Mariarano is a thriving rural municipality with a population of approximately 2,000 people. Exploitation pressure has increased over time, and easy access across the ocean has enabled wood extraction. Degradation of the mangrove ecosystem along the Mariarano Estuary leaves coastal communities vulnerable to storms and cyclones due to the lack of storm and erosion control that mangroves’ deep root systems normally would provide. Other ecosystem services, such as breeding and nursery habitats for fish and shellfish species, are threatened, resulting in a loss of livelihood for residents of the region.