Perceived Improvement of Mangrove Forest Among Gorap People in Bobaneigo Bay

Abstract

Research on coastal natural resources has confirmed that mangrove plays crucial roles in coastal ecosystems both ecological and sociocultural. Although its critical roles, other studies also release gloomy pictures of mangrove destruction which have a damaging impact on coastal life. Different from many previous studies on the roles of mangrove and the impact or potential impacts of its destruction, this paper focuses on exploring how the local people view their environmental changes, particularly mangrove forests, and how they interpret the causes and the impact of the changes. By employing an ethnographic method, this study finds that local people in Bobaneigo Bay perceive a significant improvement of mangrove forests stretching along part of the coastline of the bay for the last fifteen years. They develop knowledge, mixing local and supra-local knowledge, to make sense of the causes and impact of the perceived changes of the coastal natural resources. The findings can contribute to an anthropological discourse on the dynamics of relationships between human and natural resources and how humans construct the dynamics socioculturally.