Assessment of Community Dependence and Perceptions of Wetlands in the Upper Chindwin Basin, Myanmar
Understanding the relationship between communities and wetland ecosystems is imperative to facilitate the development of wetland management and conservation strategies that can effectively safeguard wetland health and sustain the flow of ecosystem services. To understand the knowledge, attitude, and...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Resources |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/12/10/112 |
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| author | Ridhi Saluja Satish Prasad Than Htway Lwin Hein Htet Soe Chloe Pottinger-Glass Thanapon Piman |
| author_facet | Ridhi Saluja Satish Prasad Than Htway Lwin Hein Htet Soe Chloe Pottinger-Glass Thanapon Piman |
| author_sort | Ridhi Saluja |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Understanding the relationship between communities and wetland ecosystems is imperative to facilitate the development of wetland management and conservation strategies that can effectively safeguard wetland health and sustain the flow of ecosystem services. To understand the knowledge, attitude, and perception of communities on wetland ecosystem services, a survey was conducted involving 133 households from 4 villages dependent on 5 wetlands within the Upper Chindwin Basin (UCB), northwestern Myanmar. Most of the respondents extracted wetland resources for subsistence and income. A total of 84% of the households depended on wetland fish for their primary protein consumption, while 70% (<i>n</i> = 94) collected fuelwood from wetlands for subsistence. The survey participants unanimously recognized the benefits of wetland ecosystem services (i.e., provisioning benefits), particularly for fish, food, fiber, fuel, natural medicines, ornamental resources, and minerals. A total of 97% of the participants lacked knowledge of any existing law or regulation that ensures wetland protection in Myanmar. Furthermore, 87% of the respondents concurred that the government has not adequately endeavored to promote awareness of wetland conservation in this remote area due to lack of capacity and resources. This study establishes a baseline for the region and recommends designing and implementing a community-centric wetland action plan. This action plan provides a self-sustaining and cost-effective approach to conserve wetlands and is crucial in enhancing the capacity of dependent communities to participate and eventually lead wetland management of UCB. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:55:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-010cbcfeef754b7c835aa79775aa0588 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-9276 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:55:15Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Resources |
| spelling | doaj.art-010cbcfeef754b7c835aa79775aa05882023-11-19T18:00:35ZengMDPI AGResources2079-92762023-09-01121011210.3390/resources12100112Assessment of Community Dependence and Perceptions of Wetlands in the Upper Chindwin Basin, MyanmarRidhi Saluja0Satish Prasad1Than Htway Lwin2Hein Htet Soe3Chloe Pottinger-Glass4Thanapon Piman5Stockholm Environment Institute, Asia Centre, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, ThailandStockholm Environment Institute, Asia Centre, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, ThailandStockholm Environment Institute, Asia Centre, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, ThailandStockholm Environment Institute, Asia Centre, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, ThailandStockholm Environment Institute, Asia Centre, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, ThailandStockholm Environment Institute, Asia Centre, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, ThailandUnderstanding the relationship between communities and wetland ecosystems is imperative to facilitate the development of wetland management and conservation strategies that can effectively safeguard wetland health and sustain the flow of ecosystem services. To understand the knowledge, attitude, and perception of communities on wetland ecosystem services, a survey was conducted involving 133 households from 4 villages dependent on 5 wetlands within the Upper Chindwin Basin (UCB), northwestern Myanmar. Most of the respondents extracted wetland resources for subsistence and income. A total of 84% of the households depended on wetland fish for their primary protein consumption, while 70% (<i>n</i> = 94) collected fuelwood from wetlands for subsistence. The survey participants unanimously recognized the benefits of wetland ecosystem services (i.e., provisioning benefits), particularly for fish, food, fiber, fuel, natural medicines, ornamental resources, and minerals. A total of 97% of the participants lacked knowledge of any existing law or regulation that ensures wetland protection in Myanmar. Furthermore, 87% of the respondents concurred that the government has not adequately endeavored to promote awareness of wetland conservation in this remote area due to lack of capacity and resources. This study establishes a baseline for the region and recommends designing and implementing a community-centric wetland action plan. This action plan provides a self-sustaining and cost-effective approach to conserve wetlands and is crucial in enhancing the capacity of dependent communities to participate and eventually lead wetland management of UCB.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/12/10/112community dependenceperceptionwetlands ecosystem servicesUpper Chindwin BasinMyanmar |
| spellingShingle | Ridhi Saluja Satish Prasad Than Htway Lwin Hein Htet Soe Chloe Pottinger-Glass Thanapon Piman Assessment of Community Dependence and Perceptions of Wetlands in the Upper Chindwin Basin, Myanmar Resources community dependence perception wetlands ecosystem services Upper Chindwin Basin Myanmar |
| title | Assessment of Community Dependence and Perceptions of Wetlands in the Upper Chindwin Basin, Myanmar |
| title_full | Assessment of Community Dependence and Perceptions of Wetlands in the Upper Chindwin Basin, Myanmar |
| title_fullStr | Assessment of Community Dependence and Perceptions of Wetlands in the Upper Chindwin Basin, Myanmar |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessment of Community Dependence and Perceptions of Wetlands in the Upper Chindwin Basin, Myanmar |
| title_short | Assessment of Community Dependence and Perceptions of Wetlands in the Upper Chindwin Basin, Myanmar |
| title_sort | assessment of community dependence and perceptions of wetlands in the upper chindwin basin myanmar |
| topic | community dependence perception wetlands ecosystem services Upper Chindwin Basin Myanmar |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/12/10/112 |
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