Simplified life cycle sustainability assessment of mangrove management: a case of plantation on wastelands in Thailand

Sustainable mangrove management needs to consider trade-offs between multiple benefits provided by mangrove ecosystems and to balance the conflicting objectives of various stakeholders. The aim of the present study is to assess the sustainability of mangrove management based on the life cycle approach. We examine two mangrove management systems in Thailand, namely, the strict preservation and charcoal production systems. The results show that the strict preservation system has an advantage over the charcoal production system from the environmental perspective (the net amount of CO₂ absorbed by mangroves) while the charcoal production is a more favorable system than strict preservation from the social perspective (the amount of employment created in local communities). On the other hand, it is difficult to say that both systems are sustainable from an economic aspect. The charcoal production system needs to develop improved management regimes for commercial charcoal production and requires financial assistance in the period when its net cash flows are negative. As solutions for these problems, the introduction of community forest management and the utilization of a fund for REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation in Developing Countries) can be proposed.