BIODIVERSITAS ISSN: 1412-033X Volume 21, Number 4, April 2020 E-ISSN: 2085-4722 Pages: 1352-1357 DOI: 10.13057/biodiv/d210411 Short Communication: Mangrove forest management based on multi dimension scalling (RAP-Mforest) in Kwandang Sub-district, North Gorontalo District, Indonesia RAMLA HARTINI MELO 1, , CECEP KUSMANA 1,2 , ERIYATNO 3 , DODIK RIDHO NURROCHMAT 4 1 Nature Resources and Environmental Management Program, School of Graduates, Institut Pertanian Bogor. Jl. Pajajaran, Kampus IPB Baranangsiang, Bogor 16144, West Java, Indonesia. Tel./fax. +62 251 8332779,  email: raharmelo@gmail.com. 2 Department of Silviculture, Faculty of Forestry, Institut Pertanian Bogor. Jl. Lingkar Akademik, Kampus IPB Dramaga, Bogor 16680, West Java, Indonesia 3 Study Center of Agriculture and Villages Development, Institut Pertanian Bogor. Jl. Lingkar Akademik, Kampus IPB Dramaga, Bogor 16680, West Java, Indonesia 4 Department of Silviculture, Faculty of Forestry, Institut Pertanian Bogor. Jl. Lingkar Akademik, Kampus IPB Dramaga, Bogor 16680, West Java, Indonesia Abstract. Melo RH, Kusmana C, Eriyatno, Nurrochmat DR. 2020. Short Communication: Mangrove forest management based on multi- dimension scalling (RAP-Mforest) in Kwandang Sub-district, North Gorontalo District, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 21: 1352-1357. Management of mangrove forests is an important aspect in the effort to conserve the environment in coastal areas. Its management requires planning to ensure the sustainability of its function and benefit. This study aimed to analyze the sustainability level of the mangrove forest management in Kwandang Sub-district, North Gorontalo District, Gorontalo Province, Indonesia and to determine the factors that affected that sustainability. Data were collected through field measurement and interviews, and then analyzed using Rapid Appraisal of Mangrove Forest (Rap-Mforest) approach and Monte Carlo analysis. The results showed that mangrove management was fairly sustainable on the ecological criteria (60.43%), but less sustainable on the economic criteria (47.79%) and social criteria (42.22%). The result of leverage analysis indicated that 6 out of 20 indicators were categorized as sensitive indicators affecting the sustainability of mangrove management. These sensitive indicators should be given priority in increasing the sustainability index in the future. Keywords: Mangrove forest, multidimensional scalling analysis, RAP-Mforest, sustainability INTRODUCTION In environmental management, including the management of mangrove, the Indonesian Law No. 32 of 2004 gives authority to the regional government as an autonomous region to mitigate damage to mangrove forests. Mangrove forest management is part of the overall coastal area development, so it should always consider wider interests and benefits, while still prioritizing community welfare in a sustainable manner. Rational mangrove management must be conducted on a sustainable basis and for diverse purposes in accordance with its potential. Some truly undisturbed mangrove forest areas should be kept natural so that the virgin mangrove forest section can be saved if the management fails and causes damage or even loss of the managed mangrove. Mangrove ecosystems must be managed based on the ecological paradigm which includes the principles of interdependence among ecosystem elements, the nature of the cycle of ecological processes, flexibility, diversity, and co-evolution of organisms and their environment in a physical unit of the watershed (Damastuti and Groot 2017; Glaeser 2019). Mangrove ecosystems are able to support a very complex food chain and support organisms at all trophic levels, because mangroves have high productivity and carrying capacity for aquatic biota (Islam and Haque 2004). Mangroves as an area of fish enlargement also have an important role in supporting commercial fisheries (Barbier 2000; Allen et al. 2012). The combination of land and water ecosystems makes mangrove ecosystems full of productive resources (Bouillon et al. 2008). The implementation of sustainable mangrove forest management must take into account the ecological, social, and economic aspects, including aspirations of the community using coastal areas, as well as conflicts of interest that may exist (Chakraborty et al 2019). To quickly assess the sustainability status of mangrove forest management in North Gorontalo District, Indonesia this study used multidimensional scaling (MDS) analysis (Adiga et al. 2016). In this analysis, objects were presented visually based on previous research conducted to determine the sustainability status of management in the mangrove forest area in West Seram (Patimahu et al 2010). This MDS analysis on mangrove forest management in North Gorontalo District aimed to analyze the sustainability index value of each dimension and discover the balanced Manuscript received: 19 November 2019. Revision accepted: 8 0DUFK 2020.