The Role Of The Konservasi Mandiri Community Group In Mangrove Conservation In Kampung Empat, Tarakan, Indonesia

Community involvement is an important component of mangrove conservation. This study aimed to describe the conservation activities of the Konservasi Mandiri community group and summarize members’ responses concerning participation, government support, and mangrove benefits in Kampung Empat, Tarakan, Indonesia. A census covered all 30 group members. Observations, structured interviews, and documentation were analyzed descriptively. Nine questionnaire items were coded on a three-point scale, giving a possible composite range of 9–27. Reported participation was highest in maintenance (96.7%), followed by planning (86.7%), monitoring (73.3%), site selection (66.7%), and field schools (63.3%). Positive responses to seedling provision, government instruction during planting, and direct and indirect benefits were 63.3%, 66.7%, 83.3%, and 86.7%, respectively. The mean composite score was 24.53 out of 27, within the upper descriptive interval. Mean dimension scores were 5.53 for planning and monitoring, 10.40 for rehabilitation-related items, 2.93 for maintenance, and 5.67 for utilization-related items. Because the questionnaire combines different constructs, the composite is an exploratory summary rather than a validated measure of participation or conservation effectiveness. The findings support improving consistency in monitoring and field-school attendance; ecological and income outcomes were not measured.