علوم زیستی دریا
Mona Izadian; Farhad Hosseini Tayefeh; Behzad Rayegani
Abstract
Coastal-marine wetlands consisting of mangrove forests, sandy beaches, and mudflats are among the sensitive and important habitats of the southern coasts of Iran, which play an important role in the economy and livelihood of local communities. The International Mangrove Wetland of Shur, Shirin, and Minab ...
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Coastal-marine wetlands consisting of mangrove forests, sandy beaches, and mudflats are among the sensitive and important habitats of the southern coasts of Iran, which play an important role in the economy and livelihood of local communities. The International Mangrove Wetland of Shur, Shirin, and Minab Rivers is one of the important coastal wetlands of Iran, and due to facing many threats, it needs new and effective protection planning. This research has been conducted to investigate the significant changes in the levels of mangrove forests as an indicator species of the wetland, identify and prioritize the factors that threaten the biodiversity of the wetland, and provide Participatory management solutions. The calculation of mangrove level changes was done based on the time series analysis method of OLI (Operational Land Imager) sensor data from Landsat 8. The planning and implementation of participatory protection in this research included reviewing the current situation, identifying stakeholders, and holding participatory meetings to identify and prioritize threats and formulate an action plan for cooperative wetland protection. The results showed that from 2015 to 2022, mangrove forests have been destroyed in some areas by 30.78 hectares. According to the survey of the participants and stakeholder’s beneficiaries, two threats of pollution caused by the dumping of smuggled fuel and illegal fishing activities have the highest priority among the total of 15 threats identified in the wetland. In this research, for the ten important threats prioritized by the opinion of the participants, an action plan to reduce the effects of threats, including the mechanism of the threat effect, the effect on the indicator species, the economic and social effects, and the priority plan to reduce the effects of each threat has been developed. The results of this research are used in raising awareness and preparing educational content for community-based conservation programs with the participation of stakeholders, including the implementation of participatory wetland conservation and restoration projects.