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Collaborative Research Across Boundaries: Mangrove Ecosystem Services and Poverty Traps as a Coupled Natural-Human System

  • Emi UchidaEmail author
  • Victor H. Rivera-Monroy
  • Sara A. Ates
  • Edward Castañeda-Moya
  • Arthur J. Gold
  • Todd Guilfoos
  • Mario F. Hernandez
  • Razack Lokina
  • Mwita M. Mangora
  • Stephen R. Midway
  • Catherine McNally
  • Michael J. Polito
  • Matthew Robertson
  • Robert V. Rohli
  • Hirotsugu Uchida
  • Lindsey West
  • Xiaochen Zhao
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Abstract

Mangrove wetlands are one of the most threatened ecosystems in coastal zones, and are being degraded globally at a high rate due to human activities. Impoverished and vulnerable populations living in rural coastal areas in subtropical and tropical latitudes tend to be most directly dependent on ecosystem services and hence are directly affected by the degradation of mangrove wetlands and other coastal resources. We formed an interdisciplinary and international team of researchers, students, and professionals to understand the linkages between poverty traps and mangrove ecosystem services in coastal Tanzania, thus informing and contributing to institutional efforts to resolve and avoid these traps. This chapter analyzes the nature of this coupled natural-human system, assesses the challenges to implement an interdisciplinary research agenda as a team, and underscores the practical strategies to overcome those challenges.

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Notes

Acknowledgements

Research reported in this chapter was supported by the National Science Foundation Coupled Nature and Human Systems Program #1518471. E. Uchida acknowledges additional funding support from the URI Coastal Institute, URI Undergraduate Research Grant and URI Research Completion Grant. Partial funding to Rivera-Monroy was also provided by Department of the Interior South Central Climate Science Center through Cooperative Agreement #G12AC00002 and the National Science Foundation Long-Term Ecological Research program (Grants DEB-9910514 and 1237517 and DBI-0620409). We thank the following individuals and organizations for exceptional research assistance: Thomas Blanchard, Pamela Booth, Juma Dyegula, Zahrie Ernst, Ezra Katete, Megan Kelsall, Jamillah Kileo, Sarah Martin, Timothy Piacienni, Gumbo Majubwa, Rose Malyaga, T. Mkongo, Shafii Mohamedi, Humphrey Tillya, Mattana Wongsirikajorn, all enumerators and Sea Sense staff.

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Copyright information

© The Author(s) 2019

Authors and Affiliations

  • Emi Uchida
    • 1
    Email author
  • Victor H. Rivera-Monroy
    • 2
  • Sara A. Ates
    • 2
  • Edward Castañeda-Moya
    • 3
  • Arthur J. Gold
    • 4
  • Todd Guilfoos
    • 1
  • Mario F. Hernandez
    • 2
  • Razack Lokina
    • 5
  • Mwita M. Mangora
    • 6
  • Stephen R. Midway
    • 2
  • Catherine McNally
    • 7
  • Michael J. Polito
    • 2
  • Matthew Robertson
    • 2
  • Robert V. Rohli
    • 2
  • Hirotsugu Uchida
    • 1
  • Lindsey West
    • 8
  • Xiaochen Zhao
    • 2
  1. 1.Department of Environmental and Natural Resource EconomicsUniversity of Rhode IslandKingstonUSA
  2. 2.Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, College of the Coast and the EnvironmentLouisiana State UniversityBaton RougeUSA
  3. 3.Southeast Environmental Research Center, Florida International UniversityMiamiUSA
  4. 4.Department of Natural Resources ScienceUniversity of Rhode IslandKingstonUSA
  5. 5.Department of EconomicsUniversity of Dar es SalaamDar es SalaamTanzania
  6. 6.Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Dar es SalaamZanzibarTanzania
  7. 7.Coastal Resources Center, University of Rhode IslandKingstonUSA
  8. 8.Sea SenseDar es SalaamTanzania

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