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

Editor’s Note: MAP has an ongoing involvement and interest in the conservation and restoration issues of Jiquilisco Bay, having recently organized and implemented a very successful workshop on Community -Based Ecological Mangrove Restoration (EMR), which was led by MAP Asia Coordinator Jim Enright. MAP worked closely with Asociacion Mangle in conducting a three day training workshop in EMR. In fact, our work there resulted in the Minister of Environment, Sr. Rosa Chavez, declaring MAP's CBEMR model as the one to follow in El Salvador's National Environmental Plan for mangrove wetlands conservation and restoration.

Activists Fight U.S. Aid to Develop El Salvador’s Pacific Coastline

Mauricio Cruz points to an area where he says tourism infrastructure will be built, in Cuche del Monte on the edge of the mangrove forest on Jiquilisco Bay. Credit: Edgardo Ayala/IPS
EL SALVADOR – Community leaders in El Salvador are opposed to the government’s plans to use U.S. aid funds to develop the country’s Pacific coastline, on the grounds that it would threaten the environment in a vast area. “The natural areas we have protected for so long will be seriously affected if tourism investments are made in these coastal zones,” as the government intends, within the framework of the United States Millennium Challenge Fund (FOMILENIO) program, activist Amílcar Cruz García, secretary of the Asociación Mangle (Mangrove Association), a community organization in the Lower Lempa area in the southeastern department or province of Usulután, told IPS. The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), the U.S. government foreign aid agency funding FOMILENIO, offered El Salvador a second package of 277 million dollars of non-refundable aid in December 2011, to develop the coastal region. Final approval could occur late this year. The first FOMILENIO program in El Salvador was rolled out in 2007-2012, injecting 460 million dollars in investment in the northern region of the country. READ MORE
 
AFRICA
 
GEPADG Holds Sub-Regional Workshop On Mangroves

GAMBIA – The Gunjur Environmental Protection and Development Group (GEPADG)) The Gambia in partnership with the Commonwealth Human Ecology Council (CHEC) in London recently held a three-day Commonwealth West Africa workshop on mangroves. The workshop, which brought together four West African countries -Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon and the Gambia, was held at the Gunjur Beach in Gunjur, West Coast Region.The outcome of the Commonwealth West Africa workshop on mangroves will be presented at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting to be held in Colombo Sri Lanka in November for possible funding for West African Mangroves. Speaking the opening ceremony, Baboucarr Jallow, the principal climate change officer deputising for the minister of Environment, Parks and Wildlife Management, said that the sustainable management and conservation of mangrove ecosystem is an important initiative taken up by the government of The Gambia through its ratification and implementation of the Ramsar Convention and more importantly National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAPS). READ MORE
 
African group addresses mangrove deforestation
KENYA – The Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) is implementing an innovative, small-scale carbon project aimed at enhancing mangrove forest productivity and integrity, by carrying out activities that benefit local communities and that could be eligible for attracting carbon investment. Dubbed Mikoko Pamoja, the project will initially protect 107 ha of mangrove forest at Gazi bay and replant 0.4 ha degraded forest per annum, over a project time-scale of 20 years. Technical Specifications of the project have been accredited by Plan Vivo Carbon to sell 3000t CO2 equivalent/year into the voluntary carbon market, thus generating approximately US$12,000 each year. The profits from selling carbon credits through Mikoko Pamoja are channeled directly to the community in order to finance further mangrove restoration effort, as well as to support community development projects. READ MORE
 
Mangrove conservation pays off for Kenya's coastal communities
KENYA – When Kahindi Charo gathered 30 of his friends to replant mangroves in the 32 square km (12 square mile) Mida Creek area, people in his village of Dabaso in Kilifi County dismissed them as crazy idlers. Charo recalls that back then, in 2000, the creek had suffered badly from unregulated harvesting that had left the area bare, with rotting stumps and patches of old mangrove trees. Today, Mida Creek, about 60 km (38 miles) north of Mombasa, flourishes with dense mangrove plantations that provide a habitat for birds, fish and crabs. There is also a boardwalk leading to a 12-seat eco-restaurant perched beside the Indian Ocean. READ MORE
 
ASIA

Cristiano Ronaldo in Bali to support mangrove preservation

INDONESIA – Real Madrid and Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo plants a mangrove tree in Bali, Indonesia on Wednesday to show his support for mangrove preservation. Ronaldo is currently on the Indonesian island of Bali as an ambassador for the Mangrove Care Forum. Fast disappearing mangrove swamps provide crucial protection for coastal areas and Ronaldo says he became involved in preservation efforts after seeing the devastating effects of the 2004 tsunami. VIEW VIDEO
 
Payments for Ecosystem Services in Vietnam's Mangrove Forests
VIETNAM – Vietnam’s mangrove ecosystems are tremendously valuable, providing ecosystem services like carbon sequestration, protection from storms, floods, and erosion, provision of timber and non-timber forest products, processing of waste and nutrient pollution, aquaculture and agriculture support, and habitat for aquatic and terrestrial species. Yet, as in many other parts of the world, short-term development needs are undermining long-term mangrove health and survival. Fortunately, economic mechanisms have the potential to tip the balance toward restoration, maintenance, and protection of mangrove forest. This issue brief summarizes research by the Katoomba Group’s Legal Initiative into key barriers to and opportunities for payments for ecosystem services in Vietnam’s mangrove forests, drawing from the December 2010 report "Roots in the Water: Legal Frameworks for Mangrove PES in Vietnam."  READ MORE
 
AMERICAS
 
Editor’s Note – MAP congratulates PCC on its bold stance on farmed shrimp.
PCC questions its shrimp supply

USA – Shrimp is the most popular seafood in the United States — Americans collectively consume more than 1 billion pounds of it every year. About 90 percent is imported from overseas, primarily Asia and Latin America. At PCC we sometimes get questions about the sustainability of this popular seafood. Wild, farmed, imported, domestic … what's a conscientious shrimp lover to choose? We recommend avoiding imported farmed shrimp. We don't sell it at PCC. Shrimp farms in countries such as China, Thailand, Vietnam, Brazil and Ecuador are the number one threat to mangrove forests. These coastal wetlands absorb more greenhouse gases that cause global warming than any other ecosystem on the planet. Mangroves also provide habitat for fish and protect coastlines from damage by storms, hurricanes and tsunamis. This loss of habitat is just one way the foreign shrimp industry depletes wild fisheries and threatens biodiversity. READ MORE
 
Group calls for halt of terminal to be built off Bimini's western shore
BIMINI – Bimini's economic and ecological future depends upon keeping our waters clean, our reefs healthy, and our fisheries thriving. In order to preserve the tourism industry that has sustained these islands for decades, we insist that all current and future development proposals respect and protect the ecological integrity of Bimini and all of our surrounding ecosystems. The current proposal being put forth by Genting's newly acquired Resorts World Bimini Bay calls for the creation of a massive cruise ship terminal off the western shore of North Bimini. These plans include a 1000 ft dock extending west off North Bimini's beaches, the creation of a large man-made island offshore, and an enormous amount of related dredging. All of this is being proposed in an area of densely populated coral reef habitat. The damage to the surrounding reefs will be catastrophic, and the landscape of Bimini will be forever transformed. READ MORE
 
Projects to restore Alafia aquatic life
USA – Nine years after hurricane-whipped waves breached a gypsum-stack berm near Riverview, the corporation that owns the mining operation is paying $5 million for a pair of ambitious projects to restore wetlands and tidal marshes where the Alafia River empties into Hillsborough Bay. The two Mosaic projects are being undertaken along U.S. 41 on the north and south sides of the river bridge, officials announced at a Wednesday news conference held on the south bank of the river. Neither project was connected to the spill, but Mosaic was required to create restoration projects in the area as part of an agreement the phosphate giant made with the government in the wake of the spill.  The more visible project begins next month, when crews will dredge a boat basin on the west side of U.S. 41 just south of the Alafia River bridge. Channels also will be dug from the basin west to reconnect tidal flows that have been disrupted for more than 50 years when a fish-camp owner built the boat basin's seawalls. "The mangroves there are under severe stress," said Robin Lewis, an environmental consultant hired by Mosaic to oversee the projects. Cutting the tidal flow results in "a mangrove heart attack," he said. "That's a sudden death of mangroves due to poor circulation." READ MORE

MAP comments on ASC/Selva Shrimp Certification
Consumers in the global North have been calling for seafood certifications so that they might be able to make conscious decisions about the food they eat, where it comes from, how it is produced, and the impact of production on people and the environment. Although seafood at the supermarket may proudly display labels from the Monterey Bay Aquarium or the Marine Stewardship Council, certifying something, most consumers do not know what that certification really means. Worse still, that certification scheme, that label, may not reflect what consumers are after: seafood that is produced with minimal impact on the environment; that supports workers and their livelihoods; and that is safe and wholesome to eat. Mixed shrimp farming-mangrove forestry systems have been gaining the attention of seafood certification organizations and scientific research alike in recent years. This system ideally integrates shrimp farming into the landscape of coastal ecosystems in order to maintain the ecological function of mangrove forests and the surrounding areas while minimizing shrimp disease and providing shrimp farmers with a sustainable livelihood. While this system may sound viable and sustainable, there is a potential for the practice to stray far from what is preached. We at the Mangrove Action Project are particularly concerned that this production system will continue the process of degradation and deforestation of mangroves. READ MORE
 
EUROPE
 
Mislabeling damages consumer trust in seafood

UK – The deliberate mislabeling of seafood has the potential to damage an industry valued for its quality and sustainability. Recent press coverage of this issue in the U.K. has raised concerns that weakly enforced supply-chain safety rules and rogue suppliers could have a negative effect on consumer trust, something that would have a direct impact on restaurant sales. The U.K. press coverage has focused on a recent research project, led by Dr. Stefano Mariani from the University of Salford in the U.K., and was published in the peer-reviewed Fish and Fisheries journal. Scientists tested 226 cod products purchased from retailers and restaurant suppliers from Ireland and the U.K., which were genetically identified using a DNA barcoding technique. The results were then compared against product labels. READ MORE
 
OCEANA
 
Fiji to draft plans on mangrove issues

FIJI – THE draft National Mangrove Management Plan (NMMP) was expected to be completed and submitted by June 30. This was confirmed by one of the local consultants for the plan, Dr Dick Watling who told The Fiji Times the plan needed to be re-looked at in terms of its administrative effectiveness. "The new NMMP is actually much more on the administrative and institutional manner in which mangrove is managed and especially mangrove conversion applications," Dr Watling said. He said the previous plan, which was created in 1985-86, focused more on the zoning of areas of mangroves, but this one would look at how mangroves could be managed more efficiently keeping in mind sustainable development ideals. "That was done at the time because of the need for the Department of Lands to have a better idea quickly of what were the more important areas of mangrove. There has to be, overall, a sustainable framework on management and that's what we'll be looking at now. There is a lot of concern at the moment voiced about the state of mangroves in Fiji." READ MORE
 
LAST WORD
 
Life at MAP – A MAP volunteer shares his story
I have been working with several NGOs in Thailand which work on natural resources management, conservation, and policies. However, it was only until recently that I have heard of the Mangrove Action Project or MAP, with an office in Trang my home town, while I was working in Bangkok.
I have had some experience working with mangroves but MAP changed my perspectives working with mangroves. It made me realize that we must think about and work with nature. We cannot force nature to fit our own objectives. For example, previously I thought creating mangrove monoculture plantation was fine so all I wanted to do was to plant seedlings and hoped that what I planted would grow without thinking about ensuring a suitable environment for mangroves to thrive.  MAP’s Ecological Mangrove Restoration (EMR) project has helped me to understand what kind of environmental conditions are optimal for mangroves to grow. READ MORE

~ 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

BACK TO TOP

---