Green Informal Leader: Building Coastal Community Participation Through Mangrove Restoration

Abstract

This article discusses the role of Green Informal Leader in the coastal areas to build community participation in the rehabilitation of mangrove forests. So far, his roles is limited and Often marginalized by government in rural areas. Most of the leaders usually emerge and develop by natural process and come from rural areas. There consequence, coastal development programs are made in a top‐down models through national programs to rural programs and Carried out by formal leaders. In this paper, we show that the green informal leader in coastal areas is Able to build and implement successful bottom‐ up mangrove forest rehabilitation programs. By using qualitative research methods, participant observation, in‐depth interviews, and Compares to some theories, we found some interesting facts about green informal leader in coastal areas. He is not only care about the environment that usefull for communities of life and other natural resources but also can encourage coastal residents to rehabilitate mangrove forests. As green informal leaders, he has social capital and local wisdom to revitalize traditional or local wisdom of socio‐cultural and environmental norms, to build public trust and social networks. As a result, some mangrove forest has been restored and functioned normally useful to provide natural resources for coastal communities.