Quantifying the contribution of mangroves to local fish consumption in Indonesia: a cross-sectional spatial analysis

BACKGROUND

Indonesia has lost more mangroves than any other country. The importance of mangroves for carbon storage and biodiversity is well recognised, but much less is known about what they contribute to the communities living near them who are called on to protect them. Malnutrition in Indonesia is high, with more than a third of children stunted, partly due to poor diets. Fish are nutrient-rich and are the most widely consumed animal source food in Indonesia, making the relationship between mangroves and fish consumption of great importance. Aquaculture is also tremendously important for fish production in Indonesia and has replaced large areas of mangroves over the last two decades.

METHODS

We performed a cross-sectional, spatial analysis in this study. We combined data on fish consumption for rural Indonesian coastal households from the Indonesian National Socioeconomic Survey with spatial data on mangrove forest and aquaculture area from the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry to create a cross-sectional spatial dataset. Using a mixed-effects regression model, we estimated to what extent living in proximity to different densities of mangroves and aquaculture was associated with fresh fish consumption for rural coastal households.

FINDINGS

Our sample included 6741 villages with 107 486 households in 2008. The results showed that rural coastal households residing near high-density mangroves consumed 28% (134/477) more fresh fish and other aquatic animals, and those residing near medium-density mangroves consumed 19% (90/477) more fresh fish and other aquatic animals, than coastal households who did not live near mangroves. Coastal households that lived near high-density aquaculture consumed 2% (9/536) more fresh fish, and those that lived near medium-density aquaculture consumed 1% (3/536) less, than other rural coastal households.

INTERPRETATION

Mangroves contribute substantially to the food security and nutrition of coastal communities in Indonesia. This finding means that the conservation of mangroves is important not only for carbon storage and biodiversity, but also for the communities living near them. Aquaculture does not appear to offer similar food security benefits.

FUNDING

Bureau for Economic Growth, Education, and Environment, United States Agency for International Development.

Crowdsourcing snake identification with online communities of professional herpetologists and avocational snake enthusiasts

Species identification can be challenging for biologists, healthcare practitioners and members of the general public. Snakes are no exception, and the potential medical consequences of venomous snake misidentification can be significant. Here, we collected data on identification of 100 snake species by building a week-long online citizen science challenge which attracted more than 1000 participants from around the world. We show that a large community including both professional herpetologists and skilled avocational snake enthusiasts with the potential to quickly (less than 2 min) and accurately (69-90%; see text) identify snakes is active online around the clock, but that only a small fraction of community members are proficient at identifying snakes to the species level, even when provided with the snake's geographical origin. Nevertheless, participants showed great enthusiasm and engagement, and our study provides evidence that innovative citizen science/crowdsourcing approaches can play significant roles in training and building capacity. Although identification by an expert familiar with the local snake fauna will always be the gold standard, we suggest that healthcare workers, clinicians, epidemiologists and other parties interested in snakebite could become more connected to these communities, and that professional herpetologists and skilled avocational snake enthusiasts could organize ways to help connect medical professionals to crowdsourcing platforms. Involving skilled avocational snake enthusiasts in decision making could build the capacity of healthcare workers to identify snakes more quickly, specifically and accurately, and ultimately improve snakebite treatment data and outcomes.