sustainable mangrove management. To anticipate land acquisition for another use, it is necessary to study land suitability for mangrove and mangrove conservation priorities in the Pacitan Bay. The land suitability parameters consisted of landform, slope, soil texture, and tidal fluctuation, while the mangrove conservation priority was determined based on several aspects: mangrove land cover reduction, mangrove damage level, beach ridge and riparian zone, and land suitability. The results indicate that lands with high potential for mangroves are distributed along Teleng and Grindulu Rivers but not precisely at the estuary. Based on the suitability results, highly potential and potential lands are proposed for mangrove planting, while existing mangroves are for protection and preservation zones, especially on the sides where relatively young mangroves grow for their roots are not strong enough to withstand river currents.

Socioeconomic Patterns for Global Mangrove Cover Changes with Multivariate Analyses

Socioeconomic patterns beyond the land conversions of global mangrove cover changes were few discussed. This study integrated databases of global mangrove covers, i.e., a multi-database in 1980-2016 with a combination of FAO country-survey and the global mangrove watch, and a mangrove biome cover database in 2000-2012. Annual mangrove cover change (%) of each mangrove holding country or territory was incorporated with its socioeconomic indicators in the two periods to testify possible socioeconomic patterns beyond the mangrove deforestation. The socioeconomic indicators consisted of GDP per capita and urban population percentile, and aquacultural indicators (production per capita, sales value per capita, contribution to the national GDP, and product price). Results indicated that annual mangrove cover change was interactively driven by multi-factors of national economy measures, urbanization, and aquaculture, instead of aquacultural dominance or GDP per capita alone. The multi-factor driven patterns of annual mangrove changes differed geographically among the continents. Temporal change of aquacultural product price was significantly and positively correlated to annual mangrove cover change (increase), especially in Asia and Oceania for both the periods, suggesting positive feedbacks of mangrove conservation and restoration in the two continents although the price was used to a motivator of mangrove deforestation, such as currently in Africa. These findings preliminarily bridge the knowledge gap between land conversion losses and socioeconomics of global mangrove cover changes.

The social life of mangroves: Neoliberal development and mangrove conservation in the changing landscape of Kutch

This article explores the convergence of neoliberal development and mangrove conservation in marginal environments, which are becoming the new resource frontiers. We focus on Kutch, a border district in western India and highlight how the contested trajectories of accelerated and aggressive industrialisation and its convergence with state and corporate-led conservation programmes are shaping the social life of mangroves on the Kutchi coast. We focus on the discourses, practices and politics of value-making and un-making that constitute the multiple modalities of repair as mangroves are depleted and securitised simultaneously. Although these trends are augmenting capitalist accumulation on the coast, they are also giving rise to new kinds of alliances that seek to challenge the logic and practice of repair by highlighting the synergistic relationship of coastal communities with their mangrove habitats.

Valuing the Role of Mangroves in Storm Damage Reduction in Coastal Areas of Odisha

Mangroves help in building coastal resilience as effective natural safeguards against cyclones. The state of Odisha is the most cyclone prone region in the east coast of India and was endowed with nearly 500 km2 of mangroves until 1940s, which has now been reduced, through destruction, to 227 km2. This chapter attempts to value the storm protection provided by these remaining mangroves during the 1999 super cyclone and examines whether it is economically efficient to conserve these mangroves. During this storm, the storm protection value of mangroves was estimated to be USD 68,586 per km width and USD 4335 per ha of mangroves to all households living in the impact zone of the forest. To examine the question of conservation, these onetime values were annualized and the annual storm protection value of a mangrove hectare was found to be more than two times higher than the land price of cleared forests and more than twenty times higher than the annual return from alternative land uses, justifying mangrove conservation as a socially and financially viable policy and an economically efficient decision to build resilience.

The impact of mangrove damage on tidal flooding in the subdistrict of Tugu, Semarang, Central Java

Expansion of industrial areas, aquaculture, settlements, and limited knowledge of the community about the function of mangroves allegedly led to the conversion of mangrove functions in the early 1990s. This study aimed to map the condition of mangroves from 1988, 1990, 1995, 2008, to 2021 and their effect on the widespread of tidal flooding in three villages (Mangkang Kulon, Mangunharjo, Mangkang Wetan) in Tugu subdistrict, Semarang City. The research method was carried out by using spatiotemporal analysis of Landsat 5 and Landsat 8 imagery through the supervised approach (Maximum Likelihood algorithm). In order to map the correlation of mangrove damage with the widespread impact of tidal flooding, an overlay analysis of land use maps was carried out in 1988, 1990, 1995, 2008 and 2021. The results of the study showed that mangrove damage is correlated with the widespread of tidal flooding that drowns settlements, ponds, and agricultural land. Data analysis showed that the mangrove area in three villages has decreased from 1988 to 2021, covering an area of 242.66 ha. This condition is one of the triggers for the increase in tidal flooding area from 1988 to 2021, covering an area of 253.135 ha. As a natural barrier to prevent abrasion and tidal flooding, mangrove conservation is very necessary, considering the impact of tidal flooding on the coast of Semarang City is increasingly widespread.