ABSTRACT
The tropical and subtropical coasts of the world are lined with a highly specialized type of forested wetland system known as mangroves. Mangrove forests occupy intertidal zones and are adapted to regular inundation by a range of salinities (e.g., freshwater to oceanic). Many rural coastal communities continue to thrive today on subsistence-based economies supported by goods harvested from mangrove forests, even more so than communities in urban areas and industrialized nations. These communities are part of the mangrove ecosystems that support them, as their lives are inextricably entwined with them. Community-based management offers realistic solutions to both sides of the mangrove conservation-use equation. Involving users of mangrove forests in conservation and management plans ensures that their (societal) needs are considered, while improving ecological outcomes, which together can boost the economics of mangrove systems on a range of temporal and spatial scales.
