Nutrition is Perceived as an Ecosystem Service of the Mangrove by Rural People in Ecuador

Abstract

Abstract The mangrove ecosystem is considered as the source of livelihood, particularly for coastal areas. This study explores the perception of the inhabitants of Puerto El Morro and the island of Costa Rica (Ecuador) against the ecosystem services of the mangrove. Seven quantitative variables were used on the Likert scale by performing exploratory factor analysis. The results were based on a sample of 94 participants finding 2 factors, tourism (29.07% of variance) and nutritious food production (25.45% of variance remaining). The reliability of the questionnaire was acceptable according to Cronbach's Alpha 0.654. A confirmatory factor analysis is necessary to revalidate the items of the factors.

Keywords

• coastal communities, eating, mangroves, livelihoods, nutrition.