How sustainable is the utilization of mangrove products in peri-urban Mombasa, Kenya?

This study presents an assessment of a unique exploitation of a peri-urban mangrove. The diversity of respondents, spread over wide areas, some with no apparent links with the ecosystem, coupled with legal and illegal resource exploitation, in the midst of inadequate but punitive enforcement meted on impoverished communities, pose significant challenges in conducting questionnaire surveys. Potentially limiting if not inhibiting information flow. Mangrove wood is exploited at both subsistence and commercial scales, firewood being the most ubiquitous form of use at both urban and rural settings. Forest assessments indicate the lack of preferred or specific harvesting sites. Though harvesting location is mostly dependent on profession. R. mucronat is the most harvested mangrove species. The study shows that resource exploitation is intense and “efficient” in an urban setting due to the economic drive and high demand emanating from a high human population. This has given rise to practices that mitigate against traditional norms, promoting destructive unsustainable harvesting. The outcome is the gross under-valuing of ecosystem goods and services in addition to degrading the ecosystem. The management of mangroves for wood extraction in urban areas may not be a viable and/or sustainable option, as it conflicts with functions of mangrove ecosystems, otherwise important in „resource limited urban environment. It is recommended that a participatory and adaptive management, considering multiple uses and users is the viable way to manage peri-urban mangroves. this will ensure social and ecological resilience in the long-run. However, this may require specific legislative, education and institutional interventions. Integrating local ecological knowledge, may further promote a participatory approach and expedite the formulation of sustainable management plans for peri-urban mangroves