Grove Virtues: Vulnerable Mangrove Channel Spots Detector for Mangrove Forest Management

Humans have started to explore mangrove channels but it has costed the environment to be at vulnerable state, due to the pressure from human activities and natural stressors, such as climate change. Retreating mangrove can negatively impacting mangrove area and indirectly jeopardize mangrove community income and job stability. Therefore, it is essential to identify vulnerable spots in the mangrove channel to preserve the mangrove area while maximizing the economy of the mangrove community. However, this assessment can be difficult as it requires a comprehensive analysis of multiple parameters over a vast area. This complexity can make vulnerability assessment difficult for the mangrove forest management to protect these vital marine ecosystems, and indirectly making the efforts to apply sustainable management seems impossible. To address this challenge, Grove Virtues, is proposed for a simplified assessment method to evaluate the vulnerability of mangrove channels for improving mangrove forest management. Grove Virtue aims to rationalize the assessment along the mangrove river area by detecting vulnerable spots and appropriate locations for program planning applicable to the management, making vulnerability assessment more straightforward and well-organized to categorize the status of mangrove areas and determine their vulnerability. Grove Virtues is featuring remote sensing and visual observation techniques to evaluate six key parameters: mangrove coverage, mangrove species, sea level, channel width, boat frequency and bioturbation. Grove Virtue development will be in the digital-based products and the vulnerability categorization will be based on the vulnerability index developed. The Grove Virtues offers the advantages of being less time-consuming, low manpower and requiring fewer resources over traditional assessment, making it more accessible to mangrove forest management. Additionally, vulnerable spots from Grove Virtues help to prioritize conservation and economic activity systematically and sustainably.