Community Perception of the Value of the Ecosystems of the Bons Sinais Estuary

Abstract

Understanding the community’s perceptions of, and beliefs about, the value of ecosystems and natural resources is important for designing effective environmental education and awareness campaigns and for the adoption of sustainable natural resources management.  The present paper examines the perceptions of the natural resource users in the Bons Sinais Estuary and gauges their willingness to contribute to mangrove ecosystem restoration and management. 169 natural resource users, including fishermen, farmers, and forest produce users, from five villages along the Estuary (Marrubune, Gazelas, Icidua, Chuabo Dembe and Inhangome), were interviewed. The interviewees assigned high value to the estuary as a source of fish, as agricultural land and as productive forest. They considered the estuary important for provision of clean water and air and for its potential for tourism development. There were strong similarities, across the region, with regard to the value of the estuary ecosystem (0.6<r<0.8; p=0.000) and on the perception of the ecological importance of mangroves (r≥0.9; p≤0.009). The community agreed to mangrove restoration and were willing to contribute to this in labour and in cash. They were aware of and complied with the management rules and regulations for fisheries and mangroves. The banning of small mesh fishing nets and mangrove cutting and introduction of a close season were popular measures. The people favoured the co-management governance system. Keywords:  Ecosystem services, Natural resource management, Livelihood activities, mangrove restoration, co-management.