Spatio-Temporal Analysis of the Mangrove Forest Within the Dumanquilas Bay Protected Landscape and Seascape (DBPLS): Implication to Mangrove Management Awareness in Malangas, Zamboanga Sibugay

Abstract

Mangroves are taxonomically diverse group of trees and woody shrubs that dominate the transitional margins and comprise one of the Earth's important ecosystems. This study aims to evaluate the site-specific management plan for the mangrove forests of the Dumanquilas Bay Protective Landscape and Seascape within the Municipality of Malangas, Zamboanga Sibugay by determining the spatio-temporal changes within the mangrove ecosystem using available remote sensing data and techniques and determining the level of awareness of its key stakeholders in terms of the ecosystem services and mangrove management. The results revealed the mangrove forest within the study area lost about 43.81 ha, or about 12.30% of its land cover from 2003 to 2020. The largest decrease in land cover coincides with the alleged increase in the conversion of mangrove forest into fishponds and the proliferation of illegal cutting of mangroves. In addition, a more varied level of stakeholder awareness was identified across all key areas: mangrove species, mangrove ecosystem services, NIPAS Act, and issues with the current mangrove management. Overall, despite the optimism demonstrated by the respondents, an improvement in the awareness of the key stakeholders is needed to ensure a more sustainable participatory mangrove management in DBPLS. Nevertheless, the current mangrove management is satisfactory considering the limited budget for the protected area, and the respondents were able to provide valuable insights on mangrove management. It is recommended to conduct another analysis of mangrove forest land cover using updated GIS datasets to further check the effectivity of the management plan and broaden the number of respondents to further evaluate the level of awareness of the local community as well as the additional measures that can be implemented.