Participatory Stakeholder Assessment for Drivers of Mangrove Loss to Prioritize Evidence-Based Conservation and Restoration in Bhitarkanika and Mahanadi Delta, India

Dhyani, Shalini; Shukla, Jayshree; Kadaverugu, Rakesh; Dasgupta, Rajarshi; Panda, Muktipada; Kundu, Sudip Kumar; Santhanam, Harini; Pujari, Paras R.; Kumar, Pankaj; Hashimoto, Shizuka

doi:10.3390/su15020963

Open AccessArticle

Participatory Stakeholder Assessment for Drivers of Mangrove Loss to Prioritize Evidence-Based Conservation and Restoration in Bhitarkanika and Mahanadi Delta, India

by

Shalini Dhyani

^1,*

,

Jayshree Shukla

¹

,

Rakesh Kadaverugu

¹,

Rajarshi Dasgupta

^2,*

,

Muktipada Panda

³

,

Sudip Kumar Kundu

⁴

,

Harini Santhanam

⁴

,

Paras R. Pujari

¹,

Pankaj Kumar

²

and

Shizuka Hashimoto

²

¹

CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nehru Marg, Nagpur 440020, India

²

Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), 2108-11 Kamiyamaguchi, Hayama 240-0115, Kanagawa, Japan

³

Department of Botany, Banki (Autonomous) College, Banki 754008, India

⁴

Department of Public Policy, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal 576104, India

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 963; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15020963

Submission received: 9 October 2022 / Revised: 27 December 2022 / Accepted: 4 January 2023 / Published: 5 January 2023

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecosystem Services and Human Wellbeing: Linking Science, Policy and Practices)

Download

Browse Figures

Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

In recent times, environmental stewardship of mangroves has provided the impetus to protect and restore these ecosystems for their inherent ability to protect coastal regions from climate change, sequester carbon dioxide as rich blue carbon, and support human well-being through a multitude of ecosystem services. Participatory stakeholder assessment, as a part of the present study, integrated local stakeholder perspectives in assessing drivers of mangrove loss in Bhitarkanika and Mahanadi delta, Odisha, providing empirical evidence through a mixed-method approach. The use of a Likert scale provided the methodology to develop a single composite variable as the best measure of central tendency. In total, 27.5% of the respondents were locals and were living close to the study area for generations, whereas the other 72.5% represented researchers, academics, and forest department officials. Stakeholder responses at the ground level indicated that Bhitarkanika and Mahanadi delta were facing increased frequency of extreme climatic events followed, by aquaculture and other land-use changes, which can be considered potential drivers causing mangrove loss. Co-development of future scenarios by integrating concerns of all the stakeholders emerged as a potential solution to effectively address the trade-offs arising from local anthropogenic interferences, as well as large-scale developmental activities. This study highlights the need for convergence of multi-disciplinary knowledge from diverse stakeholder groups, including traditional and indigenous knowledge, for the purpose of developing accurate plausible alternative scenarios. Interactive governance and incentivization approaches, along with alternative livelihood opportunities, are proposed as the means to improve conservation and restoration in the region based on the present study. Understanding of the coupled socio-ecological system and its relevance is found to be critical to improve bi-directional linkages of ecosystem health and human well-being.

Keywords: mangroves; mangrove loss; Bhitarkanika; Mahanadi delta; drivers; participatory survey; climate change; conservation; restoration

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Dhyani, S.; Shukla, J.; Kadaverugu, R.; Dasgupta, R.; Panda, M.; Kundu, S.K.; Santhanam, H.; Pujari, P.R.; Kumar, P.; Hashimoto, S. Participatory Stakeholder Assessment for Drivers of Mangrove Loss to Prioritize Evidence-Based Conservation and Restoration in Bhitarkanika and Mahanadi Delta, India. Sustainability 2023, 15, 963. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15020963

AMA Style

Dhyani S, Shukla J, Kadaverugu R, Dasgupta R, Panda M, Kundu SK, Santhanam H, Pujari PR, Kumar P, Hashimoto S. Participatory Stakeholder Assessment for Drivers of Mangrove Loss to Prioritize Evidence-Based Conservation and Restoration in Bhitarkanika and Mahanadi Delta, India. Sustainability. 2023; 15(2):963. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15020963

Chicago/Turabian Style

Dhyani, Shalini, Jayshree Shukla, Rakesh Kadaverugu, Rajarshi Dasgupta, Muktipada Panda, Sudip Kumar Kundu, Harini Santhanam, Paras R. Pujari, Pankaj Kumar, and Shizuka Hashimoto. 2023. "Participatory Stakeholder Assessment for Drivers of Mangrove Loss to Prioritize Evidence-Based Conservation and Restoration in Bhitarkanika and Mahanadi Delta, India" Sustainability 15, no. 2: 963. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15020963

APA Style

Dhyani, S., Shukla, J., Kadaverugu, R., Dasgupta, R., Panda, M., Kundu, S. K., Santhanam, H., Pujari, P. R., Kumar, P., & Hashimoto, S. (2023). Participatory Stakeholder Assessment for Drivers of Mangrove Loss to Prioritize Evidence-Based Conservation and Restoration in Bhitarkanika and Mahanadi Delta, India. Sustainability, 15(2), 963. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15020963

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Menu

Participatory Stakeholder Assessment for Drivers of Mangrove Loss to Prioritize Evidence-Based Conservation and Restoration in Bhitarkanika and Mahanadi Delta, India

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI