The Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Mangrove Forest Cover from 1973 to 2020 in Chwaka Bay and Menai Bay, Zanzibar

Abstract

Mangroves in Zanzibar have a high value for biodiversity and scenic beauty. However, mangroves are susceptible to anthropogenic and natural environmental disturbances. Although global mangrove monitoring systems exist, it is the practitioners focused on small mangrove areas who are knowledgeable about the area in which they work. This study examined the change in mangrove cover in Chwaka Bay and Menai Bay, between 1973 and 2020, using Landsat satellite data. The transformed divergence (TD) index and Jeffries–Matusita (J-M) distance were used to calculate separability of land cover classes before classification. The overall accuracies ranged between 82.5 and 92.7% for Chwaka Bay and 85.5 and 94.5% for Menai Bay. The kappa coefficients (ĸ) were in the range of 0.72–0.90, while the producer’s and user’s accuracies were between 72 and 100%. Chwaka Bay’s annual decrease in mangrove cover between 1973 and 2020 was 48.5 ha, compared to Menai’s 6.8 ha. The loss of mangroves in Zanzibar is linked to illegal timber/pole cutting, firewood collection, charcoal burning, unsustainable aquaculture, and agricultural and urban development. Others are changes in environmental conditions that are suitable for mangroves and climate change. This study is crucial in providing a basis for the ecological restoration and management of Zanzibar’s mangrove ecosystem.