Local communities should play a central role in ecosystems' assessment, identification of solutions, and actions implementation to be successfully managed. However, community participation in decision-making is very rare in Sri Lankan lagoon management. This study explores local people's knowledge and perspectives on ecosystem services in the Rekawa Lagoon in Southern Sri Lanka. The study draws upon focus group discussions using participatory approaches and tools such as scoring and ranking. The results indicate that the lagoon's fisheries were the most significant ecosystem service. Along with natural phenomena, human-made practices such as illicit fishing, hydrodynamic changes, excessive development of exotic plants, and conflicts between people are responsible for this decline in fisheries. For sustainable lagoon management, it is essential to develop policies that integrate both agencies involved in ecosystem management and community knowledge, views, and actions. This study recommends controlling overfishing by using illegal fishing gear and reducing excessive nutrient inputs to the lagoon. Furthermore, it suggests to manually open the lagoon mouth while considering all relevant sectors. The research concludes that a greater comprehension of local stakeholders' views as well as scientific data will be critical in managing the Rekawa lagoon environment sustainably.

中文翻译：

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社区参与评估和管理沿海泻湖生态系统服务：以斯里兰卡雷卡瓦泻湖为例

当地社区应在生态系统评估、解决方案确定和行动实施中发挥核心作用，以实现成功管理。然而，在斯里兰卡泻湖管理中，社区参与决策的情况非常罕见。本研究探讨了当地人对斯里兰卡南部雷卡瓦泻湖生态系统服务的知识和观点。该研究利用参与式方法和评分和排名等工具进行焦点小组讨论。结果表明，泻湖的渔业是最重要的生态系统服务。除自然现象外，非法捕捞、水动力变化、外来植物的过度开发以及人与人之间的冲突等人为行为也是造成渔业衰退的原因。为了实现泻湖的可持续管理，必须制定政策，将参与生态系统管理的机构与社区的知识、观点和行动结合起来。这项研究建议通过使用非法渔具来控制过度捕捞，并减少对泻湖的过度营养输入。此外，它建议在考虑所有相关部门的同时手动打开泻湖口。研究得出的结论是，更好地理解当地利益相关者的观点和科学数据对于可持续管理雷卡瓦泻湖环境至关重要。