Dear Friends,

This is the 218th Edition of the Mangrove Action Project News, August  14, 2009.

For the Mangroves,

Alfredo Quarto
Mangrove Action Project

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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.

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FEATURED NEWS

Review of International Actions Surrounding Mangrove Action Day.

Mancha for Conservation of Coastal Environment is a forum of like minded organizations who are working in the environment conservation and human right promotion organized a press conference on the eve of Mangrove Action Day 2009. On Sunday 27 July called on the authorities concerned to include the forest-dependant people in management of Sundarban. The green group made the call at a news briefing held at the conference room of Paribartan, a non-governmental organization, in Khulna city observing the Mangrove Action Day 2009...READ MORE
SOURCE: New Age Metro

AFRICA

CAMEROON
MAP Editor's Comment: It is quite disturbing to read this, knowing that the oil palm industry has become the latest corporate threat against mangroves, not only in Africa, but also in Latin America and Asia. We are seeing more and more evidence that oil palm is moving up on the scale of destructive industries threatening mangroves and local coastal communities. Again, local communities must be made aware that this new threat promises only temporary jobs for a few, while the majority of resents will be hurt by this latest development scourge upon their lands.

Dear MAP,
I came across the article, inserted below, on allafrica.com. It mentions that oil palm cultivation will eventually extend into all of the peninsula.
I was puzzled because only the extreme northern section of Bakassi is on high ground, the rest being a maze of mangrove islands. I tried to find some description of oil palm cultivation and mangroves on the internet. There were a few references from Indonesia, but I could not get any specifics.
It doesn't seem that it would be cost efficient without considerable subsidy, but, the scheme is seen as a solution to the "nigerian" problem on Bakassi, kind of like killing all the buffalo to eliminate the Plains Indians. Beyond the terrible human cost, it will destroy the last relatively untouched mangrove forest in the region.
The past three years, I have been researching mangrove friendly aquaculture and artisanal fisheries, for the Akwayafe and Rio del Rey estuaries. Ironically, because they have not yet been fully exploited, it has been difficult to find comparable projects, as most seem to be restoration projects.
Andrew Parker
Facilitator, Efut Inwang online village at Nabuur.com

Cameroon: Bakassi Population Promised Oil Palm Plantation

According to the General Manager of PAMOL, Obi-Okpun Wanobi Osang, who spoke to a local News Magazine, the company will be opening the first plantation on a 1000 hectare of land. It is already reflecting on cutting down tree and tilling the soil, he told the paper...READ MORE
SOURCE: AllAfrica

S.E. ASIA

MALAYSIA
August 3 Deadline for Objections on the Proposed Shrimp Project

Environmentalists have until Aug 3 to raise their objections to the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report on the proposed 1,000ha shrimp farming project in Setiu...READ MORE
SOURCE: The Star Online

MALAYSIA
Fishermen in Bid to Save Mangrove

The hive of activity at Sungai Perpat in Pengkalan Perpat, Tanjung Bin near here, on Saturday made it look like a fiesta. However, the gathering of local fishermen was to get the government to save the mangrove forest, covering 913ha, at Tanjung Bin ...READ MORE
SOURCE: New Straits Times

THAILAND
Chanthaburi Mangrove Forest Joins Carbon Credit Project

Thailand's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has initiated a mangrove forest project in the eastern province of Chantaburi to sell carbon credits, the first of its kind in Thailand...READ MORE
SOURCE: MCOT English News

THAILAND
Boost for Thai carbon credit

The 10,000-rai mangrove area is in the Welu River basin in Chanthaburi province. Mangroves can reduce carbon dioxide at the highest rate compared with other types of forest - meaning a large amount of revenue generated within the five-year agreement period...READ MORE
SOURCE: The Nation

INDONESIA
City to Unite Effort to Save Mangroves

The Jakarta Environment Management Agency (BPLHD) will launch its Green Belt initiative to bring together various mangrove conservation efforts in the...READ MORE
SOURCE: The Jakarta Post

INDONESIA
Mangrove Damage Reaches 97% in C. Java

Thousands of hectares (ha) of mangrove forest in northern coastal areas have been seriously damaged due to fish farms, residences, industries...READ MORE
SOURCE: The Jakarta Post

INDONESIA
Warsono: Mangrove Man

That mangrove trees can flourish in Tirtohargo village, even as plants in nearby areas fail to develop, is a tribute to the determination of Warsono...READ MORE
SOURCE: The Jakarta Post

VIETNAM
Poor quality Chinese Prawns Breeds Woe in Mekong Delta

Many shrimp breeders in the Mekong Delta Province of Bac Lieu recently made losses due to breeding giant freshwater prawns imported from China. These shrimp died quickly or grew too slowly...READ MORE
SOURCE: Saigon GP Daily

PHILLIPINES
World's Leading Marine Wildlife Hotspot is Under Threat

Sea level rises were drowning the corals, preventing them from growing, and damaging mangroves which provide important habitats for fish and protect coastal...READ MORE
SOURCE: The Herald

PHILLIPINES
Aklan Cooperatives to Benefit from Upland Development Program

The amount will be used for seedling production and the establishment of a nursery to reforest open watershed areas, mangroves and forests in the province...READ MORE
SOURCE: Philippine Information Agency

S. ASIA

PAKISTAN
Pakistan Island Puts Wind-power to Work

A tiny island of fishermen is light years ahead of the rest of Pakistan, powering homes and businesses with wind turbines -- protecting the environment and improving the quality of life...READ MORE
SOURCE: Google News

PAKISTAN
Protection of Mangroves

By By Jan Khaskheli In a new attempt by government agencies to protect mangroves forests along the 350-km-long Sindh coastline - especially near Karachi and...READ MORE
SOURCE: The News International

PAKISTAN
COMMENT FROM QADEER MOHAMMAD ALI
I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep concerns over the UNEP's Billion Tree Campaign, during the campaign importance of indigenous species should not be ignored and it should be stressed. Plantation of exotic species in millions and billions would be another nightmare and we have already witnessed the havoc played by the exotics in our country and globally. Hope the UNEP would be taking care of this concern during the campaign.

MAP Editor's Comment on Article: Top UN Official Lauds Pakistan's Record Tree Planting
To UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.
Dear Achim Steiner,
We at Mangrove Action Project (MAP) have read with some dismay the following news item from Pakistan regarding the planting of over half-a-million mangrove seedlings in a single day in order to obtain a Guinness World Record. The group that accomplished this record had requested that we at MAP share this news with Mangroves For the Future (MFF) & IUCN, but MAP feels the mass planting of a single mangrove species over a wide area should not be promoted for what should be obvious reasons, including:

*Concern should be given to the vulnerability of monoculture,
*mangrove species being planted outside their natural zonation with little likelihood of long term success,
*Conversion of one vital and functional ecosystem-in this case a mud flat- with potentially dire consequences for migratory birds, shell fish and crustaceans that use the n=mudflat
*the likely low quality planting, and the longer-term maintenance and the protection of the seedlings.
*It is also unclear if the problems which caused the loss of mangroves in Pakistan in the first place, like hydrological changes, high salinity, livestock grazing, and human pressures for fuel wood, are being dealt with, and if not there seems to be very little hope for seedlings to become trees.

We're just concerned that if this achievement is portrayed as a success in the by UNEP and other influential agencies and organizations, then other countries may also try to achieve a Guinness Record by more mass mangrove plantings, where quantity rather than quality becomes the objective. We also urge the UNEP to visit this planted area in 6 months or a year to view firsthand just how many of these rushed plantings of mangroves actually survive! This is important to consider before declaring such planting stunts as laudable.

Towards Long Term Mangrove Restoration,
Alfredo Quarto,
Executive Director
Mangrove Action Project

COMMENT FROM DR. SAIFULLAH
Yes, this is scientifically true that Monocultures are susceptible to pathogens and to environmental perturbations and stresses. Habitat improvement is also necessary for long term plantation.

Top UN Official Lauds Pakistan's Record Tree Planting

The top UN environment official has lauded Pakistan's efforts in setting a Guinness World Record for planting over 500,000 trees in one day, part of the South Asian nation's pledge in the global Billion Tree Campaign....READ MORE
SOURCE: Dawn.com

LATIN AMERICA / CARIBBEAN

PANAMA
Mangrove Forests in Danger

The development of the shrimp industry, construction of bridges and roads, coal production and agriculture are destroying Chame's mangroves, according to a...READ MORE
SOURCE: La Estrella de Panama

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Central Group Replants Much Needed Mangrove

Despite the National Environment Policy that there be "No Net Loss of Mangrove", the Invader's Bay mangrove suffered the fate of Westmoorings, Point Lisas...READ MORE
SOURCE: Trinidad and Tobagos Newsday

BELIZE
Belize - Trouble in Paradise

One of the biggest threats to the reef reserve's sustainability is mangrove cutting to make way for commercial development. According to a State of Conservation report for the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, 29 percent of mangroves...READ MORE
SOURCE: National Geographic - Intelligent Travel Blog

BELIZE
Travel: Global treasures

The Belize reef system has recently been added to the list of endangered World Heritage sites because of mangrove-clearing related to coastal development...READ MORE
SOURCE: Summit Daily News

OCEANIA

SOUTH PACIFIC ISLANDS
Climate Change to Force 75 Million Pacific Islanders From Their Homes

More than 75 million people living on Pacific islands will have to relocate by 2050 because of the effects of climate change, Oxfam has warned...READ MORE
SOURCE: The Telegraph/UK and Common Dreams

CHILE
Chilean salmon industry plunges into an abyss of pesticides and antibiotics

Three Chilean salmon farming companies, including the two largest producers of farmed salmon, used a number of drugs not approved by the U.S. government. These chemicals include the antibiotics flumequine and oxolinic acid and the pesticide emamectin benzoate. The documents further show that the farmed salmon containing residues of unapproved chemicals were destined for the U.S. market...READ MORE
SOURCE: Grist

EUROPE

EUROPEAN UNION
Shrimp exports dwindle as EU rejects shipments

This measure is meant to prevent and do away with illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing per EU regulation (EC No. 1005/2008)...READ MORE
SOURCE: FIS

STORIES / ISSUES

Ecotourism Takes Toll on Environment

Forests, coastal areas, small islands, villages, customary hamlets and old cities that were developed for tourism would often be flooded by related development projects � not all of them friendly to the environment...READ MORE
SOURCE: The Jakarta Globe

PUBLICATIONS
"Mangrove Field of Dreams: If We Build It, Will They Come?" by Roy R. "Robin" Lewis III

The evidence for successful restoration of mangroves on any large scale, however, is nearly non-existent...in spite of twenty years of efforts devoted to the restoration of 44,000 ha of mangroves in the Philip-pines...the plantings experienced high mortality, and the few that survived "had dismally stunted growth"...READ MORE (PDF file)
SOURCE: Society of Wetland Scientists