Overall an interesting article about the varying ways different groups of people look at and value a natural resource. The authors used a contingent valuation survey to gauge the reasons for wanting mangrove restoration and the degree to which they would be willing to participate in their restoration of three different groups of people: fishermen, fisherwomen, and rice farmers.
The main purpose of the study was to help develop a way to assess the social setting in which a restoration project might occur and how to effectively incorporate the specific perceived benefits that various stakeholders have about the project into the planning process. By identifying the sources of value in mangroves for these various stakeholders, the goal is to modify a project to try to maximize these various sources of value by selecting certain species over others, or emphasize certain communal benefits.
Coming from a science background, I can't comment on their methods too much, but I found it interesting to see what seemed a very fine line between wanting to create the most appropriate restoration project given the local social structure, and what might seem almost like manipulating different groups based on their specific economic needs.
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