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In this case study, we will be looking at an area of Brazil that has decided to adopt a co-management approach to the conservation of their mangroves. Before getting into that though, we will first look at some rudimentary background information about the ecology of mangroves and their economic significance.
The term “mangrove” can be used to refer to two different concepts: an ecological group of halophytic species belonging to some twelve genera in eight different families, as well as the complex of plant communities fringing sheltered tropical shores [1]; since most of the focus of this case study will be looking at mangrove ecosystems, we will mainly be referring to the second definition when using the term “mangroves”. The trees are most often found growing in saline or brackish environments and can be identified by their shrub-like stature and the presence of aerial roots. The physiognomy, or form and appearance, of mangroves is an important aspect of the ecosystem. Physiognomy usually helps to classify the different styles of mangrove forests based on the type of environment the mangrove trees are growing in. For example: “riverine” type mangrove forests form along river and creek drainages, while fringe forests develop along the fringes of shorelines; these are the two that many people normally think of when they think of mangroves, although there are a number of different forest-types mangroves can take: overwash forests, basin forests, dwarf forests, ect.
Mangroves are often just as valuable economically as they are environmentally. Mangrove ecosystems generally have high amounts of biomass, or the total amount of organisms in an area. This is largely due to mangroves being an ideal habitat for animals living in the shoreline environment, as well as due to the high level of primary productivity which allows for the vast diversity of plant products produced by mangroves [2]. This allows for people located in communities near mangroves to use this high biomass to their advantage economically. Mangroves are commonly used for fishing and fisheries by local communities. Mangroves also usually have different species of crab that can people will catch and sell for food as well. Shrimp are also a common part of the commercial fishing in mangroves that are fringe forests and riverine forests.
There has been more pressure as of late for Brazil to be more active in the conservation of their mangrove forests. Many local communities that live along the Brazilian mangroves use the fact that the mangrove ecosystem provides excellent nursing grounds for many species of organisms like fish and crab to feed their families and support their economy through fishing. Unfortunately, this can often lead to overfishing when the entire community is depending almost solely on fishing. Another danger that these mangrove forests face are from agriculture. Mangroves are sometimes removed so that the area can be used as agricultural land. More commonly, the danger comes from agricultural lands being put directly adjacent and/or on top of mangrove forest to make use of the high nutrient cycling that enriches the soil in mangrove ecosystems. If not careful, these adjacent farmlands can cause many different kinds of damage to the nearby mangroves, a common one being sediment burial. One recognizable characteristics of mangroves are the presence of aerial roots. These are roots that stick up out of the soil and help the mangroves to respire more efficiently in the anaerobic substrate of their saline wetland environment [3]. If soil moved from the land that is being turned into farming coves up these aerial roots, it will easily kill off the mangrove trees in the forest.
Recently, some areas of Brazil that are or may be starting to feel the pressure to work more effectively on mangrove conservation are making a push to make a change for the better. The main area we will be looking at is an area on the coastal region of Bragança in Pará State, North Brazil where they have adopted a co-management solution to mangrove conservation. Co-management, also referred to as collaborative management, can be defined as the sharing of power and responsibility between the government and local resource users that combines state control with local, decentralized decision making and accountability and which, ideally, combine the strengths and mitigate the weaknesses of each [4]. In 1988, the Brazilian national constitution added official policy to allow for co-management under the provision for reserva extrativista (RESEX); this approach allowed for territorial spaces to be destined for the self-sustained exploration and conservation of renewable natural resources by user populations, as well as allowed for the government to protect nature through use, improve the living conditions of traditional primary resource users of natural resources, and integrate the primary resource users into the national development processes [5]. The RESEX approach to co-management has actually worked towards mangrove conservation by working to improve social and economic problems in the communities. For example, offering better education as a way to help decrease poverty by allowing people in the community to get better jobs. This means there will be less people relying on purely on the mangroves, limiting the overfishing and destruction of the mangrove forests. Other co-management projects include more/better employment for women, improved medical facilities, improved quality of local leadership, and much more.
The RESEX co-management approach helps to improve mangrove conservation in the Northern Brazilian coastal regions through improvement of the socio-economic structure of the local communities to limit the overwhelming depends these areas had on exploiting the mangrove forests. With all the fear and danger of losing rare and pivotal environments to damage and exploitation, it is good to find success stories of communities trying to make a change for the better. As this program continues to grow, we can only hope to see other areas in Brazil and other parts of the world taking similar steps to help protect vital mangrove ecosystems.
References:
- Lugo, Ariel E., and Samuel C. Snedaker. "The ecology of mangroves." Annual review of ecology and systematics (1974): 39-64.
- Ewel, Katherine, Robert Twilley, and J. I. N. Ong. "Different kinds of mangrove forests provide different goods and services." Global Ecology & Biogeography Letters 7.1 (1998): 83-94.
- Ellison, Joanna C. "Impacts of sediment burial on mangroves." Marine Pollution Bulletin 37.8 (1999): 420-426.
- Carlsson, Lars, and Fikret Berkes. "Co-management: concepts and methodological implications." Journal of environmental management 75.1 (2005): 65-76.
- Glaser, Marion, and Rosete da Silva Oliveira. "Prospects for the co‐management of mangrove ecosystems on the North Brazilian coast: Whose rights, whose duties and whose priorities?." Natural Resources Forum. Vol. 28. No. 3. Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2004.