Mangrove forest is a productive ecosystem and constitutes
a natural barrier against storm surges and strong
winds. It serves as nursery and feeding grounds for
many commercially important aquatic species. During
the past 32 years (1961–1993), social and economic development
have caused severe destruction of mangrove
forests in Thailand. The existing mangrove forest area in
Thailand has decreased more than 50% in the past 32
years (Kongsangchai, 1995). Changes of the areas are
shown in Table 9. The deterioration of mangroves in the
past and at present is approximately 6.2 thousand ha/
year. The major causes are economic, political, and social
pressures which can be separated into many activities
as show in Table 10