In the case of mangrove conservation in the South of Thailand, local fishermen realize the importance of mangroves, which serve as nursery grounds for spawn. They could observe the relationships between the disappearance of mangrove areas and the decline in their captured fishery products. Local villagers also realize the benefits of mangrove forests in terms of their coastal zone protection from potential erosion problems. There were several incidents in which these local communities organize themselves to protest against shrimp farming that encroached into mangrove areas (Sathirathai, 1998).