The Future of mangroves in Penang: bridging science, policy, and perspectives
Nordhaus, Inga / Rapti Siriwardane-de Zoysa / Lucy G. Gillis et al.External Publications (2019)
Leibniz ZMT Policy Brief (1/2019), Bremen: Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Research
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21244/zmt.2019.001
Volltext/Full text
Mangrove forests provide a wealth of important ecosystem functions and services. They are highly productive and support biodiversity, serve as nurseries for fish and crustaceans, and provide coastal protection against storms and erosion. As a source of income for local fisher communities, they offer fish, crabs, shrimps, and mussels, raw materials for building, and medicinal resources. Rapid urbanization on Penang Island over the last few decades has caused the destruction and fragmentation of mangroves on the east coast. Along the western shorelines mangroves remain less fragmented. As coastal and offshore development is encroaching into fishing grounds, there are on-going conflicts between developers and fisher communities whose livelihoods depend on mangroves. Our study provides scientific basis for integrating urban mangroves into Penang´s coastal protection, land use, and marine spatial planning policies. Information was gained through field and household surveys, interviews and a stakeholder workshop. We
- examined land use in mangrove catchment areas,
- provide baseline data on biodiversity and density for mangrove trees and crustaceans,
- evaluated the functioning of these mangrove areas as nursery sites for economically important species,
- integrated perspectives from stakeholders and knowledge about the services mangroves supply to local communities in peri-urban and urban mangrove sites.
