Community Participation in Mangrove Conservation: the Evidence from Blang Sebel, Simeulue

Abstract Yayasan Konservasi Pesisir Indonesia (Yakopi) is one of the non-profit organizations that focuses on mangrove conservation in Indonesia. The mangrove restoration program that has been carried out by Yakopi for the Simeulue Regency Region, especially Blang Sebel Village, is planting mangroves covering 19.19 hectares. Therefore, other tools are needed to complement the planting program through mangrove zoning mapping and making village regulations for mangrove protection. This research approach is qualitative using the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) method. The data collection techniques used are Focus Group Discussion (FGD), Participatory Mapping, and documentation with the data analysis technique used is descriptive analysis. The results of the study show that mangrove zoning mapping is applied with three zones, namely the utilization zone, buffer zone, and core zone. Based on community deliberation, an agreement was reached on village regulations No. 04 of 2023 for mangrove protection in Blang Sebel. Based on the results of the research, it is hoped that community-based mangrove management can take place in a sustainable manner to realize the balance of coastal ecosystems at local level and minimize the impact of climate change at global level.