Mangrove Conservation Policies in the Gulf of Guayaquil

Abstract

In the last decade, the Ecuadorian government has designed and implemented a variety of policies to enhance the conditions of mangrove forests and their ability to provide ecosystem services. The present work aims to identify the different policies related to mangrove conservation and evaluate the extent to which they produce different outcomes to the population in the Gulf of Guayaquil, a coastal region hosting more than 70% of mangroves in Ecuador. The main assumption underlying this effort is the notion that mangrove conservation might be critically linked to subjective measures of welfare improvement for populations that live in and depend on this ecosystem, in addition to their original conservation purposes. Based on evidence of recent studies, an institutional economic analysis using the Situation, Structure and Performance framework is conducted. Results report evidence supporting the original assumption, as well as identified challenges to the continuity of current policies and new but urgent avenues for future research.