Abstract
Understanding the extent of collaboration among stakeholders is key to supporting mangrove management. Despite the existence of robust policies, collaboration among stakeholders of mangrove co-management remains
largely unexplored in Sri Lanka. This was partly due to the civil war, natural disasters, and other socio-economic changes over the past 30 years. Our study aimed to identify the collaboration between stakeholders of mangrove
management and their perceptions regarding mangrove co-management in Sri Lanka using social network analysis and content analysis. Surveys were conducted in all five coastal provinces of Sri Lanka. Stakeholders included in
the study were from government departments, non-governmental organizations, and private institutes. Our results showed that there were differences between coastal provinces in the mangrove management networks, specifically
in the number of stakeholders involved and their degree of collaboration. Some important stakeholders (for example the Land Use and Policy Planning Department) were excluded from the social networks in certain
provinces (Eastern and Western provinces). There were various issues hampering effective mangrove management such as inefficient communication, inconsistencies between policies, and insufficient financial capacity of government stakeholders responsible for policy implementation. According to the stakeholders in our study, providing mangrove management initiatives with long-term collaboration, post-care, continuous monitoring, and funding
may help to overcome these challenges. Additionally, we suggest the establishment of a common platform to coordinate stakeholders. We further encourage increasing the participation of academics, researchers, and students
from national universities in the mangrove co-management of Sri Lanka. Insights from this island-wide survey can be adapted to mangrove and other natural resource management trajectories in other countries as well.
largely unexplored in Sri Lanka. This was partly due to the civil war, natural disasters, and other socio-economic changes over the past 30 years. Our study aimed to identify the collaboration between stakeholders of mangrove
management and their perceptions regarding mangrove co-management in Sri Lanka using social network analysis and content analysis. Surveys were conducted in all five coastal provinces of Sri Lanka. Stakeholders included in
the study were from government departments, non-governmental organizations, and private institutes. Our results showed that there were differences between coastal provinces in the mangrove management networks, specifically
in the number of stakeholders involved and their degree of collaboration. Some important stakeholders (for example the Land Use and Policy Planning Department) were excluded from the social networks in certain
provinces (Eastern and Western provinces). There were various issues hampering effective mangrove management such as inefficient communication, inconsistencies between policies, and insufficient financial capacity of government stakeholders responsible for policy implementation. According to the stakeholders in our study, providing mangrove management initiatives with long-term collaboration, post-care, continuous monitoring, and funding
may help to overcome these challenges. Additionally, we suggest the establishment of a common platform to coordinate stakeholders. We further encourage increasing the participation of academics, researchers, and students
from national universities in the mangrove co-management of Sri Lanka. Insights from this island-wide survey can be adapted to mangrove and other natural resource management trajectories in other countries as well.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 117116 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-18 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Journal of Environmental Management |
| Volume | 330 |
| Issue number | 117116 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 15 Mar 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Compared to all other provinces, the Eastern Province network did not include many departments. Mangroves in the Eastern Province have been comparatively neglected, despite making up 28% of the total mangrove area of Sri Lanka ( Prasanna et al., 2019 ). University students in the Eastern Province can take up research questions from the stakeholders to work on their undergraduate or master's theses, which would enhance collaboration and reduce the issues related to funding as most university students are funded by the university, government grants, or self-funded.
Funding Information:
This research was carried out under the research permits/permissions/ethical clearance from the Ruhuna University of Sri Lanka and the South Eastern University of Sri Lanka. This research was financed by the University Grants Commission of Sri Lanka (UGC/VC/DRIC/PG2019(1)/SEUSL/01), Erasmus Mundus (TROPIMINDO), and University Libre De Bruxelles.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Ltd
Copyright:
Copyright 2023 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Keywords
- Forest management Conservation Mangrove restoration Environmental policy Wetland