Ecotourism and mangrove conservation in Southeast Asia: Current trends and perspectives

Austin Blanton a,c,d, and Ewane Basil Ewane and Freddie McTavi and Michael S. Wattf , and Kerrylee Rogers g , and Redeat Daneil and Redeat Daneil a,c , and Irene Vizcaino c , and Ana Novo Gomez and Pavitra S. and Pitumpe Arachchige and Shalini A. L. King and G. A. Pabodha Galgamuwa and Martha Lucia Palacios Penaranda and Layla al-Musawi and Jorge F. Montenegro and Eban North Broadbent and Angelica Maria Almeyda Zambrano and Andrew T. Hudak and Kanokporn Swangjang and Luisa Velasquez-Camacho and Jaime Hening Polania Vornberg and Shruthi Srinivasan and Meshal M. Abdullah and Yassine A. R. Charabi and Wan Shafrina Wan Mohd Jaafar and Fazilah Musa and Frida Sidik and Talal Al-Awadhi and Willie Doaemo and Midhun Mohan (2024) Ecotourism and mangrove conservation in Southeast Asia: Current trends and perspectives. Journal of Environmental Management, 365. pp. 1-17. ISSN 0301-4797

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Abstract

Mangroves in Southeast Asia provide numerous supporting, provisioning, regulating, and cultural services that are crucial to the environment and local livelihoods since they support biodiversity conservation and climate change resilience. However, Southeast Asia mangroves face deforestation threats from the expansion of commercial aquaculture, agriculture, and urban development, along with climate change-related natural processes. Ecotourism has gained prominence as a financial incentive tool to support mangrove conservation and restoration. Through a systematic literature review approach, we examined the relationships between ecotourism and mangrove conservation in Southeast Asia based on scientific papers published from 2010 to 2022. Most of the studies were reported in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, respectively, which were associated with the highest number of vibrant mangrove ecotourism sites and largest mangrove areas compared to the other countries of Southeast Asia. Mangrove-related ecotourism activities in the above countries mainly include boat tours, bird and wildlife watching, mangrove planting, kayaking, eating seafood, and snorkeling. The economic benefits, such as an increase in income associated with mangrove ecotourism, have stimulated infrastructural development in ecotourism destinations. Local communities benefited from increased access to social amenities such as clean water, electricity, transportation networks, schools, and health services that are intended to make destinations more attractive to tourists. Economic benefits from mangrove ecotourism motivated the implementation of several community-based mangrove conservation and restoration initiatives, which attracted international financial incentives and public-private partnerships. Since mangroves are mostly located on the land occupied by indigenous people and local communities, ensuring respect for their land rights and equity in economic benefit sharing may increase their intrinsic motivation and participation in mangrove restoration and conservation initiatives. Remote sensing tools for mangrove monitoring, evaluation, and reporting, and integrated education and awareness campaigns can ensure the long-term conservation of mangroves while sustaining ecotourism's economic infrastructure and social amenities benefits.

Item Type:	Article
Keyword:	Ecotourism activities
Subjects:	Q Science > QK Botany > QK1-989 Botany > QK1-474.5 General Including geographical distribution S Agriculture > SB Plant culture > SB1-1110 Plant culture
Department:	FACULTY > Faculty of Tropical Forestry
Depositing User:	SITI AZIZAH BINTI IDRIS -
Date Deposited:	29 Nov 2024 13:01
Last Modified:	29 Nov 2024 13:01
URI:	https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/42071

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