Assessment of mangrove carrying capacity for ecotourism in Kemujan Island, Karimunjawa National Park, Indonesia

摘要

Mangrove ecosystem is one of valuable coastal ecological units with unique characteristics, mainly because it is located in the transition region between land and sea, and strongly influenced by the dynamics of the tides. Apart from that, mangrove ecosystem has a lot of potential for ecotourism. The Karimunjawa National Park (KNP) is one of protected areas in Indonesia with mangrove ecosystem that is developed for the aforementioned purpose, known as the Kemujan Trekking Mangrove (TMK). The present study is carried out to assess the suitability and carrying capacity of mangrove ecosystem in the TMK area for ecotourism activities. Primary data for this study consist of the number of flora and fauna species, tree density, and inundation levels in the ecosystem, which are collected by means of grid-cell method. Data from the field were processed through image analysis, vegetation analysis, land suitability analysis, and physical carrying capacity assessment of the site for ecotourism purpose. Analysis of mangrove vegetation structure, revealed that Lum-nitzera racemosa has the highest Importance Value Index (IVI) of 167.61%, followed by Ceriops tagal (62.87%) and Rhizophora stylosa (25.51%). There are approximately 42 animal species recorded in Tracking Mangrove Kemujan (TMK) area, including 19 species of birds. Other taxa recorded were mammals, reptiles, fish, crustaceans and mollusks. Following ecotourism suitability assessment, the TMK is categorized as "very suitable" with the tourism suitability index (TSI) of 81.9%; especially due to its mangrove tree density, species richness of flora and fauna, and the variety of animal taxa. The carrying capacity of TMK for tracking activities was 104 people day~(-1), while for birdwatching activities was 116 people day~(-1).