Mangrove ecosystems in Southern Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, represent critical ecological and socio-economic assets that support shoreline stability, biodiversity, and coastal livelihoods. However, these systems face rapid degradation from interacting anthropogenic and environmental pressures. While regional studies offer broad overviews, there remains a significant gap in localized, community-level empirical data linking household livelihood structures with specific mangrove conservation constraints. This study adopted a cross-sectional research design integrating field surveys, questionnaires (n = 384), and Key Informant Interviews (KII) across 18 randomly selected coastal communities in Mbo, Ibeno, Oron, Udung Uko, Eastern Obolo, and Ikot Abasi Local Government Areas. The empirical findings reveal a high structural dependency on mangrove resources, with fishing (38.8%) and farming (25.0%) serving as primary income sources. Over 52% of the households derive more than 25% of their income directly from mangrove-related activities, and 44.8% depend on them for over half of their earnings. Large household sizes and high dependency ratios (67%) supporting three or more dependents) act as major drivers of forest exploitation. Anthropogenic utilization is heavily skewed toward small-scale fishing (38.0%), crab/shrimp collection (29.2%), and timber extraction for firewood (33.3%) and domestic building (27.1%). Conservation constraints are highlighted by severe resource depletion (34.9%), land scarcity leading to agricultural encroachment within intertidal zones (56.0%) farming near mangroves regularly or occasionally), and a notable 40.1% decrease in timber availability. Furthermore, traditional top-down state management has historically marginalized local populations, resulting in weak community ownership and poor compliance. The study concludes that sustainable mangrove conservation in Akwa Ibom State cannot be decoupled from rural poverty alleviation. We recommend a paradigm shift toward Community-Based Mangrove Management (CBMM) frameworks that legally integrate indigenous institutions (e.g., Ekpe traditional societies), secure local forest tenure, provide subsidized alternative energy and fishing equipment, and promote economically viable alternative livelihoods such as integrated aquaculture and apiculture.

Keywords: Mangrove Conservation, Livelihood Dependency, Resource Depletion, Community-Based Management, Akwa Ibom State, Niger Delta.