Are Mangroves the Answer Against Global Warming Vulnerability to Disaster?
 
USA- Alfredo Quarto is executive director of the Mangrove Action Project. He was recently asked the role mangroves can have in mitigating the effects of climate change. "Mangroves typify the important role that coastal wetlands play in protecting coastlines from erosion and natural disasters such as hurricanes and tsunamis. Our coasts are more vulnerable now to these natural disasters, whether they be from hurricanes, tsunamis or wave surges because of the loss of natural coastal barriers, such as mangroves, sea grasses, corals, salt marshes or other coastal wetlands. Even sand dunes play an important part in acting as natural barriers against the occasional, but devastating ravages of Nature. Mangroves are especially important today in reducing the adverse effects from climate change, because they sequester more carbon dioxide and store more carbon than any other plant species. Conserving and restoring our coastal wetlands will not stop climate change, but will help lessen the adverse impacts that we now expect. We still need to reduce our CO2 emissions and commit ourselves duly to this urgent, life-saving need. READ MORE
 
ASIA
 
Typhoon Haiyan and beyond: the role of trees and forests in rebuilding communities
 
PHILIPPINES – In early November of last year, Typhoon Haiyan ripped across the central Philippines with wind speeds exceeding 300 kilometres per hour – the strongest ever recorded in a storm making landfall. The storm killed more than 7000 people and left millions homeless. Patrick had previously lived and worked in the Philippines for many years and since the typhoon has made several trips to the country, helping to assess the impacts of the storm on tree- and forest-dependent people, and make proposals on how forests and trees should contribute to FAO and partner efforts to rebuild shattered lives and strengthen communities’ resilience against future disasters. With strong support from colleagues at the regional office in Bangkok as well as FAO Forestry colleagues at Headquarters, and even from retired forestry colleagues, advice was provided on approaches and techniques for salvaging millions of downed coconut trees to produce coco lumber for rebuilding houses and community buildings. This also included proposals on the legal and appropriate options for using wood for building boats, which local people rely on for fishing and public transport. This was an important aspect as wood is a major link in the social and economic ties that bind the livelihoods of the forest and fisheries communities; without it people would be pushed further into poverty. READ MORE
 
1,471 hectares of mangroves notified as ‘reserve forests’
INDIA –  Around 1,471 hectares of mangroves on government land in Navi Mumbai have been notified as “reserved forests”. This comes nearly nine months after the state’s decision to notify all mangroves on public land in the state as “reserved forests”. “With this notification, only around 4,478 hectares in Dahanu division of Thane district are left to be notified as “reserved forests”,” said N Vasudevan, chief conservator of forests, mangrove cell. These mangroves in Navi Mumbai were notified as “protected forests” in 2008 as per a 2005 High Court directive to map and notify mangroves.  While limited human activity is permitted in “protected forest” areas, once a forest settlement officer settles claims of all inhabitants in “reserved forests”, all human activity is strictly prohibited. READ MORE
 
Act now to save our seas
THAILAND – For decades, local fisherfolk and environmentalists have been trying in vain to stop destructive fishing by commercial trawlers from annihilating the country’s coastal seas. Now they are pinning their hopes on market forces to save the country’s once abundant seas from the menaces of big trawlers and the fish meal industry. Their campaigns are banking on the increasing external pressure from the European Union and the United States on the seafood and fish meal industries to clean up their acts — or face a trade boycott. It is common knowledge that commercial trawlers have long been using environmentally destructive fishing methods which destroy the seabed and fish stocks in the Gulf of Thailand and along the coasts of of the Andaman Sea. By using finely meshed nets to catch fish, trawlers scoop up baby and trash fish along with other marine life in one go. The seabeds, which are nurseries and home to marine lives, are also destroyed, leading to a rapid decline in marine fertility. READ MORE
 
Mangrove reforestation highlighted International Women's Day celebration
PHILIPPINES – More than 1,000  propagules were planted at the mangrove reforestation site located at Baragay Pikinit, in the coastal town of Sultan Naga Dimaporo (SND), this province, on March 7, 2014. This is in celebration of the International Women’s Day (IWD) set on March 8. “Instead of the usual song and dance gathering of the different women groups, this year we opted to shift the focus towards environmental protection and preservation because this is something that we – the women sector feel strongly about”, explained Provincial Population Officer Ananette Daniel. The activity was organized by the Provincial Gender and Development (PGAD) Committee which is chaired by Governor Khalid Dimaporo. More than 1,000 participants, joined  the event composed of provincial and municipal government employees, provincial board members, AFP personnel, police officers, women organizations, local cooperatives and  barangay officials. READ MORE
 
Forest heroine puts law to work in defense of forests
 
PHILIPPINES – After her father — a well-respected prosecutor — was shot on the steps of the justice hall in Puerto Princesa, the capital of the northern Philippines province of Palawan, Gerthie made it her business to extend justice to more people. She earned a law degree, then turned her focus toward environmental and social justice in Palawan, a heavily forested archipelago designated a UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) biosphere reserve in 1990. She worked to protect the rights of indigenous peoples, building her own environmental defense unit called the Environmental Legal Assistance Center (ELAC), where she is now executive director. Gerthie’s energetic spirit and commitment galvanized many communities to protect forests, both upland and coastal, through the creation of citizen watchdogs, forest guardians and multisectoral advocacy networks. They stopped mining in almost 200,000 hectares of forest in Palawan; secured the passage of village and municipal watershed ordinances; and supported the establishment of mangrove sanctuaries to the cessation of mining activities in forest areas. READ MORE
 
AMERICAS
 
Top judge warns against permits for Bimini developer
 
BAHAMAS – One of the country's top judges has warned of implications for the rule of law if the controversial Bimini Bay development is allowed to forge ahead while still subject to judicial challenge. Court of Appeal Justice Abdulai Conteh told lawyers for the government and Resorts World Bimini that any construction at the resort site could put the entire case at risk. "In a democracy, no self-respecting government would do anything to jeopardize proceedings before the court," he said. "When there is a contested issue, one should not change the facts on the ground until a decision is made." Justice Conteh's comments came as the appeal, lodged by environmental groups Bimini Blue Coalition and Save The Bays, was again adjourned – this time to June 2. When the new date was announced, lead lawyer for the environmentalists Fred Smith, QC, expressed concern that construction would be allowed to advance in the meantime. "Development continues, dredging continues," the Callenders & Co attorney and partner said. READ MORE
 
Editor’s Note – Regardless of where you stand on the concept of Environmental Markets, your input is needed during this upcoming event.
International Forum on Payments for Environmental Services of Tropical Forests
COSTA RICA – Ensuring sustainable supply of goods and services from forests to enhance their vital contributions to socio-economic development lies at the core of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM). Yet, SFM in the tropics is often less profitable than other land-uses because many of the goods and services forests produce lack formal markets.  Payments for forest environmental (or ecosystem) services such as biodiversity, tourism and recreation, water conservation, soil protection and climate change mitigation, known in general as PES, is one such innovative means of financing SFM. The International Forum on Payments for Environmental Services of Tropical Forests aims to highlight the importance of developing and implementing PES mechanisms in tropical countries and to share best practices and lessons learned. The Forum is expected to recommend actions at local, national and international levels for the development and effective implementation of PES mechanisms in support of SFM in the tropics. It will bring together policymakers, researchers and academicians, practitioners, civil society, the private sector, and regional and international organizations engaged in the development, implementation and support of of PES mechanisms. READ MORE
 
EUROPE
 
The world must invest in mangroves
 
U.K. – As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) prepares to launch its latest climate report, Mark Spalding reports that mangrove swamps don't just protect coastlines from storms, flooding and erosion – they also sequester huge tonnages of carbon. And that makes them a super-smart investment. “My colleagues and I have worked out how much carbon there is in the world's mangrove forests, give or take a bit,” says Spalding. “And we mapped it. And here's why these findings are tremendously important. They quantify what some of us in marine conservation have been saying for a decade or more: that mangrove forests are among the most carbon rich habitats on the planet; and that, although they occupy just a fraction of the world's surface, they pack a punch. Anyone concerned about preserving nature's value – carbon sequestration and all the other benefits mangroves provide us – needs to think hard about this. There's no magic cure to the challenges of global change – warming, rising seas, worsening storms and ocean acidification – we'll only ever get there through a combination of interventions. Mangroves aren't sufficiently widespread to tip the scales, but they give a greater return on investment than many other mitigation efforts.” READ MORE
 
Cities on frontline of climate change struggle
U.K. – Half of the world's population now lives in cities, and this proportion is set to rise to two-thirds by 2050. Yet cities are particularly vulnerable to the worst impacts of climate change precisely because their locations are fixed. The latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) re-emphasises the vital role cities can play in cutting greenhouse gas emissions. This should come as no surprise, since urban centres are responsible for three quarters of global energy consumption and for 80% of greenhouse gas emissions. "In a sense, they are the carbon criminals of this world, but they also provide us with really good opportunities," says Dr Tim Wilson from the University of Reading, UK.  "We've probably focused quite a lot on mitigation in the past, but if climate change is accelerating, which many scientists say it is, there's a strong case for looking at adaptation more," says Dr Wilson. Not every city need respond in the same way to take effective adaptation steps. Coastal urban areas in the tropics could, for example, seed and protect dunes and reforest mangroves to provide protection against future sea level rise. David Dodman, an expert on climate change and urbanisation, uses the term "soft engineering" for such adaptive measures: "It's not quarrying millions of tonnes of concrete to turn into a sea barrier, but more about working with the natural environment," he says. READ MORE

LAST WORD
 
In Haiyan's aftermath, the mangroves of leyte-eastern samar need protection, not planting
 
Above is the title of the commentary on which the Inquirer news article by Nestor Burgos below was based, together with an earlier Call to Action issued 22 March 2014 by the workshop on “Mapping Yolanda’s Impact on Philippine Mangroves: Impacts and Recovery.”  Two additional items must be stressed:
 
First, the 28,000 hectares (12% of total) Philippine mangroves 'likely affected' used published literature (based on satellite imagery of Philippine mangroves) to estimate probable area — with the key word likely. Precisely why this eye-in-the-sky approach had to be validated by feet on the ground during surveys referred to in the article that we made in January and March of this year.
 
Secondly, our findings of partial to minimal to no damage at all from Typhoon Yolanda to the E. Samar-Leyte mangroves is not new. According to Eric Buduan of the Philippine Tropical Forest Conservation Foundation: "In October 1998, Supertyphoon Ilyang with maximum wind strength of 240 kph and gusts of 250 kph, hit coastal Isabela (Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park). The mangroves were significantly damaged, however, there was no cleaning or human intervention undertaken. The mangroves just regenerated naturally, as long as these were protected from human destruction."
 
After all, mangroves (and beach forests) are Nature's coastal bioshields, therefore damage and subsequent (natural) recovery are par for their course.
 
Jurgenne Primavera
 
~ WE WELCOME 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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