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Mangrove ecosystem functions, goods, and services in Southern and North-western Sri Lanka; insight towards ethnobiology and mangrove conservation

par Ngendahimana, Ephrem
Promoteur Dahdouh-Guebas, Farid
Co-Promoteur Huge, Jean ;Kodikara, Sunanda K.A.S.
Publication Non publié, 2021-08-31

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Résumé :

Mangrove ecosystems provide valuable services to human communities and local communitiestypically use direct and indirect services provided. Through this study we determined mangrovespecies utilization, described the exploitation of mangrove across geographical locations,highlighted the relationship between mangrove use and existential beliefs, and assessed theimportance of mangrove ecosystem in relation to fishery-related activities. The study focused oncoastal communities around seven mangrove forests in the southern and the North-western SriLanka (Rekawa, Garanduwa, Koggala, Dewata, Chilaw, Gin, and Puttalam). An ethnobiologicalsurvey was carried out in households (n = 197) in sixteen villages of these regions. The resultsindicated that communities sustain their livelihoods with multiple mangrove-dependent incomegeneratingactivities among which fishing (21.3%) was the major occupation. Fruit juice producedfrom Sonneratia sp. and Acrostichum aureum young leaves constituted valuable edible productsfrom mangroves in both regions. The use of mangrove dead wood as an alternative source of fuelwas also frequent for Rhizophora mucronata and Lumnitzera racemosa. Other uses of mangrovessuch as wood for construction, chemical and medicinal properties were reported to a lesserextent. Regarding the use of mangrove resources, there was a significant difference across regionswith less overall usage in the North-western Sri Lankan mangroves compared to the Southernregion. NGO-induced mangrove conservation and successful mangrove restoration projects wereprevalent in the north-western province. Overall, awareness of forestry-related regulations withincommunities was high, although most respondents were not optimistic about the future of themangroves of Sri Lanka.