Presented by Esther Nyambura Mwangi, from the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), at the XVI Biennial IASC Conference ‘Practicing the commons: self-governance, cooperation, and institutional change’, in Utrecht, the Netherlands, on July 14, 2017.

1. 16th Biennial Conference of the IASC
14th July 2017, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Mangrove Governance and Tenure: Insights for Policy
and Practice
Esther Mwangi, Mani Ram Banjade, Baruani Mshale, Tuti
Herawati, Nining Liswanti, Steve Lawry

2. Outline
 Purpose
 Rationale
 Sites & methods
 Findings
• Legal and policy framework
• Local institutions
• Gender
 Lessons

3. Purpose
How are mangroves governed? What insights for policy and
practice?

4. Justification
 Fisheries and livelihoods
 Shoreline stabilization &
protection
 Carbon sequestration and
storage
 Major causes of mangrove
decline have been anthropogenic
 More information on biophysical
aspects of mangrove
management
 Less attention on governance
and tenure aspects (Source: Cahrley Cameron, 2015))

5. Lampung Province, Indonesia
Diversity of management
approaches & tenure regimes;
rehabilitation initiatives; CIFOR
project
Rufiji Delta, Tanzania
Largest single mangrove forest in E. Africa; threats
broadly representative of the type of threats face other
mangroves

6. Method
 Review of legal and policy frameworks: extent to which
national laws and policies in relevant sectors (such as forestry,
fisheries, wildlife, and agriculture) address forest and land
governance, especially in mangrove forests;
 Key informant interviews: Practice/implementation
 Focus group discussions: Tenure, gender, local institutions for
mangroves governance
 Literature review
 (November, 2015 to February, 2016 & October-December,
2015)

7. Findings

8. Legal/policy framework
Indonesia Tanzania
Specific law/policy for
mangroves?
No—Up to 5 relevant laws but
Presidential decree of 1992
declared mangroves protection
forests
No—Forest Act
Status Protection forest-protected Forest Reserve—Protected
Managing Authority Ministry of Environment and
Forests
TFS—Central Govt but also
District Council and Village
Implementation Limited human & financial
resources
Implementation Overlapping jurisdictions (Coastal
areas & small islands law vs
forest law)
Overlapping jurisdictions
Implementation Lack of coordination-conflicts;
national mangroves working
group not implemented
Lack of coordination;
management plan was not
implemented

9. Tanzania: Re-thinking mangrove
management
Regime Rights distribution Status
Mangrove forest reserves –
strict protection
State retains all rights Since colonial times
Individual farming permits
– a rehabilitation scheme
State retains all rights and grants
use (farming only) rights to
participating individuals
Introduced in 2011; short duration rights; lots of
responsibilities; unpopular
(Tanzania Forest Service)
Group rehabilitation
scheme
State retains all rights; with
communities receiving
compensation for their labor
Introduced 2015 with over 31 groups of 15 to 30
members comprised of 688 villagers from four villages.
Members are paid US $7 for replanting and US $5 for
weeding per day.
(UNEP/VPO)
Joint Forest Management
areas
State retains ownership rights but
shares/devolves management
rights to villages
Introduced in 2015 with four villages participating in the
steps to form village natural resource committees and
develop village forest bylaws and village forest
management plans. These committees participated in
the drafting of Joint Forest Management agreements
between villages and TFS for subsequent
implementation from 2016 onward. Villagers prefer this
approach compared to the other three above because it
grants them more rights.
(Tanzania Forest Service)

10. Indonesia: Local institutions for
mangrove management
de facto community
control
state forest
zone/kawasan
hutan
UNILA/local government
Rights Restricted—due to community
restrictions
Restricted by law due to
protection forest status—
no timber harvesting
Restricted by law due to
protection forest status—
no timber harvesting
Pioneer & leader Isnaen--2000 Samsyudin--2005 Sukumin
Motivation Coastal erosion effects Coastal erosion effects Coastal erosion effects
Perceptions of tenure
security
Secure: clarity of rights, rule
enforcement, members agree
with rules; timber harvesting;
zonation
Insecure: limited rights;
outsiders fishing and
poaching timber
Secure: enforced by district
forest agencay
Origins NGO support for development of
management organization
District Forest Agency
created groups
Local government decree
of 2005
Rules Village regulations for mangroves
management recognized by village
authority, district authority &
central govt
Village regulations for
mangroves management
recognized by village
authority, district authority
& central govt
Village regulations for
mangroves management
recognized by village
authority, district authority
& central govt

11. Gender
 gender differentiated use in both
Indonesia and Tanzania
 social, cultural and religious
norms prevent women from
participating in meetings and
speaking in public
 gender equity is a missing
element in mangrove conservation
and management
 role of women in mangrove
utilization and management is
seldom recognized, and their
representation in decision-making
bodies is minimal(Source: Sophie Mbugua,
2015)

12. What insights?
 Protection main management
mechanism
 Single dominant authority by law
even though multiple relevant
actors—for the most part forestry
(terrestrial)
 Origins: exogenous for both but
different motivations i.e. protection vs
paid labor
 Leadership
 Multiple agencies; overlapping
jurisdictions—conflict; management
plan & working group not
implemented
 Implementation is constrained by
inadequate personnel, capacities, and
budgets
 Village level regulations recognized
and endorsed by higher up
authorities—can substitute for missing
law/policy

13.  Though mangroves managed via forest laws, they generally don’t share in
the innovations taking place in the forestry sector
 BUT transitioning; experimentation with participatory/community
mangrove management is increasing; multiple types of regulated uses
subsistence & consumptive use (eg timber logging)
 Lack of mangrove focused policy substituted by village level regulations
that are recognized by central authorities all the way up
 tenure models that accord full ownership or longer-term rights appear to
be more effective in mangrove conservation
 Gender equity a missing element
Conclusions

14. Thank you!
e.mwangi@cgiar.org