Current trends and future directions for integrating social values into mangrove restoration

Background

Different communication styles, governance, and social issues create barriers to successful mangrove forest restoration projects, and may hinder the ability to scale up projects to meet global restoration goals. Incorporating social values and stakeholder preferences into restoration projects can help identify best management practices, promote successful outcomes, and prevent distrust and inequality between restoration practitioners and stakeholders with different needs and perceptions of mangrove forests.

Goals and Methods

The authors created an online survey focusing on the types of social values included in a restoration project, methods for understanding these social values, phases of the project where social values were considered, types of stakeholders involved in the project, and characteristics of the projects and respondents. It also gathered feedback on improving the integration of social values in future restoration efforts. Respondents reported the key social values considered in mangrove restoration programs from the “Forest Values Typology” framework. The authors then classified 12 sub-types of these values into three categories (i.e., instrumental, intrinsic, or relational values).

Conclusions and Takeaways

Restoration scholars and practitioners incorporate diverse social values and engage a wide range of stakeholders in their projects. However, enhancing project equity, sustainability, and long-term impact requires further broadening the range of values and stakeholder perspectives considered across all project phases. In particular, mangrove restoration projects need to consider more intrinsic and relational values to ensure that economic and material objectives are balanced with social and ecological well-being. The survey results highlight gaps in stakeholder representation in restoration projects, and the authors recommend employing multiple stakeholder engagement methods and continuous stakeholder consultation throughout the project lifecycle.