Degree of community participation in mangrove resources management as livelihood support in West Java, Indonesia

Abstract

Mangrove forests in the northern coastal region of Pantai Bahagia Village, Muara Gembong, Bekasi Regency, West Java, form a crucial component of the livelihoods of coastal communities. However, mangrove systems are being degraded and lost at an alarming rate due to their conversion to aquaculture and abrasion since 1992. To overcome this problem, community of fishermen, naming themselves as Kelompok Sadar Wisata and Kelompok Bahagia Berkarya voluntarily started mangrove cultivation and began to implement Community-Based Mangrove Management (CBMM) with various approaches and outcomes. This study will examine and the participatory level of the CBMM practice within the community, analyze the achieved rehabilitation and its strategies to accomplish sustainable management of mangrove resources in the village through qualitative and descriptive statistic methods. The local data on institutions, socio-economic conditions, and mangrove resources utilization will be collected through in depth interviews with 40 key actors from 15 households. The study resulted that the degree of participatory in Pantai Bahagia Village is in the Delegated Power level, which means that citizen is given the permit to utilize the area to independently cultivate the mangrove area as long as it complies with government’s regulation.