Dependency of Local Community on Mangrove Ecosystem in Mahi and Dadhar River Estuaries - Western India

The global annihilation of mangroves ecosystem is of concern as they provide diverse and high valued ecosystems services to human communities, both direct and indirect. The mangrove forests have been shown to sustain more than... [ view full abstract ]

The global annihilation of mangroves ecosystem is of concern as they provide diverse and high valued ecosystems services to human communities, both direct and indirect. The mangrove forests have been shown to sustain more than 70 human activities, ranging from fuel-wood collection to fisheries. Present study was carried out to know various usage of mangrove, economic benefits and perceptions about mangrove cover in two adjoining estuaries, Mahi and Dhadhar River, in Gulf of Khambhat, Western Coast of India. A Questionnaire based survey was carried out in 18 villages with sample size of 25 individuals per village. The result showed high dependency pressure and overall mangrove users are more in Mahi river estuary. Use of mangrove as a fishing resources was the main use apart from use as a fodder and use of mangrove, Avicennia marina, seeds as food by local villagers. Conservation knowledge about mangrove ecosystem was good and people noticed increased in mangrove covers probably because of recent mangrove plantation projects by various organizations in the study area.