The book covers six reports for six provinces separately including Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau and Kien Giang. The findings in the reports are results of the extensive studies in many Mekong coastal mangrove communities. 936 households were interviewed about household economic activities and mangrove perception. The book presents informative and straightforward findings towards local governments with simplicity in method.

The results show that agriculture is still the main source of livelihood for people living in the coastal areas of the Mekong Delta. In which, income from mangroves only accounts for a negligible part of total income, nearly 7%. People mainly live by farming and fishing activities, approximately 70% of total household income. In addition, the majority of shrimp ponds in the Mekong Delta do not comply with the minimum mangrove ratio according to the local mangrove management policy. Due to limitations on forest management policies, and high profits from aquaculture, local people do not appreciate the role of mangroves in livelihood activities. Despite that, local people are aware of the important role of mangrove in environmental protection and climate change.

These results bring out some implications for raising people’s awareness, promoting mangrove law enforcement and designing more appropriate policies to achieve the goals of mangrove protection and community development.

Download the book for the detail report here.