It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.
 
—Mahatma Gandhi

FEATURED STORY

Veracruz loses 13% of its mangrove areas

MEXICO – In 26 years, the state of Veracruz has lost 13 percent of its mangrove areas. It currently has 43 thousand hectares of the 50,000 that existed, said Elisa Pérez Rojas, director of Pro Natura. He said that according to the study conducted by the State Biodiversity Strategy, in the Laguna de Alvarado alone more than 5000 hectares of mangroves have been lost. There are only 19 000 hectares remaining there. Mangrove forests have been reduced by changes in land use, as they are cleared and converted to livestock grazing areas or to create barriers to livestock, he said. In Rojas' opinion, open spaces for farming are needed, as it is the primary source of income for many families. But in order to stop the trend towards mangrove destruction, it is necessary to improve education and awareness about mangrove habitat. People might then discover other resources besides raising livestock. READ MORE (en Espanol)
 
AFRICA
 
Shrimp Farmers Unite to Fight White Spot in East Africa
MOZAMBIQUE – Work on reducing the risk of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) at shrimp farms in East Africa through improved management and policy is progressing, thanks, in part, to a Responsible Aquaculture Foundation (RAF) case study conducted in mid-May. The case study, the third such project administered by RAF, dealt with a WWSV outbreak at shrimp farms in Mozambique and Madagascar. A team of aquaculture professionals and academics traveled to East Africa to meet with farmers and other stakeholders to review the chronology and impact of the WSSV outbreak and discuss strategies to control the disease. The team consisted of George Chamberlain (coordinator), Donald Lightner (shrimp pathologist), Noriaki Akazawa (Asian shrimp farm manager), Marcos Villarreal (Central American shrimp farm manager), Richard Towner (geneticist), Peter van Wyk (financial analyst) and Adolfo Alvial (public-private partnerships). READ MORE
 
ASIA
 
MAP Welcomes New Volunteer and a Group of Student Researchers from Marietta College, USA on World Oceans Day
THAILAND – Although starting back in 1992, it was only until recently that the World Oceans Day has become more popular and is being observed in many countries. Trang province in the southern part of Thailand is known as one of the major observant of this event. Not only was June 8th 2013  World Oceans Day, it was also my first day volunteering for MAP along with MAP welcoming a group of student researchers and their Professor from Marietta College in Ohio, USA. Luckily, the team have scheduled for two site visits in Bang Kang Khao and Laem Makham villages. Getting a chance to visit restoration sites on my first day of arrival was such a pleasant opportunity because I have been told that most volunteers work in the office for several weeks before having a chance to visit MAP’s mangrove restoration sites. In fact, this was my very first time visiting mangroves which made the occasion that much more special personally. Moreover, I have also made new friends, a group of student researchers from Marietta College. READ MORE
 
Stop the flooding of the Cardamom Forest!

CAMBODIA – China Guodian Corporation, a state-owned power company, plans to build a hydroelectric dam on the Areng’s upper reaches in Cambodia. The Cheăy Areng dam would spell catastrophe for the rainforest dwellers by inundating their habitat. Just a few hundred of the highly-endangered Siamese crocodiles remain worldwide – and most of them live in the Areng Valley. The indigenous peoples would lose their homes and have to be relocated. From an economic point of view, the project makes little sense, as its costs would exceed its benefits for the country. READ MORE
 
‘Entrepreneur’ smashes down Phuket mangroves
THAILAND – Following complaints from local people, the Chairman of Pa Khlok OrBorTor on Wednesday led police and other officials on a raid on an allegedly illegal construction site among mangroves in Moo 2 They found the mangroves had been removed, the site had been levelled and construction of a property development was well under way. They seized seven trucks and a bulldozer. The case has been passed to the Thalang police to follow up and charge those responsible. The chairman, Punya Sumpaorat, said “Pa Khlok Municipality continually checks for mangrove forest encroachment by ‘entrepreneurs’ because most of the area [along the shore] is forest under the protection of HM the Queen, and locals and the municipality have replanted regularly. READ MORE
 
Songkhla dolphins facing relocation
THAILAND – The last group of 15 Irrawaddy dolphins in the Songkhla Lake in Songkhla province may have to be relocated to a new habitat if water quality and the environment in the lake does not improve, the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) says. DMCR marine biologist Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong on Monday said the dolphins were being threatened by fishing gear, water pollution, insufficient food supplies and inbreeding. If these risks are not addressed, the dolphins are expected to disappear from the lake within five years, he said. The department has not yet decided where the dolphins could be relocated, although it suggested a reservoir of the Ratchaprapa dam in Surat Thani province or the Gulf of Thailand as potential sites. READ MORE

 Editor’s Note – Strange that shrimp farms are both booming and depressed, depending on which article you happen to read.
A lot of seafood giants fall into tragic plight

VIETNAM – The seafood companies’ workers in the Tra Noc Industrial Zone of Can Tho City and the Hoa Trung Industrial Zone in Ca Mau province come to factories irregularly these days. On the Highway No. 1A, which goes through the biggest shrimp material areas – Soc Trang, Bac Lieu and Ca Mau, there are no more bustling shrimp markets gathering in the afternoon after the working hours like in the previous years. These are all the bad signals for the seafood industry. A lot of seafood companies in the region have fallen into insolvency; others have been operating at a moderate level. Only a few companies have luckily escaped the biggest difficulties and now try to resume the production. In the Tra Noc Industrial Zone, An Khang Import-Export Company still opens. However, it opens just to receive some 70 workers who come to work in shifts under the management of Director Tran Hong Quan. READ MORE

Shrimp Exports from Vietnam surpass $1 billion mark
VIETNAM – Vietnam was estimated to have earned $1.03 billion worth of shrimp export in the first half of this year, up 1.5% on year, the Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said. However, the shrimp exports into the US is seen to hardly increase in the second half of this year due to recent preliminary decision on anti-subsidy duties on frozen shrimp imported from seven countries, including Viet Nam of the US Department of Commerce’s (DOC), VASEP added. The final decision would be issued in mid-August, according to VASEP, saying that it was possible Vietnamese shrimp would be hit by two taxes on the US market: anti-subsidy duty and anti-dumping duty, the local newswire www.VOV.vn reported. READ MORE
 
AMERICAS
 
Environmentalists march in defense of mangroves

VENEZUELA – Falcon state environmental groups, gathered on Saturday June 15 in Punto Fijo, following the call of the Environmental Association for Environmental Preservation (AEPA), grassroots organization that since 2001 works in defense of mangrove ecosystems and human rights and is a member of Venezuelan group known as International REDMANGLAR. 250 people from 10 groups and social organizations marched along the 2.5 km walk, calling on the authorities for ultimate protection Guaranao Lagoon, a coastal marine wetland covering 7.1 hectares. The area is home to some 250 species of flora and fauna, including the Caribbean flamingo, the red corocora and some mammals. Scientist Robert Wingfield, known for his environmental work was present at the action and expressed support for the protestors. "We are here to support the work of social groups. Guaranao Lagoon is an important ecosystem must be protected as the only freshwater course across the semiarid region Paraguana. This important region houses a large number of species unique to the area, therefore we call for protecttion " READ MORE (en Espanol)
 
Cuba girds for climate change by reclaiming coasts
CUBA – After Cuban scientists studied the effects of climate change on this island's 3,500 miles (5,630 kilometers) of coastline, their discoveries were so alarming that officials didn't share the results with the public to avoid causing panic. The scientists projected that rising sea levels would seriously damage 122 Cuban towns or even wipe them off the map. Beaches would be submerged, they found, while freshwater sources would be tainted and croplands rendered infertile. In all, seawater would penetrate up to 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) inland in low-lying areas, as oceans rose nearly three feet (85 centimeters) by 2100. Climate change may be a matter of political debate on Capitol Hill, but for low-lying Cuba, those frightening calculations have spurred systemic action. Cuba's government has changed course on decades of haphazard coastal development, which threatens sand dunes and mangrove swamps that provide the best natural protection against rising seas. READ MORE
 
EDITORS NOTE – Some bad news coming from Seafood Watch who’s popular and convenient pocket sized seafood cards alert consumers to which seafood is best to buy. They have for years placed farmed shrimp as a red listed (not to buy) item, but now they are saying ASC and Naturland shrimp are OK, which is a sad loss for us! This really is not so surprising, considering that the Packard sisters founded the Monterey Bay Aquarium many years ago, and Packard Foundation funded over $2 million to support WWF's faulty "Shrimp Dialogue." Nevertheless, it will be more difficult to convince our restaurant and retailer allies that it is not good to sell certified shrimp, as the Seafood Watch advice cards are regularly used by conscientious buyers of seafood.
Seafood Watch plugs MSC, ASC-certified products
USA – Seafood Watch, a Monterey Bay Aquarium program that promotes consumer awareness in the seafood industry, announced today that it will now recommend seafood carrying the mark of other well-known sustainability programs. According to a statement from the aquarium, the program will now list on its “buy” list certain seafood species that bear the stamp of approval from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), NaturLand, Canada Organic, and Friend of the Sea. All of the organizations assess seafood producers and processors, granting certification to all that meet their standards of sustainability. READ MORE
 
Walmart shrimp supplier accused of labor abuse
USA – Longtime Walmart shrimp supplier, certified by the Global Aquaculture Alliance, in a new report is being accused of engaging in serious violations of Thai law and international human rights standards. The briefing paper, “The Walmart Effect: Child and Worker Rights Violations at Narong Seafood,” — released by Warehouse Workers United (WWU) and the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) — documents a number of serious violations at shrimp processing company Narong Seafood. Violations at Narong’s principal facility in Samutsakron, Thailand, include utilizing underage workers, nonpayment of wages, charging workers excessive fees for work permits, and an ineffective auditing regime. READ MORE

US keeps Thailand on trafficking watchlist
USA – The U.S. State Department released its annual Trafficking in Persons report this week, and has once again labeled Thailand as a hub for human trafficking. The new report comes less than a month after the nonprofit group Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) released its own report, detailing slavery and murder in the Thai fishing industry. The state department designation, in short, is an acknowledgement that the Thai government has made an effort to address the issue but significant problems still remain. “The Government of Thailand does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking,” Secretary of State John Kerry said in the report. READ MORE
 
Farmed Fish Production Overtakes Beef

USA – The world quietly reached a milestone in the evolution of the human diet in 2011. For the first time in modern history, world farmed fish production has topped beef production. The gap widened in 2012, with output from fish farming—also called aquaculture—reaching a record 66 million tons, compared with production of beef at 63 million tons. And 2013 may well be the first year that people eat more fish raised on farms than caught in the wild. More than just a crossing of lines, these trends illustrate the latest stage in a historic shift in food production—a shift that at its core is a story of natural limits. READ MORE
 
Shrimp Exports from Vietnam surpass $1 billion mark
VIETNAM – Vietnam was estimated to have earned $1.03 billion worth of shrimp export in the first half of this year, up 1.5% on year, the Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said. However, the shrimp exports into the US is seen to hardly increase in the second half of this year due to recent preliminary decision on anti-subsidy duties on frozen shrimp imported from seven countries, including Viet Nam of the US Department of Commerce’s (DOC), VASEP added. The final decision would be issued in mid-August, according to VASEP, saying that it was possible Vietnamese shrimp would be hit by two taxes on the US market: anti-subsidy duty and anti-dumping duty, the local newswire www.VOV.vn reported. READ MORE
 
EUROPE
 
UK government accepts complaint over GCM Resources’ Bangladesh coal mine

UK – British company GCM Resources was dealt a serious blow today as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) agreed to consider complaints regarding severe human rights violations associated with the company’s planned coal mine in Bangladesh. GCM wants to open a massive open-pit coal mine in Phulbari in the north-west of Bangladesh, displacing up to 220,000 people and threatening the Sundarbans, one of the world’s largest remaining mangrove forests and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The complaint by the International Accountability Project and the World Development Movement claims that the mine planned by the AIM-listed company would breach OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. It would violate the human rights of indigenous people from 23 different tribal groups, and destroy nearly 12,000 acres of Bangladesh’s most fertile and productive farmland. READ MORE
 
LAST WORD
 
FOR THE MANGROVES
MAP-Asia is putting together a poster banner showing the destruction of mangroves to get people thinking.
 
Destruction / degradation can be of any human caused form…. cutting, clearing, shrimp aquaculture, infrastructure development, land filling, impounding, trash pollution, oil spills, etc…. If you've any good high resolution photos you would like donate to MAP's educational awareness cause please send them to me.  1 MB size or larger are preferred but we're also in need of shots for a new MAP video under production & for our website.  If you would like to be credited for the photos used please send your name as it should appear.
 
For the mangroves & those who depend on them for life & livelihood.
 
Jim
SEND IMAGES TO
Jim Enright <mapasia@loxinfo.co.th>

~ WE WELOCME YOUR LETTERS – If you’d like to have the last word on this or any other mangrove related topic, please send us your submission for upcoming newsletters. We’ll choose one per issue to have “the last word”. While we can’t promise to publish everyone’s letter, we do encourage anyone to post comments on our Blog at www. mangroveactionproject.blogspot.com

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