5. A Participatory Stakeholder-Based Approach to Assess the Drivers and Challenges of Mangrove Loss in Kochi, Kerala, India

Mangrove forests provide critical services around the globe to both human populations and the ecosystems they occupy. Mangroves have been heavily impacted by degradation and deforestation, with 20–35% of global mangrove extent lost over the last 50 years. Due to inadequate representation of the value of the mangroves in decision-making, mangroves have undergone a rapid decline in the last few decades. On the west coast of India, Kerala has thick mangrove vegetation along its coastline, with Kochi having the most diverse mangrove species in the state. Kochi is a fast-growing major industrial area in the state of Kerala. An extensive field survey was carried out followed by an extensive participatory stakeholder survey to understand various drivers of mangrove biodiversity loss in Kochi. This study provides some greater insights into the increasing pressure on mangroves of Kochi due to diverse direct and indirect drivers. This study is one of the few initial attempts to understand the urgent need of protecting the existing mangroves and developing place-specific policy interventions mainstreaming the drivers and strengthening participatory approaches for the preservation of the remaining dense and intact mangroves of Kochi. This primary attempt should be used as a baseline to understand the trends of loss, project the scenarios, and accordingly plan and implement interactive governance approaches to restore and halt the degradation of these valuable bioresources for aligning the efforts to achieve targets of the UN decade on restoration and post 2020 global biodiversity targets for reducing disaster risks and enhancing climate adaptations.