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Please spread the word by sharing MAP's latest effort to raise awareness of mangroves and the role they play in global climate change mitigation CLICK HERE to watch short introductory video. Together we can work "at the roots of the sea". 
 
 
FEATURED STORY
Positive cracks in in the view of (CBEMR) approach.
 
THAILAND – Some signs of encouraging progress and program success are now more evident, emerging from the challenging work of the MAP Asia office in Thailand. There seems to be some positive cracks in some corners of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) towards favorable viewing of the Community-Based Ecological Mangrove Restoration (CBEMR) approach. MAP has been promoting CBEMR as a best foot forward when attempting mangrove restoration. Progress has been hampered, however, by several factors, and chief among these is the complex land tenure issues making it extremely difficult to secure available sites to implement restoration. With an estimated over 400,000 ha of abandoned shrimp farms worldwide, which were mangroves, one would think access to these defunct sites, which now sit idle and unproductive, would be a given. Nevertheless, private landowners and those with lease contracts are not willing to allow restoration for fear of losing their land titles to government regulation if the sites are returned to their previous natural state as functional mangrove wetlands. In essence, they would rather see these abandoned sites remain unproductive and disused gambling on a rival of a profitable shrimp industry or speculating on oil palm demand than to see them returned back to productive mangroves. READ MORE
 
ASIA
 
Some questions for Dorjee Sun about the Ulu Masen REDD project
 
INDONESIA – Last year I wrote a series of posts about the Ulu Masen REDD project, based on interviews with NGOs and indigenous leaders in Aceh. Missing from the story is Dorjee Sun’s version of events. Dorjee Sun is the CEO of Carbon Conservation, the company that was supposed to be implementing the Ulu Masen REDD project. When I visited Aceh, with Down to Earth and Jaringan Komunitas Masyarakat Adat Aceh (Network of Indigenous Communities in Aceh – JKMA), there was little to been seen of any REDD project. “We’ve never seen anything from REDD. It’s like the wind. We can’t see it, can’t touch it,” Anwar Ibrahim, an indigenous leader told us. In December 2013, I sent some questions to Dorjee Sun in an attempt to find out what happened to the money that Carbon Conservation raised to implement the Ulu Masen project and whether the project has in fact now been abandoned. Sun talks about the Ulu Masen REDD project as one of his success stories READ MORE
 
First Shrimp Farm Enters ASC Assessment
VIET NAM – Shrimp producer, Quoc Viet, has become the first farm to enter into assessment against the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) Shrimp Standard for well-managed and responsible farms. If successful, Quoc Viet will be eligible carry the ASC logo on it products. Quoc Viet supplies customers from the US, Japan, EU, Australia, Canada, Korea, South East Asia and other countries. In 2013 the company supplied 15,000mt of shrimp and it aims to increase that to 20,000t in 2014. Viet Nam is the third biggest exporter of farmed shrimp globally. Around 90 per cent of its total volume is exported. The family-owned business, based in Camau Province Viet Nam, has been working with WWF Viet Nam to support small scale shrimp farms in improving their own operations as they aim to also achieve ASC certification. “For us as a family business it is fundamental that our farming systems are operating responsibly with minimal environmental and social impacts. It’s the right thing to do,” said Ngo Quoc Tuan, Vice President, Quoc Viet. READ MORE
 
Shrimp farms fuel a seafood export boom
INDIA – Shrimp farms have spurred a marine products exports growth in the country, with the total seafood exports crossing a whopping USD 5 billion during 2013-14. While seafood has shown a cumulative growth of 5.98 per cent in production over last year, shrimp industry has emerged as a tremendous value adder with frozen shrimp exports contributing to 64.12 per cent of the total USD earnings. Even as the shrimp industry in the East Asian countries was facing threat of extinction due to the dreaded Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS) infection , Indian shrimp industry has shown resilience and strong growth. According to the Marine Products Export Development Authority, the robust growth in the production of L.Vannamei shrimps is the main contributor to this growth story. While the production of the species has increased from 91,171 MT in 2012-13 to 1,75,071 MT in 2013-14, its export has grown by 92.03 per cent, contributing significantly to the country’s export and dollar earnings. Export of L.Vannamei shrimps to the US market alone has grown by 59.63 per cent. Speaking to The Hindu , Leena Nair, chairperson, MPEDA, attributed the robust growth to various factors. READ MORE
 
AMERICAS
 
U.S. Increases Support to Conserve Forests, Ease Climate Change
 
USA – The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on May 28 announced its support for the Althelia Climate Fund to lend up to $133.8 million in commercial financing for forest conservation and sustainable land use. Secretary of State John Kerry made the announcement via video message at the Carbon Expo in Cologne, Germany, USAID said in a news release the same day. The financing will help remove 100 million tons of carbon — the equivalent of 18.5 million cars — from the atmosphere, USAID said. USAID will offer a new risk-sharing loan guarantee through its Development Credit Authority that will enable Althelia to finance hundreds of forest-based businesses in developing countries that rely on sustainably managed land use for their livelihoods. Althelia is the first private-sector fund dedicated to forest conservation at this scale. READ MORE
 
Safeguarding the sentinels
US VIRGIN ISLANDS – Like giants dipping their toes into the briny sea, tall red mangrove trees appear to wade in the waters of Salt River  Bay, standing on half-submerged roots that tangle all around them. Up to fifty feet high, these formidable titans  cluster at the edge of the water protecting the land and the bay from each other: acting as powerful sentinels that  shield the land and its inhabitants from waves, wind, hurricanes and tsunamis, and keeping natural contaminants  from reaching the water. Mangroves filter solid waste, bacteria, fertilizers and pollutants and provide a place for  silt to accumulate, so it does not reach the water and make it too cloudy to absorb sunshine—which is so essential  to native sea grasses and coral, and the marine life, bioluminescence, and endangered species that co-exist in Salt  River Bay.  Mangroves play an integral part in creating the mangal, or ecosystem, that is home to the unique diversity of life  forms in Salt River Bay National Historic Park and Ecological Preserve in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. The park,  which measures 145 hectares (approximately 358 acres), currently includes 19 hectares of mangrove forest— the  largest remaining mangrove forest in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Its footprint has been drastically reduced, though, and faces the threat of additional minimization in the years ahead. READ MORE
 
Nearly 40% of Bimini seabed already gone
Bahamas – There may soon be nothing left in Bimini to argue over according to attorney Fred Smith, QC, as a massive seafloor dredging operation was allowed to continue during a court postponement, with 38% of the work already complete thanks to a “dramatically increased” rate of excavation. Mr. Smith, who represents Bimini Blue Coalition (BBC), a group of activists and concerned citizens seeking to protect Bimini’s invaluable marine resources in the face of the construction of a mega-resort and 1,000 foot ferry terminal, said that according to the developer’s own reports, 53,000 cubic yards had been dredged between May 16th and 21st , but over the next two days the total jumped to 150,000 cubic yards, the acceleration coinciding with BBC’s legal efforts to stop it. Recently, his clients, Bimini Blue Coalition (BBC) were set to present their case against a recent Supreme Court decision to allow dredging to resume, overturning an injunction granted by the Privy Council in London. READ MORE
 
 
AFRICA
 

Mangroves Are Key to Climate Change Mitigation – Workshop
  
GAMBIA – More than 40 policy makers, researchers and practitioners have taken part in a four-day workshop in Ghana on the theme: West Africa Mangroves – A key to climate change adaptation and mitigation, sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development, USAID. A statement from the public affairs section of the U.S Embassy in Accra said, "In spite of their existing and potential uses for humanity, mangroves remain poorly understood," said Bradley Wallach, USAID West Africa acting mission director. "They are often marginalized in national climate change plans and frequently mismanaged, resulting in the rapid depletion of resources and benefits that they have provided for generations. Through this workshop, USAID is highlighting the importance of the diverse mangrove benefits in the face of climate change." Mangroves, a variety of trees and shrubs that grow along tropical or subtropical coastlines where slow-moving water allows sediments to accumulate, have extensive root systems that protect the coast from erosion and storm damage. On average, two to seven percent of the world's mangroves and other coastal wetland carbon sinks are lost annually. READ MORE
 
LAST WORD
 
Greeting MAP
 
My name is Ali Wachu from Lower Tana Delta Conservation Trust (LTDCT), a community initiated conservation project funded by European Union through CDTF/BCP to manage, protect and conserve the area’s natural resources as a way of uplifting the living standards of the local people.
 
The LTDCT covers an area of approximately 50,000ha with a population of about 11,000 people comprising of Farmers, Pastoralists and Fishermen. The Trust area is a unique ecosystem endowed with a variety of habitat types that include riverine forests, grasslands, woodlands, bush lands, lakes, mangroves and coastal waters (with coral and sea grass beds) among others.
 
The conservancy is facing the following challenges:-
1. Illegal land acquisition/sale within the conservancy.
2. Siltation of wetlands in the conservation area.
3. Marine water intrusions during high tides.
 4. High concentration of livestock.
5. Uncontrolled land allocation for development projects.
 6. Increased human wildlife conflicts due to drying up of wetlands, loss of fish breeding grounds, wildlife watering and grazing areas among others.
 
On behalf of the LTDCT, I wanted to bring the issue of the Lower Tana Delta to your attention, and I am further requesting the assistance of the Mangrove Action Project, in any way possible, and perhaps to petition the Kenyan President Hon. UHURU KENYATTA to:-
1. Nullify of all title deeds within the Lower Tana Delta Conservancy (LTDCT) including LR 17600, LR 17601/1, LR 17601/2 and LR 25200
2. Land adjudication and allocation so that the local community can rightfully own this area through the conservancy
3. Development of a memorandum of understanding between River Tana Water Users from the catchment area all the way to the delta in order to safeguard the interest of the local people downstream.
 
 Kind Regards,
 ALI WACHU.
READ ENTIRE LETTER 
 
 
~ 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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