Wetland Management Through Mangrove Ecotourism: Efforts in Climate Change Mitigation and Community Empowerment

The mangrove ecosystem is an important one in wetlands that significantly plays a role in mitigating climate change and is rich in biodiversity. In addition to their ecological functions, mangrove ecosystems also contribute significantly to economic and social aspects by providing opportunities for developing conservation-based ecotourism and empowering communities. This study aims to examine the potential of mangrove ecosystem ecotourism as an effort to mitigate climate change and empower communities. This study employs a literature review combined with a descriptive-qualitative approach and case study analysis across various mangrove ecotourism areas. Data were analyzed descriptively and exploratively. The results of the literature study show that in addition to mangrove ecotourism contributing significantly to climate change mitigation through carbon absorption and storage in the form of biomass and sediment, mangrove ecotourism also contributes to increasing economic potential through empowerment and active community involvement in ecotourism activities. The synergy between local governments, communities, and stakeholders greatly influences the success of wetland management through mangrove ecotourism. Mangrove ecotourism has the potential to be a sustainable solution in wetland management that combines climate mitigation and community empowerment. The challenges in managing wetlands through mangrove ecotourism are the governance of ecotourism management and community empowerment, which can be overcome through collaboration and synergy between managers, communities, and cooperation partners as well as local governments so that ecotourism goals are achieved without ignoring environmental sustainability.