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The MAP News, 216th Ed., July 2009
Dear Friends,
This is the 216th Edition of the Mangrove Action Project News, July 2009.
For the Mangroves,
Alfredo Quarto
Mangrove Action Project
Sign up to receive the MAP News by sending an e-mail to: mapnews@mangroveactionproject.org.
MAP's Mission
Partnering with mangrove forest communities, grassroots NGOs, researchers and local governments to conserve and restore mangrove forests and related coastal ecosystems, while promoting community-based, sustainable management of coastal resources.
All news items and notices published in the MAP News can also be accessed directly from our home page www.mangroveactionproject.org, with links to the full story and the original source. New items are posted daily and are available as an RSS feed!
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FEATURED NEWS:
AFRICA
Mozambique: France Supports Aquaculture
MOZAMBIQUE - The Bank of Mozambique signed on Wednesday with the French Development Agency (AFD) a financing agreement under which the French government is to grant 1.5 million euros (2.1 million US dollars) to Mozambique to support the development of aquaculture to cultivate prawns, reports Thursday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias'. Read More
Source: AllAfrica.com
MIDDLE EAST
Constructing the World's Largest Prawn Farm
SAUDI ARABIA - In the scorching heat of the Saudi Arabian desert, more than 100 heavy Caterpillar machines are moving 20,000 cubic metres of sand every day to build the world’s largest fully-integrated aquaculture project. The prawn farm run by Saudi Arabia’s National Prawn Company (NPC) will produces no less than 50 tonnes of prawns daily, using desert land unsuitable for agriculture or housing and water from the Red Sea, reports ConstructionWeekOnline. Read More
Source: The Fish Site 6/18/2009
SOUTHEAST ASIA
Albay, DENR Ink 2 Agreements on Climate Change Mitigation
PHILIPPINES - The province of Albay has forged two agreements with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on climate change mitigation, considered the first of its kind between a local and national government, to ensure the sustainability of its resources for future generation. Read More
Source: Philstar.com 7/5/2009
Shrimp Farmers Aid Plan Launched
THAILAND - The Thai government has responded to shrimpers requests and on Wednesday announced it will spend BHT 1.4 billion (EUR 29.3 million) on a new mortgage plan backing 10,000 tonnes of vannamei white shrimp. The Farmers Assistance Policy Committee approved the plan, which will be run by the Public Warehouse Organization (PWO) from 15 July until 30 September. Read More
Source: FIS WorldNews 7/6/2009
Chinese merchants scrambling to snatch shrimp from Vietnamese
VIETNAM - VietNamNet Bridge – Seafood processing companies are complaining that a lot of Chinese merchants are going directly to shrimp farming areas to buy up the new crop at high prices, leaving no shrimp for domestic merchants to purchase. Read More
Source: VietNamNet 6/23/2009
SOUTH ASIA
Blow to Shrimp Cultivation
BANGLADESH - The beleaguered frozen food sector has suffered a big blow after cyclone Aila triggered a tidal surge over 12 feet high, washing away about 40 per cent of the shrimp farms in the Khulna region. The devastating cyclone roared over the south-western districts and flooded half of the shrimp producing area as the frozen food association leaders said. About 80 per cent of the export-oriented frozen foods, mainly shrimp, are produced in Khulna region. The damage by Aila to shrimp cultivation is considered bigger during this early season of shrimp harvest that was due to run until November next. Read More
Source: The New Nation 6/22/2009
World’s Largest Mangrove Forest Sunderbans Unprotected
BANGLADESH - Three problems have made the world's largest mangrove forest the Sunderbans have become unprotected. The problems are necessary manpower to guard the home of world famous Royal Bengal tiger, maximum number of water vessels of the forest are not in shape and dearth of fuel has put the officers and employees into trouble. Taking these advantages, the wood smugglers have become more active and smuggling of woods have increased. Read More
Source: The New Nation 6/22/2009
States Mangrove Cover Threatened by Global Warming
INDIA - The mangrove cover spread across Bhittarkanika and Mahanadi deltaic region holds the key to state’s food security, according to green activists who have expressed concern over the impact of climate change and global warming. Read More
Source: OrissaIndia.com 6/28/2009
Mangrove Land Let Out for Gymkhana
INDIA - The residents of Lokhandwala complex in Andheri seem to be fighting a losing battle to protect mangroves in the area. Their efforts suffered a major blow when it was revealed that the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) has leased out around 10 acres of mangrove land to a private company for a gymkhana. Read More
Source: DNA India 6/30/2009
Police Form a Special Squad Just to Protect Mangroves
INDIA - Even after losing over 40% of its mangrove cover in the last decade, the reclaimed city refuses to learn. Now, in a bid to prevent the land mafia from killing mangroves and grabbing the land surrounding it, police have now formed a dedicated mangrove squad which will keep vigil on illegal dumping of debris in mangrove zones. In the first phase, the squad will be positioned in North Mumbai areas like Borivili and Dahisar. Read More
Source: DNA India 7/2/2009
Nirupam Wants Slum Tag for Mangroves
INDIA - Even as the Bombay High Court recently directed the state to observe privately-owned mangrove stretches as protected forests, newly-elected member of parliament Sanjay Nirupam wants a portion of the green stretch located on the Dahisar Linking Road to be declared as a slum. Read More
Source: DNA India 7/1/2009
Mangroves Disappearing Fast in Bhitarkanika
INDIA - Absence of vigil and unabated conversion of forest into paddy cultivation and prawn farms have all contributed to fast disappearance of mangrove cover within Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary in Odisha. Read More
Source: Kalinga Times 7/5/2009
Island Fishermen to Protest for a Fairer Price
PAKISTAN - Fishermen belonging to Karachi island villages have decided to stage a demonstration at the Karachi Fish Harbor (KFH) to condemn the alleged monopolization of fish rates by traders, seafood processors and officials of Fishermen Cooperative Society (FCS). According to the fishermen these people are depriving them of a fair price for their caught fish. Read More
Source: The News International 6/24/2009
LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN
APAMO Presents Recommendations for Management of World Heritage Site
BELIZE - The Association of Protected Areas Management Organization (APAMPO) has sent a letter to the Government of Belize sitting five recommendations for the proper management of Belize’s World Heritage Site. Read More
Source: LoveFM.com 6/24/2009
Belize Barrier Reef, Colombia's Los Katios Park on UNESCO's Danger List
BELIZE - The Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System and Colombia's Los Katios National Park entered UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Danger List here on Saturday. The main problem with the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System concerns mangrove cutting and excessive development in the property which was inscribed in 1996 as the largest barrier reef in the northern hemisphere, with offshore atolls, several hundred sand cays, mangrove forests, coastal lagoons and estuaries. Read More
Source: China View 6/28/2009
Scientists Study the Riches of the Mexican Pacific
MEXICO - Mexico’s Pacific coast, one of the world’s richest seaboards in terms of biodiversity, has been the focus of very few scientific studies. A new observatory aims to fill that void. The coastline includes nature preserves and protected areas that are home to an unknown number of plant and animal species, many of them unique to Mexico. Read More
Source: Inter Press Service 7/2/2009
Protecting mangroves for the nation
BRAZIL - The Brazilian government yesterday officially declared a new conservation area that will help protect one of the world’s most important coral reefs, and benefit thousands of people who depend on the nearby fisheries to make a living. Read More
Source: Conservation International 6/9/2009
Trinidad’s Hidden Garden of Eden
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO - Imagine a beautiful garden, lush with greenery, coloured with flowers and vibrant with animals of all kinds, with clean water flowing in abundance. It is the very embodiment of life. Read More
Source: Newsday of T&T 7/5/2009
OCEANIA
Removal of Mangroves in Tauranga Harbour
NEW ZEALAND - A recommendation to allow mechanical removal of up to 92 hectares of mangroves from the Tauranga Harbour has been given following a consent hearing. Final approval is required by the Minister of Conservation before Environment Bay of Plenty can proceed. Read More
Source: Scoop.co.nz 7/8/2009
EUROPE
Wandering Salmon proves Expensive for Fish Farm
UNITED KINGDOM - In an unprecedented move a leading fish farming company has paid compensation to wild salmon managers following the escape of juvenile salmon from a freshwater farm. This follows the discovery last September by the River Forth Fisheries Trust (RFFT) of juvenile farmed salmon in the River Devon, a tributary of the Forth, at a site immediately downstream of a fish farm. Read More
Source: Fish and Fly 6/25/2009
NORTH AMERICA
Investigation leads to shrimp plant search
UNITED STATES - State and federal fisheries agents executed a search warrant at the DoRan Seafood LLC shrimp plant in Independence this morning in an ongoing joint investigation of the illegal repackaging of foreign shrimp as domestic product, a state wildlife official said today. Read More
Source: 2TheAdvocate 7/9/2009
Sustainable seafood in supermarkets
UNITED STATES - Trader Joe's got a failing score on Greenpeace's seafood sustainability scorecard last year - and unfortunately, held tight to its F in 2009 - despite the fact that more than half the other supermarkets improved their fishy scores. It's sad but true: The organic-friendly, budget-friendly supermarket's still scoring lower than Target and Wal-Mart when it comes to sustainable seafood! Read More
Source: The Olympian 7/6/2009
Shrimpy Shrimp: Season Delayed Because They Are So Tiny Now
UNITED STATES - This year's crop of Mobile Bay shrimp are runts. And while biologists say they have their hunches as to why the shrimp are so small, the only sure fact is that they are much too small for most of the bay to be opened for shrimping. That likely means the latest opening day for the Mobile Bay shrimp season in recent memory. Typically, the season begins in early June. This year, it probably won't begin until July. Read More
Source: Al.com 6/28/2009
What’s Beyond Those Bargains?
UNITED STATES - She castigates Red Lobster, saying it patronizes Thailand’s shrimp farms. The Thai shrimp industry has been accused of environmental, childe labor and human rights abuses; it attracts migrant workers from Vietnam and Cambodia who labor for next to nothing, Ms. Ruppel Smith writes. Read More
Source: New York Times 7/4/2009
ISSUES / ARTICLES
Mangrove-dependent Animals Globally Threatened
Substantial numbers of terrestrial vertebrates are restricted to mangrove forests. Many of these specialized species are listed as threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Prospects for mangrove-restricted animals are bleak, because more than two percent of mangrove forests are lost each year. Read More
Source: ScienceDaily 7/7/2009
Marine Life Series, DK GreenRoots: Responsible Shrimp Buying
As a marine educator I’ve become acutely aware of the threat posed by overfishing. In fact, I’m rather distressed about it considering that continuing our current rate of depletion of this resource it’s entirely possible that the marine ecosystem as we know it may collapse by the middle if this century. Read More
Source: Daily Kos 7/1/2009
Mangroves – A Secret Weapon in Combating Climate Change
Mangrove forests could be a secret weapon in the fight against climate change, according to scientists from Earthwatch. Earthwatch today announces a new five-year research programme into the potential of mangrove forests to store carbon and reduce the impacts of climate change. Read More
Source: EarthWatch Institute
Forests, Mangroves, Peatlands and Climate-Friendly Agriculture Can Play a Bigger Role in Combating Climate Change, According to United Nation’s Report
Boosting investments in the conservation, rehabilitation and management of the Earth’s forests, peatlands, soils and other key ecosystems could deliver significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and avoid even more being released to the atmosphere, a new report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) says. Read More
Source: Horizon Solutions Site 6/22/2009
Animals of the Disappearing Mangroves
In the watery limbo between sea and river, where salt and fresh water mingle in the roots of mangrove trees, a handful of uniquely adapted species—terrestrial and aquatic—have evolved to fill the novel niche. Read More
Source: Scientific American 7/3/2009
